UK Statutory Instrument SI 2002 United Kingdom

Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay (General) Regulations 2002

This instrument contains only regulations made by virtue of sections 2, 4 and 53 of, and paragraphs 8 and 11 of Schedule 7 to, the Employment Act 2002, which come into force on 8th December 2002. The instrument is made before the end of the period of 6 months beginning …

Read it on legislation.gov.uk (opens in a new tab)
Enforced by
HMRC
Status
In Force
Penalty ceiling
Regulated

Does it bind you?

Business-side roles with duties under this instrument.

Any Person7 Employer7 Employee1

Plus 2 duties on the regulator, Crown ministers and public bodies — folded into the section list below.

Other Acts binding the same actors

If a role above is yours, these are the other instruments that most often bind it.

Any Person — also bound by 2340 other Acts
Employer — also bound by 682 other Acts
TULRCA 1992 72 duties
Employee — also bound by 189 other Acts

What it requires

Regulations creating concrete business duties or carrying penalties, grouped as the instrument is structured. Titles link to the source text — blue means you’re leaving for legislation.gov.uk.

Part 1

Introduction

0 of 3 sections shown
3 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
s.001 Citation and commencement (opens in a new tab)
s.002 Interpretation (opens in a new tab)
s.003 Application (opens in a new tab)
Part 2

Statutory paternity pay (birth)

2 of 10 sections shown
s.006 Options in respect of periods of payment of statutory paternity pay (birth) (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Allow employees to choose paternity pay start dates and durationsAny Person
s.010 Entitlement to statutory paternity pay (birth) where there is more than one employer (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Pay statutory paternity pay to employees with multiple jobsEmployer
8 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
s.004 Conditions of entitlement to statutory paternity pay (birth): relationship with newborn child and child’s mother (opens in a new tab)
s.005 Modification of entitlement conditions: early birth (opens in a new tab)
s.007 Additional notice requirements for statutory paternity pay (birth) (opens in a new tab)
s.008 Qualifying period for statutory paternity pay (birth) (opens in a new tab)
s.009 Evidence of entitlement to statutory paternity pay (birth) (opens in a new tab)
s.notice and evidence requirements for statutory pat Notice and evidence requirements for statutory paternity pay (birth)
s.notice of entitlement to statutory paternity pay ( Notice of entitlement to statutory paternity pay (birth)
s.qualifying period for statutory paternity pay (bir Qualifying period for statutory paternity pay (birth)
Part 3

Statutory paternity pay (adoption)

2 of 9 sections shown
s.012 Options in respect of periods of payment of statutory paternity pay (adoption) (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Allow employees to choose their paternity pay timing and duration (adoption)Any Person
s.016 Entitlement to statutory paternity pay (adoption) where there is more than one employer (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Pay statutory paternity pay to employees with multiple jobsEmployer
7 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
s.011 Notice of entitlement to statutory paternity pay (adoption)
s.011 Conditions of entitlement to statutory paternity pay (adoption): relationship with child and with person with whom the child is placed for adoption (opens in a new tab)
s.012 Notice and evidence requirements for statutory paternity pay (adoption)
s.013 Additional notice requirements for statutory paternity pay (adoption) (opens in a new tab)
s.014 Qualifying period for statutory paternity pay (adoption) (opens in a new tab)
s.015 Evidence of entitlement for statutory paternity pay (adoption) (opens in a new tab)
s.qualifying period for statutory paternity pay (ado Qualifying period for statutory paternity pay (adoption)
Part 4

Statutory paternity pay: provisions applicable to both statutory paternity pay (birth) and statutory paternity pay (adoption)

2 of 5 sections shown
s.017 Work during a period of payment of statutory paternity pay (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Notify your employer if you work for someone else while on paternity leaveEmployee
s.020 Avoidance of liability for statutory paternity pay (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Pay paternity pay if you terminated employment to avoid liabilityEmployer
3 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
s.018 Cases where there is no liability to pay statutory paternity pay (opens in a new tab)
s.019 Statutory paternity pay and contractual remuneration (opens in a new tab)
s.change in circumstances Change in circumstances
Part 5

Statutory adoption pay

8 of 11 sections shown
s.021 Adoption pay period (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Administer and manage the statutory adoption pay periodAny Person
s.022 Adoption pay period in cases where adoption is disrupted (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Stop Statutory Adoption Pay if the adoption is disruptedAny Person
s.023 Additional notice requirements for statutory adoption pay (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Adoption pay: Notify your employer of expected and actual placement datesAny Person
s.024 Evidence of entitlement to statutory adoption pay (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Evidence of entitlement to statutory adoption payAny Person
s.025 Entitlement to statutory adoption pay where there is more than one employer (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Pay Statutory Adoption Pay to employees with multiple jobsEmployer
s.026 Work during an adoption pay period (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Notify your employer if you work for someone else during adoption leaveAny Person
s.027 Working for not more than 10 days during an adoption pay period Regulated
  • Continue paying Statutory Adoption Pay during 'Keep in Touch' daysEmployer
s.030 Avoidance of liability for statutory adoption pay (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Pay statutory adoption pay even if employment was terminated to avoid itEmployer
3 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
s.027 Cases where there is no liability to pay statutory adoption pay (opens in a new tab)
s.028 Statutory adoption pay and contractual remuneration (opens in a new tab)
s.029 Termination of employment before start of adoption pay period (opens in a new tab)
Part 6

Statutory paternity pay and statutory adoption pay: provisions applicable to both statutory paternity pay and statutory adoption pay

3 of 18 sections shown
s.042 Time when statutory paternity pay and statutory adoption pay are to be paid (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Pay statutory paternity or adoption pay on timeEmployer
s.043 Liability of the Board to pay statutory paternity pay or statutory adoption pay (opens in a new tab) Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • HMRC must pay paternity or adoption pay if you fail to or become insolventStatutory regulator
s.045 Payments by the Board (opens in a new tab) Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • HMRC must pay statutory paternity or adoption pay at weekly intervalsStatutory regulator
15 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
s.031 Introductory (opens in a new tab)
s.032 Treatment of persons as employees (opens in a new tab)
s.033 Continuous employment (opens in a new tab)
s.034 Continuous employment and unfair dismissal (opens in a new tab)
s.035 Continuous employment and stoppages of work (opens in a new tab)
s.036 Change of employer (opens in a new tab)
s.037 Reinstatement after service with the armed forces etc. (opens in a new tab)
s.038 Treatment of two or more employers or two or more contracts of service as one (opens in a new tab)
s.039 Meaning of “earnings” (opens in a new tab)
s.040 Normal weekly earnings (opens in a new tab)
s.041 Payment of statutory paternity pay and statutory adoption pay (opens in a new tab)
s.044 Liability of the Board to pay statutory paternity or statutory adoption pay in cases of legal custody or imprisonment (opens in a new tab)
s.046 Persons unable to act (opens in a new tab)
s.047 Service of notices by post (opens in a new tab)
s.meaning of “week” Meaning of “week”

Help complying

Guvnor’s practical routes through this instrument.

Resolve a Shared Parental Leave dispute: curtailment, eligibility, refused bookings

Problem-path for employers facing an SPL dispute — sort the right forum (HMRC, Employment Tribunal, or ERA 1996 §99 detriment), test the …

Family leave fast-path: handle a leave request this week

Setting up Shared Parental Leave for the first time

Handle statutory adoption leave and pay

Step-by-step employer task guide for processing statutory adoption leave and pay, including UK adoption, overseas adoption, surrogacy intended parents and foster-to-adopt placements.

Handle statutory paternity leave and pay (post-2024 rules)

Step-by-step task guide for processing a statutory paternity leave and pay request under the post-6-April-2024 regime (SI 2024/329). Covers eligibility, the 28-day …

Statutory family leave and pay rates 2026/27 (paternity, adoption, SPL/ShPP)

Quick lookup of statutory paternity, adoption and shared parental leave entitlements and pay rates for the 2026/27 tax year. For the underlying …

Duty extraction and severity labels are Guvnor’s analysis of the instrument, not the instrument itself. Always verify against the linked source text.