Answers · UK 2025/26

What is Statutory Adoption Pay and how much do I get?

Statutory Adoption Pay mirrors Statutory Maternity Pay closely -- eligible adoptive parents can take up to 52 weeks of Adoption Leave, with the first 39 weeks paid: 90% of average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks, then the lower of the standard statutory weekly rate or 90% of average earnings for the remaining 33 weeks. Eligibility requires 26 weeks' continuous employment with the same employer by the relevant qualifying week and earnings above the Lower Earnings Limit.

Last updated: 2 July 2026Last reviewed: 2 July 2026How we verify

Full answer

Statutory Adoption Pay and Leave give adoptive parents broadly equivalent rights to those available to birth mothers through maternity leave and pay, reflecting the principle that the parental leave system should treat different routes to parenthood consistently. **Adoption Leave -- up to 52 weeks, same structure as maternity leave** Eligible employees adopting a child (or having a child through a surrogacy arrangement, where similar rules apply via Statutory Parental Order Pay) can take up to 52 weeks of Adoption Leave, split into 26 weeks of Ordinary Adoption Leave followed by 26 weeks of Additional Adoption Leave, mirroring the structure of Statutory Maternity Leave closely. **Statutory Adoption Pay -- the two-tier rate** Of the 52 weeks of leave, 39 weeks are paid as Statutory Adoption Pay, using the same two-tier structure as Statutory Maternity Pay: the first 6 weeks are paid at 90% of average weekly earnings (with no cap), and the remaining 33 weeks are paid at the LOWER of the standard statutory weekly rate (uprated annually) or 90% of average weekly earnings -- in practice, most employees earning above a moderate salary receive the flat statutory rate for these later 33 weeks, since 90% of their earnings will exceed that flat rate. **Eligibility conditions** To qualify for Statutory Adoption Pay, the employee generally needs 26 weeks of continuous employment with the same employer by the end of the relevant "matching week" (the week they're notified of being matched with a child for adoption), continuing to be employed up to the point leave starts, and needs average weekly earnings above the Lower Earnings Limit -- these conditions closely mirror those for Statutory Maternity Pay, just adapted to the adoption timeline (matching week, rather than the expected week of childbirth). **Which parent takes Adoption Leave in a couple** In a couple adopting together, only ONE parent can take Adoption Leave and Pay -- the couple must decide between themselves who will be the "adopter" taking the main leave, while the other partner may be eligible for Statutory Paternity Leave and Pay instead (broadly equivalent to how paternity leave works alongside maternity leave for birth parents), or the couple could choose to use Shared Parental Leave to split the adoption leave pot flexibly between them, similar to how it works for birth parents. **Single adopters** A single person adopting a child is entitled to the same Adoption Leave and Pay as one half of an adopting couple would be (up to 52 weeks leave, 39 weeks pay under the same two-tier structure), since the entitlement is based on the individual employee's circumstances and eligibility, not on there being two parents involved. **Adopting from overseas** Specific rules apply for employees adopting a child from overseas, with entitlement generally starting from when the child enters the UK or when the employee returns to the UK with the child, rather than from a UK-based matching date -- the underlying pay and leave amounts follow the same structure, but the specific notice and timing rules differ from a domestic UK adoption. **Statutory Paternity Pay for the partner** The partner of the person taking Adoption Leave can typically claim Statutory Paternity Leave and Pay (up to 2 weeks, at the standard statutory weekly rate, subject to meeting the qualifying employment and earnings conditions), giving the family broadly similar options to those available around the birth of a child. **Employer-enhanced adoption pay** As with maternity pay, many employers choose to enhance Statutory Adoption Pay beyond the statutory minimum as part of their family-friendly benefits package -- given the direct equivalence Parliament intended between maternity and adoption pay rights, most employers who enhance maternity pay also apply an equivalent enhancement to adoption pay, though it's always worth checking your specific employer's policy rather than assuming. **Practical tip** If you're part of a couple adopting together, discuss early on which of you will take the main Adoption Leave (since it can only be one of you) and whether Shared Parental Leave might give you more flexibility than the standard adoption leave plus paternity leave combination, since the right choice depends on both your relative incomes and how you'd prefer to split childcare responsibilities during the first year.