Statutory paternity pay 2026: a UK employer's payroll guide

From 6 April 2026 an employee can take paternity leave from their first day of employment. Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) did not move with it. The pay still needs 26 weeks’ continuous employment, so a new starter can be entitled to the leave and not to the pay.

That split is the first thing a payroll team has to get right. The rest is mechanics: an eight-week earnings average that counts weeks with no shifts as zero, and a 28-day clock on any refusal.

This guide covers Great Britain as at 2 October 2026, using the 2026/27 figures in force since 6 April 2026.

The quick answer

For 2026/27, SPP is £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings (AWE), whichever is lower, according to GOV.UK’s rates and thresholds guide. It is paid for one week, two consecutive weeks or two separate weeks, all within 52 weeks of the birth. To qualify, an employee needs 26 weeks’ continuous employment up to any day in the qualifying week (the 15th week before the baby is due) and AWE of at least £129 across an eight-week relevant period. Employers usually reclaim 92% of what they pay from HMRC, or 109% under Small Employers’ Relief.

Where the rules sit

SPP is in Part 12ZA of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, sections 171ZA to 171ZJ, on legislation.gov.uk. It is not in Part 12, which holds Statutory Maternity Pay. The detail sits in SI 2002/2822 (general), SI 2002/2818 (weekly rates), SI 2002/2788 (leave) and SI 2002/2820 (administration). SI 2024/121 and SI 2024/329 added flexible leave blocks from 8 March 2024.

Who qualifies for pay

HMRC’s Statutory Payments Manual (SPM140200, updated 18 May 2026) sets the relationship test: the child’s father, the mother’s partner who lives with her “in an enduring family relationship” and is not an immediate relative, or an intended parent. The employee must intend to care for the child or support the mother.

The employment tests come from GOV.UK’s employer eligibility page and section 171ZA. The employee must have been continuously employed by you “for at least 26 weeks up to any day in the ‘qualifying week’”, must be employed by you up to the date the child is born, and must be on your payroll. The statute defines the qualifying week as the week immediately preceding the 14th week before the expected week of the child’s birth, which GOV.UK renders as the 15th week before the baby is due.

The earnings test is an average. GOV.UK asks for at least £129 a week (gross) in an eight-week relevant period, so one thin week does not disqualify anyone on its own. The limit that counts is the one in force at the end of the qualifying week (HMRC SPM171000). A qualifying week that ended before 6 April 2026 was tested against £125, the 2025/26 figure.

GOV.UK labels the status test “be classed as an employee (Paternity Leave only)”. Pay turns on employed-earner status under section 171ZA and regulation 32 of SI 2002/2822, so our reading is that a worker paid through PAYE can be due SPP without having the leave right. That is an interpretation and depends on the person’s actual status.

An early birth does not defeat it: the employee still qualifies “if they would have worked for you continuously for at least 26 weeks by the qualifying week” (GOV.UK; regulation 5 of SI 2002/2822).

Notice and evidence

No proof of pregnancy or birth is needed. GOV.UK says a signed declaration is enough: form SC3 for births, or your own.

Pay and leave have separate notices. For pay, regulation 6B of SI 2002/2822 requires evidence of entitlement “in or before the 15th week before the expected week of the child’s birth” (or as soon as reasonably practicable), and notice of the SPP weeks “at least 28 days” before. For leave, GOV.UK requires 28 days’ notice of when each block starts and how long it lasts. It need not be in writing unless you ask.

What changed on 6 April 2026, and what did not

Two changes arrived under the Employment Rights Act 2025 (Royal Assent 18 December 2025), and they touch pay differently.

The first removed the service test from leave. Section 16 omits paragraph (a) from subsections of sections 80A and 80B of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The commencement regulations, SI 2026/3 (made 5 January 2026), switched it on in stages: powers from 6 January, specified purposes from 18 February, and in full from 6 April 2026 (regulations 2 to 4). GOV.UK’s eligibility page now says: “Employees are eligible for Paternity Leave from their first day of employment.”

The second changed the order of family payments. Section 17(3) omits section 171ZE(3A)(b) of the 1992 Act, so SPP is no longer barred because Shared Parental Pay or Shared Parental Leave was taken earlier for the same child (18 February 2026 for specified purposes, 6 April 2026 otherwise). The same-week bar stays: under section 171ZE(3A)(a), SPP is still not payable for a week in which Shared Parental Pay is payable or Shared Parental Leave is taken. GOV.UK puts the result plainly: “You can take Paternity Leave and Pay before or after SPL and ShPP.”

Neither change touched the tests for pay. HMRC’s April 2026 Employer Bulletin says: “There is no change to eligibility for Statutory Paternity Pay.” Business.gov.uk (31 July 2026) says: “Continuity of service requirements for Paternity Pay remains unchanged.” Read with section 17(3), that means the eligibility tests stayed in place and the sequencing rule changed. Our maternity pay guide describes the reforms in terms of leave; the sequencing point is the pay-side addition.

Schedule 1 to SI 2026/3 limits the transition: the changes have no effect for children born before 6 April 2026, unless the expected week of childbirth began on or after 5 April 2026, or the primary carer dies on or after 6 April 2026.

Leave blocks, the 52-week window and daily rates

Under regulation 6(2) of SI 2002/2822, SPP can be paid for “a single period of either one week or two weeks, or two non-consecutive periods of a week each”. Regulation 6A ends the window 52 weeks after the birth, or after the first day of the expected week if the baby arrives early.

The entitlement is the same “even if they have more than one child (for example twins)” (GOV.UK). A day of SPP is one seventh of the weekly rate (section 171ZE(10A)). A week of leave follows the employee’s normal working pattern (GOV.UK), so rota and payroll need the same week boundaries before the first block begins.

The 2026/27 rate

The weekly rate is £194.32 or 90% of AWE, whichever is lower. The legal source is regulation 2(a) of SI 2002/2818 as amended by article 10 of SI 2026/148, which substitutes £194.32 for £187.18 from 6 April 2026. The 2025/26 figures were £187.18 and a £125 lower earnings limit; the 2026/27 limit is £129. The same article sets the same flat rate for Statutory Shared Parental Pay, Parental Bereavement Pay and Neonatal Care Pay.

The crossover is our arithmetic, not a published figure: £194.32 divided by 0.9 is £215.91. An employee whose AWE is above that gets the flat £194.32. Below it, they get 90% of AWE.

As at 2 October 2026, none of GOV.UK, DWP or a statutory instrument shows a 2027/28 SPP rate. Uprating is normally announced in the autumn (the 2026/27 rates were announced on 26 November 2025) and legislated early in the new year. That is a pattern, not a promise.

Official pages that still show old figures

As at 2 October 2026, four official pages carry superseded content.

• GOV.UK’s page on manually calculating SPP (last updated 6 April 2025) shows “£187.18 from 6 April 2025” and “£125 or more”, and says “the 2 weeks must be consecutive”. The 2026/27 rate is £194.32, the threshold is £129, and for babies due after 6 April 2024 the weeks can be split.
• GOV.UK’s page on employee circumstances (updated 17 April 2024) gives premature-birth leave as an 8-week period. For Great Britain, regulation 6A sets 52 weeks.
• GOV.UK’s neonatal care eligibility page still shows £125.
• HMRC’s SPM140700 still refers to “only waiting days for SSP”, which statutory sick pay no longer has since 6 April 2026.

Average weekly earnings when hours vary

The method comes from HMRC SPM171000. Our maternity guide works through it in its section on irregular hours and AWE. The relevant period ends on the last normal payday on or before the Saturday of the qualifying week. It starts the day after the last normal payday at least eight weeks earlier (SPM171100; regulation 40(2) to (4)). For weekly pay and multiples of a week, divide total gross pay by the number of weeks. For monthly pay, divide by the number of months, multiply by 12 and divide by 52 (regulation 40(5)). Where pay follows no fixed pattern, divide by the number of days in the period and multiply by seven (SPM171400).

Weeks with no shifts stay in. HMRC says: “If, on any pay day, the employee was not due any pay, blank weeks are included as zero pay.” That is how a rota that cut an employee’s hours during those eight weeks can move them below £129. Where rota and timesheet data feed payroll, the average depends on that feed being right (see payroll and rota integrations).

Earnings are anything “liable for Class 1 NICs, or would be if they were high enough” (SPM171000). Overtime, bonus and arrears count when paid (regulation 39), and pay received in the period counts “even if they relate to periods outside the relevant period”. Do not round AWE before the earnings test: HMRC’s SPM170050 says to use the unrounded figure, so £128.99 fails.

A backdated pay rise covering the relevant period is treated as paid in it (regulation 40(7); SPM172100). The pay-rise rule in SPM172200 applies to Statutory Maternity Pay only, and we found no SPP equivalent.

Tips and tronc follow the Class 1 rule. Direct tips and a tronc allocated independently of the employer fall outside AWE, while tips the employer allocates and service charge paid through payroll fall inside (HMRC NIM02922 and PAYE72080). HMRC has no SPP-specific example. Our guide to tronc schemes covers the independence test, and the hospitality page covers the sector.

A worked example

This is an illustration, not an HMRC example: HMRC’s zero-pay examples (SPM171600) are Statutory Maternity Pay cases with 2021 figures.

An employee is paid weekly. Across the eight paydays of the relevant period they earn £1,280, and one of those weeks had no shifts, so it counts as zero. AWE is £1,280 divided by 8, which is £160. That clears the £129 test. 90% of £160 is £144, below £194.32, so SPP is £144 a week and £288 for two weeks.

A second employee earns £3,200 across the eight weeks. AWE is £400, and 90% of that is £360, which is above £194.32. The flat rate applies: £194.32 a week, or £388.64 for two weeks.

Payroll mechanics and reclaim

SPP is paid the same way as wages (GOV.UK; SPM182300). GOV.UK says “Tax and National Insurance need to be deducted”. In Real Time Information, the Full Payment Submission carries SPP year to date, and the Employer Payment Summary carries SPP recovered and National Insurance compensation separately (GOV.UK, updated 6 April 2026).

Pay above the statutory amount does not raise the reclaim. GOV.UK says: “Even if you pay an employee more than the statutory amount, you can usually only reclaim 92% of that amount.” Wages or occupational paternity pay for the same week can count towards SPP, and you must make up any shortfall (SPM182600).

Deductions follow the wages rules. HMRC’s SPM182400 says “any deductions which the employer would normally lawfully make from wages can also be made from these”, but not attachment of earnings or child maintenance orders. Section 27(1)(ca) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 lists statutory paternity pay within “wages”, so section 13(1) applies: no deduction unless a statute requires it, a relevant contract term authorises it, or the worker has given prior written consent.

During leave, an employee’s rights “like the right to pay, holidays and returning to a job” are protected (GOV.UK; regulation 12 of SI 2002/2788). Our guide to zero-hours contract holiday pay covers holiday pay for irregular workers. Keep SPP records “for 3 years from the end of the tax year they relate to” (GOV.UK).

Reclaiming from HMRC

GOV.UK says “you can usually reclaim 92%” of SPP, and “You can reclaim 109% if your business qualifies for Small Employers’ Relief”. That is 100% of the payment plus a compensation element, which is 9% from 6 April 2026 (8.5% in 2025/26; SI 2026/201; HMRC’s April 2026 Employer Bulletin). The relief applies if your Class 1 National Insurance, employee and employer contributions together and ignoring Employment Allowance, was £45,000 or less in the last complete tax year before the qualifying week (SPM182000).

To reclaim, “include them in an Employer Payment Summary (EPS)”. GOV.UK’s EPS guidance says to send it by the 19th of the following tax month to reduce that month’s payment. If the payments cannot be set off, you can write to the PAYE Employer Office, but “You cannot do this until the start of the next tax year.” If you cannot afford to pay SPP before you recover it, you can apply to HMRC for funding up front, “up to 4 weeks before” the first payment.

We left four points out because our research could not settle them against a primary page: the time limit for an SPP reclaim, whether SPP needs its own payslip line, pension contributions during SPP weeks, and the exact payment deadline in SPM182300. Check them with HMRC.

Agency, umbrella and zero-hours workers

GOV.UK warns that “Some employment types, like agency workers, directors and educational workers, have different rules for entitlement.”

Liability for SPP follows whoever deducts, or would deduct, PAYE and Class 1 National Insurance from the worker’s pay. For agency temps that is normally the agency, not the end client (GOV.UK’s guidance on employment types that affect payment, last updated 13 May 2016 and still live; Schedule 3 to SI 1978/1689).

Gaps between bookings do not automatically break continuity. HMRC’s manual (SPM250800; regulation 33) treats it as unbroken where the agency had no work to offer or the worker was off sick or on protected leave, “even if they have only actually worked for short spells”. Moving to an unconnected agency or employer before the qualifying week normally restarts the 26 weeks, and only the bridges in regulation 36 preserve continuity. That reading is ours: regulation 36 does not name agencies.

On GOV.UK’s description of working through an umbrella company, the umbrella is the employer and pays through PAYE, so the SPP tests apply to it. That is our reading of the guidance, not a quoted SPP rule. The 12-week rule in the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 is a different scheme about equal treatment (GOV.UK, updated 25 March 2026). The maternity guide’s section on agency workers and umbrella companies covers the same continuity logic; the recruitment agencies page gives the sector view.

“Zero hours” does not itself decide whether someone is an employee or a worker (GOV.UK, employment status). Apply the continuity and earnings tests to the facts. The Home Office guide on right to work checks takes the same approach to labels from 1 October 2026: what it says about casual, agency and contractor workers.

Refusing pay, and what happens next

If an employee does not qualify for pay, you send form SPP1. GOV.UK says to “send them form SPP1 within 28 days of their pay request”. The regulation is specific: SI 2002/2820 regulation 11(3)(b) allows 28 days from the later of the notice of intended absence and the end of the 15th week before the expected week. HMRC’s manual (SPM140800, updated 18 May 2026) speaks of seven days from the decision, but the regulation applies seven days only to custody decisions (regulation 11(3)(c)). Work to the 28 days.

The employee can ask for a written statement of your reasons. GOV.UK says you must give it “within a reasonable time, for example 7 working days”, and the employee can then ask HMRC for a formal decision. Refusing pay does not stop the leave: eligible day-one leave can be taken where SPP is refused.

HMRC says: “The penalty for refusing or repeatedly failing to pay a statutory payment is a maximum of £3,000, which is determined by an authorised officer.” A former employer also stays liable if it dismisses an employee of at least eight weeks’ service “solely, or mainly, for the purpose of avoiding liability” (regulation 20).

Edge cases

• A week in which the employee is entitled to Statutory Sick Pay carries no SPP: none is due for a week “during any part of which the person entitled to it is entitled to statutory sick pay” (regulation 18(a); SPM140400).
• An employee still qualifies if the baby is “stillborn from 24 weeks of pregnancy” or is born alive at any point. Where a child dies, regulation 16A runs new periods to eight weeks from the event week.
• SPP is not clawed back if the employee does not return (GOV.UK, updated 17 April 2024).
• For Shared Parental Leave, the mother or adopter curtails their own leave, and up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of Shared Parental Pay can be shared (GOV.UK). This guide does not cover Shared Parental Pay payroll in full.
• Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave in Great Britain runs for up to 52 weeks from 6 April 2026 and has no statutory pay. Business.gov.uk (30 July 2026) says: “There is no statutory pay requirement.”
• In Northern Ireland, an employee can take one or two weeks of paternity leave (two weeks must be consecutive), finishing within 56 days of the birth, and the 26-week service test for leave is retained (nidirect; SPM140400).
• The self-employed get no SPP. A government statement published on the Parliament committees site on 19 September 2025 says: “There is no equivalent Paternity Allowance”.

Reform status: law in force and proposals

The sections above describe the law in force as at 2 October 2026. What follows is not law.

According to GOV.UK, the government’s parental leave and pay review launched on 1 July 2025 for Great Britain, and a House of Lords written answer on 21 September 2026 says: “The Review will conclude in early 2027.” The “six weeks for dads” campaign and a parliamentary committee proposal ask for six weeks of well-paid leave at 90% of AWE. That is a proposal, and the government’s response discusses it within the review. If a source says paternity leave or pay has changed, look for a statutory instrument.

Frequently asked questions

How much is two weeks’ paternity pay in 2026/27?

At the flat rate in GOV.UK’s rates and thresholds guide it is £388.64, which is two weeks at £194.32. Employees whose AWE is below £215.91 (our arithmetic from the published rate) get 90% of AWE instead.

Who qualifies for statutory paternity pay?

Under GOV.UK’s employer eligibility page, an employee who meets the relationship tests, has 26 weeks’ continuous employment up to any day in the qualifying week, is employed until the birth, and has AWE of at least £129 across the eight-week relevant period qualifies. Leave is a separate right from day one.

Do fathers get six weeks of paternity leave?

No. In law the entitlement is one or two weeks, as a single block or two separate weeks, within 52 weeks of the birth. Six weeks is a campaign and committee proposal. The government’s review is due to conclude in early 2027, according to a parliamentary answer of 21 September 2026.

Will statutory paternity pay rise in 2027?

No 2027/28 rate had been published by GOV.UK, DWP or a statutory instrument as at 2 October 2026. Uprating is normally announced in the autumn, but that is a pattern, not a commitment.

Can an employer refuse SPP, and what happens next?

Yes, where the tests are not met. Send form SPP1 within 28 days of the pay request. The employee can ask for written reasons, then ask HMRC for a formal decision.

Who pays SPP, and can it be reclaimed?

The employer pays it through payroll, and GOV.UK says you can usually reclaim 92%, or 109% under Small Employers’ Relief if Class 1 National Insurance was £45,000 or less in the last complete tax year before the qualifying week. You claim through an Employer Payment Summary.

Who pays SPP for an agency worker?

Whoever deducts, or would deduct, PAYE and Class 1 National Insurance from the worker’s pay, normally the agency rather than the end client.

Can SPP be paid after Shared Parental Pay?

Yes, since 6 April 2026. Section 17(3) of the Employment Rights Act 2025 removed the bar in section 171ZE(3A)(b). The same-week bar remains.

Further reading and sources

• GOV.UK, Paternity Pay and Leave: employer guide, eligibility: the 26-week pay test, the qualifying week and the earnings test.
• GOV.UK, Paternity Pay and Leave: employer guide, pay: the £194.32 rate, tax and National Insurance, and the reclaim limit on enhanced pay.
• GOV.UK, Paternity Pay and Leave: employer guide, entitlement: leave blocks, twins and the agency-worker warning.
• GOV.UK, Refuse Paternity Pay: form SPP1: the 28-day deadline and written reasons.
• GOV.UK, Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027: the £194.32 rate and the £129 lower earnings limit.
• GOV.UK, Recover statutory payments: the 92% and 109% recovery routes and the Employer Payment Summary.
• GOV.UK, Shared Parental Leave and Pay: the order of SPP and Shared Parental Pay, and the shared allowance.
• HMRC, Employer Bulletin, April 2026: “There is no change to eligibility for Statutory Paternity Pay.”
• Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, Part 12ZA: sections 171ZA to 171ZJ.
• Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, section 171ZE: the same-week bar and the daily rate.
• Employment Rights Act 2025, section 17: the omission of section 171ZE(3A)(b).
• SI 2026/3: commencement of the leave changes and the transitional scope in Schedule 1.
• SI 2026/148, article 10: the £194.32 rate from 6 April 2026.
• SI 2002/2822, regulation 6A: the 52-week window.
• SI 2002/2822, regulation 6B: notice and evidence for pay.
• SI 2002/2820, regulation 11: the 28-day refusal deadline.
• SI 2002/2822, regulation 20: the former employer’s liability after a dismissal to avoid SPP.
• HMRC Statutory Payments Manual, SPM171000: what counts as earnings, and zero-pay weeks.
• HMRC Statutory Payments Manual, SPM171400: AWE for employees with no fixed pay pattern.
• HMRC Statutory Payments Manual, SPM182400: lawful deductions from statutory payments.
• HMRC Statutory Payments Manual, SPM250800: continuity of employment for agency workers.
• HMRC Statutory Payments Manual, SPM230400: the £3,000 penalty for refusing or repeatedly failing to pay.
• GOV.UK, Statutory Paternity Pay: employment types that affect payment: agency-worker liability, with its 2016 update date.
• GOV.UK, Statutory Paternity Pay: manually calculate payments: the page that still shows 2025/26 figures.
• House of Lords written question HL3217: the parental leave and pay review, concluding in early 2027.