Statutory Paternity Pay Calculator

The Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) calculator works out how much you receive during your two weeks of paternity leave in 2025/26 — £187.18 per week, or 90% of your average weekly earnings if that figure is lower. It also models any enhanced employer top-up such as full pay for the two-week period, which is a common contractual benefit at larger employers. Your employer pays SPP through normal payroll and reclaims most of it (92%, or 103% for small employers) from HMRC. To qualify, you need 26 weeks of continuous employment with the same employer by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (the qualifying week), average weekly earnings of at least £125 (the Lower Earnings Limit for 2025/26), and you must be the father, the mother's partner or an intended parent. Since April 2024, the two weeks can be taken as separate single weeks within 52 weeks of birth, rather than only as a consecutive block. This tool is for new and expectant fathers and partners planning leave, HR teams modelling parental-leave costs, and self-employed dads checking they are not eligible (SPP is employee-only — there is no statutory equivalent to Maternity Allowance for fathers). It also helps couples weigh paternity leave against Shared Parental Leave (SPL), which can give partners up to 50 weeks combined and 37 weeks of statutory pay split between them. What the calculator does NOT model: the full impact on income tax and Class 1 NI of the lower pay during leave (it is taxed normally through PAYE but at lower earnings most basic-rate dads pay little or no tax those weeks), child benefit or HICBC implications, Tax-Free Childcare timing, or the rules for adoption pay. It assumes a single PAYE employment with continuous service. Regional notes: SPP eligibility and rates are UK-wide via HMRC and DWP, so the figures apply identically across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Pair with the Maternity Pay calculator for the partner's pay, and Take-Home Pay to understand monthly net during the leave period.