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Quick answer

From 6 April 2026, statutory paternity leave is a day-one right for all eligible employees - 1 or 2 weeks taken as a single block or two separate 1-week blocks, at any time in the first 52 weeks. Statutory paternity pay still requires 26 weeks' service and is paid at the lower of £194.32 per week or 90% of average weekly earnings. A new Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave gives up to 52 weeks of unpaid leave if the mother or primary adopter dies in the child's first year. Employers reclaim 92% of SPP from HMRC, or 109% under Small Employers' Relief.

What changed in April 2024 and April 2026

Paternity leave law has moved more in the past 24 months than at any point since it was introduced. There were two major reforms back-to-back:

Rule Before 6 April 2024 6 April 2024 to 5 April 2026 From 6 April 2026
Service required for leave 26 weeks 26 weeks Day one
Service required for pay 26 weeks 26 weeks 26 weeks (unchanged)
Window to take leave 56 days after birth 52 weeks after birth 52 weeks after birth
Pattern One block (1 or 2 weeks) Single block or two separate 1-week blocks Single block or two separate 1-week blocks
Notice of dates 15 weeks before EWC 28 days before each period 28 days before each period
After Shared Parental Leave? Not allowed Not allowed Allowed
Bereaved Partner's leave Did not exist Did not exist Up to 52 weeks unpaid

If your handbook still says "leave must be taken in the first 8 weeks" or "must be taken in one block", it has been out of date for two years and you need to update it before staff start asking questions they could not have asked before.

Paternity leave and paternity pay are different things

The same point that catches employers out on maternity catches them out on paternity, and the April 2026 reforms have widened the gap. Leave is now a day-one right; pay still needs 26 weeks of service. New starters in their first six months who become fathers are entitled to take leave but not paid leave - their employer must give them form SPP1 explaining why pay is refused.

📅
Paternity leave
1 or 2 weeks, day-one right
Always
💰
Statutory Paternity Pay
Same period, must qualify (26 wks)
Sometimes
🏠
Enhanced (contractual) pay
Whatever the contract says
Optional
👷
No-pay scenario
Day 1-180 employee, leave only
Unpaid

Eligibility: leave (day-one) vs pay (26 weeks)

Leave eligibility from 6 April 2026

To take statutory paternity leave, the employee must:

From 6 April 2026, there is no service requirement for leave. The previous 26-week qualification is removed by the Employment Rights Act 2025. ACAS estimates 32,000 more fathers and partners qualify each year as a result.

Pay eligibility (unchanged)

To qualify for statutory paternity pay, the employee must additionally:

Test What it means
Continuous employment 26 weeks ending with the qualifying week (the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth)
Earnings Average weekly earnings of at least £129 (from 6 April 2026, up from £125) in the 8 weeks before the qualifying week
Status Employed for tax purposes (PAYE) - workers paid through self-assessment do not qualify

Eligibility is the same in adoption and surrogacy cases, with adapted rules on the qualifying date and notice. The GOV.UK paternity pay calculator handles the date arithmetic if it is not obvious from the due date.

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The new gap: leave without pay
An employee who joined three months ago is now entitled to take paternity leave - but not paternity pay. You must give them form SPP1 within 28 days of their request explaining the pay refusal. The leave itself cannot be refused. Many employers will choose to offer enhanced pay in this situation as a recruitment and retention tool, but there is no legal requirement to do so.

Length and patterns: one or two weeks, in any combination

An eligible employee can take 1 or 2 weeks of statutory paternity leave. The Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 changed how the 2 weeks can be taken:

📍
Pattern 1
Single block
1 week
📍
Pattern 2
Single block
2 weeks
📍
Pattern 3
Two separate 1-week blocks
1 + 1

Whichever pattern they choose, leave must be taken in whole weeks only (no half-weeks or days), and a "week" is defined as the number of days the employee normally works in a week. So a 5-day worker takes a 5-day week; a 3-day worker takes a 3-day week.

The window for taking leave is 52 weeks after the birth or adoption placement. The employee can pick any week in that year for either block. The previous restriction to "the first 8 weeks after birth" has been gone since April 2024 but is still common in older policies.

The leave entitlement is unchanged for multiple births. The father of twins gets the same 1-or-2-week entitlement as the father of a single baby - twin fathers do not get double.

The two-notice rule and the 28-day window

Two distinct notices are required, and the employer's response is also tied to deadlines. The April 2024 reforms simplified the second notice - it dropped from 15 weeks down to 28 days.

15 weeks before the expected week of childbirth: notice of entitlement
The employee must give the employer the expected due date and a declaration of eligibility (relationship to the child, intent to care for the child or support the partner). This notice is in or before the 15th week before the EWC. For adoption, the notice is within 7 days of being matched with the child.
28 days before each period of leave: notice of dates
For each period of leave (whether one block or two), the employee must give 28 days' notice of the start date. If they want to vary the dates, they must give 28 days' notice of the variation. The 28-day notice can be given at the same time as the 15-week notice if the employee already knows their dates.
Within 28 days of the 15-week notice: employer confirms
It is good practice (and often required by your contracts) to confirm in writing that you have received the notice and acknowledge the entitlement. If the employee does not qualify for SPP, this is when you would issue form SPP1.
Day of leave: leave begins
The leave can be specified as a precise date or a general one (such as "the day of the birth" or "two weeks after the birth"). Leave cannot start before the birth. If the baby is early or late, the start date moves with the actual date in line with what the employee specified.
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Transitional notice rule for the April 2026 changes
For new starters who became eligible only from 6 April 2026, the Government temporarily reduced the 15-week notice requirement to 28 days, with notice able to be given from 18 February 2026. This was to ensure staff in their first six months at a new job could still take leave from day one without being caught by the 15-week rule. Standard notice rules apply for births after the transition window closes.

SPP rate and worked examples for 2026/27

From 6 April 2026, statutory paternity pay is the lower of:

SPP weekly rate 2026/27
£194.32 or 90% of AWE → whichever is lower
Paid for 1 or 2 weeks of leave taken. Tax and NI deducted as normal. AWE = average weekly earnings calculated over the 8 weeks before the qualifying week.

For most employees on a typical UK salary, 90% of AWE will be well above £194.32, so the £194.32 cap applies. The 90% rule only bites for very low earners whose weekly pay is under about £215.

Annual salary AWE (approx) Weekly SPP 2-week total
£20,000 £384.62 £194.32 £388.64
£32,000 £615.38 £194.32 £388.64
£50,000 £961.54 £194.32 £388.64
£7,800 (just above threshold) £150.00 £135.00 £270.00

Reclaiming SPP from HMRC

SPP recovery works the same way as SMP. Most of the cost is borne by HMRC, not the employer. You reclaim through your Employment Payment Summary:

Employer type Test Recovery rate
Small employer Total Class 1 NICs in previous tax year ≤ £45,000 109% (Small Employers' Relief)
Other employers Total Class 1 NICs in previous tax year > £45,000 92%

So a 2-week SPP payment of £388.64 costs a small employer nothing (in fact you reclaim slightly more than you paid out) and costs a larger employer about £31. Enhanced contractual pay is not recoverable.

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Why so few fathers take it
Surveys consistently find that around two-thirds of new fathers do not take their full statutory entitlement, mainly because £194.32/week is a long way below most employees' normal pay. The April 2024 flexibility reforms have not changed take-up much. Employers serious about gender-balanced parental leave often offer enhanced paternity pay - even matching maternity for the first two weeks costs very little when SPP recovery is factored in.

Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave (new from 6 April 2026)

This is the most significant new entitlement of 2026 and it is sitting in a piece of separate legislation that often gets overlooked: the Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave Regulations 2026, which came into force on 6 April 2026 alongside the wider Employment Rights Act changes. It applies in England, Scotland and Wales but not Northern Ireland.

Who qualifies

The right applies if the mother or primary adopter dies within the first year of the child's life or adoption placement. The surviving partner must have or expect to have responsibility for the child's upbringing, and one of the relationship tests must apply (married to, civil partner of, or partner of the deceased mother or primary adopter; or the child's father in birth cases). It is a day-one right with no minimum service.

What it gives

⏱
Length
Up to 52 weeks total
52 wks
📅
Window
Within 52 weeks of birth/placement
First year
💰
Pay
No statutory pay
Unpaid
🛡
Service required
None
Day 1

The leave is unpaid by statute, but you can offer pay at your discretion - and many employers will. It is in addition to any standard paternity leave the employee has taken, not in place of it. The Regulations also extend enhanced redundancy protection to bereaved partners, mirroring the protections available to those on maternity leave.

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Update your bereavement and compassionate leave policies
Most existing bereavement policies offer paid leave for a few days following a partner's death. They do not anticipate up to 52 weeks. Check that your policies clearly state how Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave interacts with your existing bereavement entitlement, and consider whether you will offer any pay during the statutory unpaid period. Train line managers on handling these requests sensitively.

Interaction with shared parental leave and other leave

From 6 April 2026, paternity leave can be taken either before or after shared parental leave - the previous rule prohibiting paternity leave after SPL is removed. This gives parents more flexibility to use both entitlements together.

Annual leave continues to accrue throughout statutory paternity leave. The employee cannot take annual leave at the same time as paternity leave but can take it before or after - many fathers add a week of annual leave on the end of their paternity leave to extend their time off. For more on the holiday side, see our guide to holiday accrual during family leave.

Ordinary parental leave (4 weeks unpaid in the first year) became a day-one right from 6 April 2026 too, meaning a new father can stack up 1-2 weeks of paid SPL plus 4 weeks of unpaid OPL plus shared parental leave if eligible. The maths gets complex - this is one of the use cases where a leave management tool that tracks multiple leave types in parallel earns its keep.

Neonatal care leave (up to 12 weeks at SPP rate) became a day-one right in April 2025 if a baby spends 7 or more consecutive days in neonatal care up to age 28 days. It is in addition to paternity leave, not in place of it.

Practical employer process and SPP1

A clean process for handling each request:

Receive the 15-week notice
Confirm receipt in writing, even if the contract does not require it. Note the qualifying week and the expected week of childbirth so eligibility is easy to check later.
Check both eligibility tests
Run leave eligibility (day-one, employee, relationship to child, responsibility for upbringing) and pay eligibility (26 weeks' service to qualifying week, AWE ≥ threshold) separately. Document the answer to each.
If pay refused: issue form SPP1
Give the employee form SPP1 within 28 days of the request, explaining why pay is refused. The leave is still granted - SPP1 only refuses pay. Keep a copy on file.
Receive the 28-day notice of dates
For each period of leave (one or two), confirm the start date and the expected end date in writing. Plan cover. Update your team calendar.
Process payroll
Pay SPP through normal payroll for the period of leave. Tax and NI come off as usual. Reclaim from HMRC through your EPS at 92% (or 109% if you qualify for Small Employers' Relief).

Sample paternity policy clause

Use this as a starting point for your handbook. Adapt the enhanced pay terms to whatever your business actually offers, or remove them if you only pay statutory.

Sample clause

1. Right to paternity leave. Eligible employees are entitled to take 1 or 2 weeks of statutory paternity leave from day one of employment. Leave can be taken either as a single block or as two separate 1-week blocks, at any time within 52 weeks of the child's birth or adoption placement.

2. Eligibility. The employee must have or expect to have responsibility for the child's upbringing and must be the child's father or married to / civil partner of / partner of the mother or primary adopter. There is no minimum service requirement for leave; statutory paternity pay requires 26 weeks of continuous service to the qualifying week and average weekly earnings at or above the statutory threshold.

3. Notice. The employee must give notice of intention to take paternity leave at least 15 weeks before the expected week of childbirth (or within 7 days of being matched in adoption cases), including the expected due date and a declaration of eligibility. The employee must give 28 days' notice of the start date of each period of leave, and 28 days' notice of any variation.

4. Statutory paternity pay. Eligible employees receive SPP at the lower of the statutory weekly rate or 90% of average weekly earnings for the period of leave taken. Employees who do not qualify for SPP will be issued form SPP1 explaining why.

5. Enhanced paternity pay. [Optional - replace with your actual offer, e.g. "Employees with 26 weeks' service receive [X] weeks at full pay, then SPP only."]

6. Annual leave. Statutory and contractual annual leave continues to accrue throughout paternity leave, including bank holidays. Annual leave cannot be taken during paternity leave but may be taken immediately before or after.

7. Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave. If the mother or primary adopter dies within the first year of the child's life or adoption placement, the surviving partner is entitled to up to 52 weeks of unpaid Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave under the Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave Regulations 2026. [Optional: state any enhanced pay you will offer during this leave.]

8. Protection from detriment. Employees taking or planning to take paternity leave are protected from any detrimental treatment, including dismissal, by reason of taking the leave.

For the broader leave-policy framework that this clause sits inside, see our guide to writing a UK leave policy, which includes a downloadable Word template covering all leave types. For the parallel maternity rules, see our maternity leave employer guide.

Sources

Primary sources cited in this guide

GOV.UK Statutory Paternity Pay and Leave: employer guide
GOV.UK Paternity pay and leave (employee guide)
GOV.UK Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027
GOV.UK Day-one rights to paternity leave from 6 April 2026 (announcement)
ACAS Paternity leave and pay
ACAS Bereaved partner's paternity leave
legislation.gov.uk Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024
legislation.gov.uk Employment Rights Act 1996 (Part VIII - paternity leave)
legislation.gov.uk Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave Regulations 2026

FAQs

How long is statutory paternity leave in the UK in 2026?
An eligible employee can take 1 or 2 weeks of statutory paternity leave. Since 6 April 2024, the 2 weeks can be taken either as a single block or as two separate 1-week blocks, at any point in the first 52 weeks after the birth or adoption placement. The entitlement is the same whether the employee has one child or multiple children from the same pregnancy, including twins.
Is paternity leave a day-one right in 2026?
Yes, from 6 April 2026 statutory paternity LEAVE is a day-one right under the Employment Rights Act 2025 - the previous 26-week service requirement has been removed. However, statutory paternity PAY still requires 26 weeks of continuous service ending with the qualifying week (the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth). An employee with under 26 weeks' service therefore qualifies for unpaid leave but not pay.
How much is statutory paternity pay in 2026?
From 6 April 2026, statutory paternity pay (SPP) is the lower of £194.32 per week or 90% of the employee's average weekly earnings, paid for the 1 or 2 weeks of leave taken. The £194.32 rate is up from £187.18. To qualify for SPP, the employee must have at least 26 weeks' continuous service ending with the qualifying week and average weekly earnings of at least £129 per week (up from £125).
How much notice does an employee need to give for paternity leave?
Two notices are required. First, the employee must tell the employer they intend to take paternity leave at least 15 weeks before the expected week of childbirth, including the expected due date and a declaration of eligibility. Second, the employee must give 28 days' notice of the specific dates of each period of leave (since 6 April 2024, down from 15 weeks). If they want to vary the dates, they need to give 28 days' notice of the variation. Adoption notice rules differ - notice of leave dates must be given within 7 days of being matched.
Can an employer refuse paternity leave?
No. An employer cannot refuse statutory paternity leave or postpone it to different dates if the employee is eligible and has given the correct notice. This is unlike annual leave, where the employer has some control over timing. An employer can only refuse statutory paternity pay if the employee fails the eligibility tests (under 26 weeks' service or earnings below the threshold), and must give the employee form SPP1 within 28 days explaining why.
What is Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave?
Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave is a separate statutory right that came into force on 6 April 2026 under the Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave Regulations 2026. If the mother or primary adopter dies within the first year of the child's life or adoption, the surviving partner is entitled to up to 52 weeks of leave to care for the child. It is a day-one right with no minimum service requirement, but it is unpaid by law - employers can offer pay at their discretion. It applies in England, Scotland and Wales but not Northern Ireland.
About this guide

Written by the Book Time Off editorial team. We build leave management software for UK SMEs and write practical guides on UK employment law, holiday entitlement, and HR best practice. All content is reviewed against current GOV.UK and ACAS guidance and updated as the rules change.

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This is not legal advice
This guide explains the general legal framework. It is not a substitute for specific legal advice on your situation. If you are dealing with a contested SPP decision, an SPL interaction, or a Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave request, take advice from an employment lawyer or contact the ACAS helpline.