Glossary · UK
What is Statutory Paternity Leave and Pay?
A new father or partner's right to take up to two weeks off work around the birth or adoption of a child, paid at a flat statutory rate or 90% of average earnings if lower.
Full Definition
Statutory Paternity Leave gives an eligible employee -- typically the father, or the mother's partner, including in same-sex couples and adoptive families -- the right to take one or two consecutive weeks off work within a set period following the birth or placement for adoption of a child, to support the mother or main adopter and bond with the child. Statutory Paternity Pay is paid at the lower of a flat statutory weekly rate (£194.32 for 2026/27, the same rate used for Statutory Maternity Pay after its first six weeks) or 90% of the employee's average weekly earnings, provided they meet minimum service and earnings tests, including working continuously for the same employer for at least 26 weeks by a qualifying week and earning above the Lower Earnings Limit. Reforms effective from April 2024 removed the previous requirement to take the leave in one block, allowing eligible employees to split their one or two weeks and take them at separate points within the first year after the birth or placement, and shortened the notice period required to request or change leave dates, giving new fathers and partners more flexibility than under the previous rules. Paternity leave and pay is distinct from Shared Parental Leave, which allows eligible parents to split a much larger pool of leave and pay between them, and can be taken in addition to, though not typically alongside, that separate entitlement.