Guide
Maternity and paternity leave
Statutory entitlements for new parents including leave periods and pay rates.
Employees who are having or adopting a child have statutory rights to time off work and pay. As an employer, you must understand these entitlements so you can support your employees, run payroll correctly, and stay on the right side of the law. Getting this wrong can lead to employment tribunal claims and penalties.
This guide covers maternity leave and pay, paternity leave and pay, shared parental leave, adoption leave and pay, keeping in touch days, and your obligations around job protection, holiday accrual, and redundancy.
Maternity leave
All pregnant employees are entitled to up to 52 weeks of statutory maternity leave, regardless of length of service. There is no qualifying period for the leave itself. The 52 weeks are split into:
- Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML): the first 26 weeks
- Additional Maternity Leave (AML): the following 26 weeks
The employee does not need to take all 52 weeks, but must take a minimum of 2 weeks after the birth (4 weeks if they work in a factory). This is the compulsory maternity leave period.
Maternity leave can start on any day from 11 weeks before the expected week of childbirth. If the baby arrives early, leave starts automatically on the day after the birth.
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
SMP is paid for up to 39 weeks. The remaining 13 weeks of the 52-week leave entitlement are unpaid. To qualify for SMP, the employee must:
- Have been continuously employed by you for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (known as the 'qualifying week')
- Have average weekly earnings at or above the Lower Earnings Limit (£125 per week for 2025/26), calculated over the 8 weeks (or 2 months) ending with the last normal payday on or before the Saturday of the qualifying week
- Give at least 28 days' notice of the date they want SMP to start (or as soon as reasonably practicable)
- Provide medical evidence of pregnancy (usually a MATB1 certificate issued by a midwife or doctor from 20 weeks of pregnancy)
If the employee does not qualify for SMP, you must give them form SMP1 within 7 days of making your decision, explaining why. They may be able to claim Maternity Allowance from the Department for Work and Pensions instead.
Recovering SMP
You pay SMP through your payroll and recover the cost by deducting it from your HMRC PAYE payments. Most employers can recover 92% of SMP paid. If your total Class 1 NICs (both employer and employee) in the qualifying tax year are £45,000 or less, you qualify for Small Employers' Relief and can recover 100% plus an additional compensation rate (8.5% for 2025/26). Report the recovery on your Employer Payment Summary (EPS).
Paternity leave
Eligible employees can take up to 2 weeks of statutory paternity leave. Following the Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (SI 2024/329), which apply to babies born or placed for adoption on or after 6 April 2024:
- Flexible blocks: the 2 weeks can be taken as two separate one-week blocks rather than needing to be taken together
- Extended window: paternity leave can be taken at any point within 52 weeks of the birth or adoption placement (previously limited to the first 8 weeks)
- Reduced notice: the employee must give at least 28 days' notice before each period of leave (previously 15 weeks before the due date)
Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) is paid at £187.18 per week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower (2025/26 rate). The same 26-week continuous employment and Lower Earnings Limit tests apply as for SMP.
From 6 April 2026: the Employment Rights Act 2025 makes paternity leave a day-one right, removing the 26-week qualifying period for leave (though the qualifying period for pay remains unchanged). The Act also removes the restriction preventing an employee from taking paternity leave after shared parental leave.
Adoption leave
Statutory adoption leave mirrors maternity leave: up to 52 weeks (26 weeks ordinary + 26 weeks additional). Only one parent in the couple can take adoption leave; the other may be entitled to paternity leave or shared parental leave.
For UK adoptions, the employee must have been continuously employed by you for 26 weeks by the end of the week they are matched with a child. They must give you 28 days' notice of the date they want leave to start. Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) follows the same structure as SMP: 90% of average weekly earnings for 6 weeks, then £187.18 per week or 90% of earnings (whichever is lower) for 33 weeks.
Adoption leave also applies to parents in surrogacy arrangements who intend to apply for a parental order, and to foster-to-adopt placements.
Shared parental leave
Shared parental leave (SPL) allows eligible parents to share up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay between them. To access SPL, the birth parent or primary adopter must give notice to 'curtail' (end early) their maternity or adoption leave. The remaining weeks are then available as SPL.
Both parents must individually meet eligibility tests:
- The employee taking SPL must have 26 weeks' continuous employment by the end of the 15th week before the due date (or matching week) and meet the Lower Earnings Limit
- The other parent must have worked for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before the due date (or matching week) and earned at least £30 per week on average in any 13 of those weeks
SPL can be taken in up to 3 separate blocks (each parent has 3 booking notices). You may refuse a discontinuous block but must respond within 14 days and propose alternative dates. Continuous blocks must be accepted.
From 6 April 2026: the Employment Rights Act 2025 makes unpaid parental leave (up to 18 weeks per parent for children under 18) a day-one right, removing the current 1-year qualifying period.
Keeping in touch (KIT) and SPLIT days
Employees on maternity or adoption leave can work up to 10 keeping in touch (KIT) days without bringing their leave or pay to an end. These are entirely voluntary — neither the employer nor the employee can insist on them.
Employees on shared parental leave have a separate entitlement to up to 20 shared parental leave in touch (SPLIT) days each. These are in addition to any KIT days already used during maternity or adoption leave.
KIT and SPLIT days can be used for training, team meetings, handovers, or any work-related activity. You must agree the rate of pay in advance — there is no statutory rate, but any amount paid counts towards SMP/SAP/ShPP for that week.
Working for any part of a day uses up one full KIT or SPLIT day. If an employee works more than 10 KIT days (or 20 SPLIT days), it does not automatically end their leave, but SMP/SAP/ShPP is not payable for any week in which they work after exceeding the limit.
Employer obligations: job protection, holiday, and redundancy
Right to return
After Ordinary Maternity Leave (or ordinary adoption leave, or paternity leave), the employee has the right to return to the same job on the same terms and conditions.
After Additional Maternity Leave (or a period of shared parental leave of more than 26 weeks combined with maternity leave), the employee must be offered the same job. If that is not reasonably practicable, you must offer a suitable alternative role on terms no less favourable.
Holiday accrual
Employees continue to accrue their full statutory holiday entitlement (5.6 weeks) and any contractual holiday throughout maternity, paternity, adoption, and shared parental leave — including the unpaid weeks. Accrued holiday that cannot be taken in the current leave year because of family leave can be carried over.
Employment terms during leave
All contractual terms continue during maternity leave except for remuneration. This means the employee retains their benefits (car allowance, private medical insurance, pension contributions by the employer, gym membership, etc.) throughout Ordinary Maternity Leave. During Additional Maternity Leave, only certain terms continue (notice period, redundancy rights, disciplinary procedures, and the obligation of good faith).
Redundancy protection
Since 6 April 2024, under the Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023, redundancy protection applies in three stages:
- During pregnancy: from the point the employee notifies you of their pregnancy until maternity leave starts
- During maternity, adoption, or shared parental leave
- For 18 months after the birth or adoption placement
During these protected periods, the employee must be offered priority access to any suitable alternative vacancy before other at-risk employees. Failure to do so makes the dismissal automatically unfair.
Notification requirements and timelines
Maternity
- Employee to employer: by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth, the employee must notify you of: the fact that she is pregnant, the expected week of childbirth, and the date she wants maternity leave to start
- MATB1 certificate: the employee must provide medical evidence of pregnancy (a MATB1, issued from 20 weeks) — you can request this before SMP starts
- Employer to employee: within 28 days of receiving the employee's notification, you must write to confirm her expected return date
- Changing return date: the employee must give 8 weeks' notice if she wants to return earlier or later than the expected date
Paternity
- At least 28 days' notice before each period of leave (for births and adoptions on or after 6 April 2024)
- A signed employee declaration confirming eligibility
Shared parental leave
- Notice of entitlement: at least 8 weeks before the first period of SPL — includes a declaration from both parents
- Booking notice: at least 8 weeks before each block of SPL. Each parent can submit up to 3 booking notices
- You have 14 days to respond to each booking notice
Penalties and enforcement
Failing to comply with parental leave and pay obligations can result in:
- Employment tribunal claims: unlawful deduction from wages (for non-payment of SMP, SPP, SAP, or ShPP), automatic unfair dismissal (for dismissal connected to pregnancy or family leave), and sex discrimination claims
- HMRC enforcement: if you refuse to pay SMP and the employee disputes your decision, HMRC's Statutory Payment Disputes Team can investigate and direct you to pay. Failure to comply within the required timescale can result in a civil penalty
- Redundancy protection breach: dismissing a pregnant employee or one on family leave without offering priority access to suitable alternative vacancies is automatically unfair dismissal with no qualifying service required
- Compensation: tribunal awards for pregnancy and maternity discrimination are uncapped and can include injury to feelings (typically £1,100 to £56,200 under the Vento bands)
Dismissing an employee because she is pregnant, or for any reason connected with pregnancy, childbirth, or family leave, is automatically unfair — no minimum period of employment is required to bring a claim.
-
Check eligibility for each type of leave and pay
Verify the employee's continuous service, average weekly earnings against the Lower Earnings Limit (£125/week for 2025/26), and whether they have given correct notice. Use the GOV.UK maternity pay calculator to confirm SMP entitlement.
-
Set up statutory payments in your payroll
Configure SMP (6 weeks at 90% of AWE, then 33 weeks at £187.18 or 90%, whichever is lower), SPP, SAP, or ShPP as applicable. Report payments through RTI and recover costs via your Employer Payment Summary (EPS).
-
Confirm leave dates in writing
Within 28 days of receiving the employee's maternity notification, write to confirm their expected return date. For paternity and shared parental leave, respond to booking notices within 14 days.
-
Review redundancy and restructuring processes
Ensure your redundancy procedures account for the extended protected period (pregnancy through to 18 months after birth or adoption placement). Employees in the protected period must be offered suitable alternative vacancies in priority.
-
Prepare for April 2026 changes
The Employment Rights Act 2025 makes paternity leave and unpaid parental leave day-one rights from April 2026. Update your policies, contracts, and HR systems to remove the 26-week qualifying period for leave entitlement.