Paternity pay and leave: Employer responsibilities

Published Friday 25 September 2026

Table of contents

• What is statutory paternity pay and leave?
• Who's eligible for paternity pay and leave?
• How much is statutory paternity pay in 2026/27?
• How long is paternity leave and when can it be taken?
• What notice does your employee need to give you?
• How to pay statutory paternity pay through payroll
• How to reclaim statutory paternity pay from HMRC
• How paternity pay fits with maternity and shared parental leave
• Your other responsibilities as an employer
• Simplify paternity pay with Xero
• FAQs on paternity pay for employers

Key takeaways

• Eligible employees can take up to two weeks' paid paternity leave, either as one block or two separate one-week blocks, any time in the first year after the birth or adoption.
• Statutory paternity pay is £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower, for the 2026/27 tax year.
• You pay statutory paternity pay through payroll and deduct tax and National Insurance as usual, then reclaim most of it from HMRC.
• Small employers can reclaim 109% of the pay they hand out; other employers reclaim 92%.

What is statutory paternity pay and leave?

Statutory paternity leave is paid time off for an employee supporting their partner after a birth or adoption, and statutory paternity pay (SPP) is the minimum you must pay them during that time. The leave is the time; the pay is the money.

Both are legal minimums, so you can choose to offer more if you want to. Your employee takes the leave to care for the child or support the person who's given birth, and you pay them SPP for up to two weeks of it.

Someone can qualify for the leave without qualifying for the pay, because the eligibility tests are different, as the next section explains.

Who's eligible for paternity pay and leave?

Your employee qualifies for paternity leave from their first day with you, but they need to meet a service and earnings test to qualify for the pay. So it's common for someone to get the time off without getting SPP.

To take paternity leave, your employee usually needs to meet these conditions:

• Have the right relationship to the child: They must be the father, the partner of the mother or adopter, the child's adopter, or the intended parent in a surrogacy arrangement, and expect to help raise the child.
• Be classed as an employee: Workers and the self-employed don't qualify for statutory leave.

To get statutory paternity pay on top of the leave, your employee also needs to:

• Have 26 weeks' continuous service: They must have worked for you continuously up to the qualifying week, which is the 15th week before the baby is due.
• Still be employed by you: They need to stay employed up to the date of the birth or adoption placement.
• Earn at least £129 a week gross: This is their average earnings before tax over the eight-week relevant period.

Because leave starts from day one but pay carries a service test, always check both before you confirm anything with your employee.

How much is statutory paternity pay in 2026/27?

Statutory paternity pay is £194.32 a week or 90% of your employee's average weekly earnings, whichever is lower, for up to two weeks in the 2026/27 tax year. Most employees on a typical salary get the flat £194.32 rate, because 90% of their earnings work out higher.

Average weekly earnings are simply what your employee earned on average each week over the eight weeks up to the qualifying week. You deduct tax and National Insurance (NI) from SPP just as you would from normal wages, so your employee receives the after-tax amount.

You can also choose to offer enhanced, or contractual, paternity pay above the statutory minimum. Plenty of employers top up SPP to full pay for the two weeks as a benefit, though you're never required to.

How long is paternity leave and when can it be taken?

Your employee can take up to two weeks of paternity leave, and recent rules make it far more flexible than it used to be. They can take it as one block of one or two weeks, or as two separate one-week blocks.

The leave can be taken any time within 52 weeks of the birth or the adoption placement. That gives your employee a full year to fit the time around the family's needs, rather than having to use it all straight after the birth.

This flexibility means you might see two shorter absences from the same employee across the year, so it's worth planning to cover for two one-week gaps early.

What notice does your employee need to give you?

Your employee needs to give you notice at set points, and the deadlines differ for the pay and the leave. Getting these dates on file early keeps your payroll run tidy.

Here's the notice your employee usually needs to give:

• Confirm the due date. They should tell you the baby's due date at least 15 weeks before the baby is expected.
• Book the leave. They need to give at least 28 days' notice of the start date and length of each block of leave.
• Claim the pay. They should claim SPP at least 15 weeks before the expected week of birth.

Notice doesn't have to be in writing unless you ask for it, though written notice gives you both a clear record. You can also ask your employee for reasonable evidence, such as a completed declaration form.

How to pay statutory paternity pay through payroll

You pay statutory paternity pay through your normal payroll process, treating it much like ordinary wages with tax and NI taken off. Work through these steps in order so the payment and the records line up.

1. Confirm eligibility and that notice was given

Check that your employee meets the relationship, service, and earnings tests, and that they gave you notice by the right deadlines. Confirming this first means you avoid paying SPP to someone who doesn't qualify and having to unpick it later.

2. Work out average weekly earnings

Add up what your employee earned in the eight-week relevant period and divide by eight to get their average weekly earnings. Compare 90% of that figure with £194.32 and use whichever is lower as the weekly rate.

3. Pay SPP in your normal payroll run

Include the SPP in the same pay run you'd normally use, for up to two weeks. Your payroll software can flag the payment as statutory paternity pay so it's recorded correctly for your reclaim.

4. Deduct tax and National Insurance

Take tax and NI off the SPP exactly as you would in your regular payroll process. Your employee gets the net amount, and you report the deductions to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in the usual way. Good online payroll software handles these calculations and submissions for you.

5. Keep your records

Hold on to the dates, the earnings calculation, the notice your employee gave, and the amount of SPP you paid. You need to keep these records for three years after the end of the tax year they relate to.

How to reclaim statutory paternity pay from HMRC

You can reclaim most of the statutory paternity pay you pay out, and you recover it through payroll rather than as a separate claim. Standard employers reclaim 92% of the SPP they've paid.

Small employers can reclaim 109%. You count as a small employer for this if you paid £45,000 or less in Class 1 National Insurance contributions (NICs) in the previous tax year, which brings in an extra amount known as Small Employers' Relief.

You claim the money back through your Employer Payment Summary (EPS) as part of your regular payroll submissions to HMRC. The full process is set out on GOV.UK in its guide to recovering statutory payments, including the exact percentages and how the relief works.

How paternity pay fits with maternity and shared parental leave

Paternity pay is one of several parental payments, and your employee's family might use more than one. Knowing how they connect helps you answer questions and plan cover.

Statutory maternity pay (SMP) runs for up to 39 weeks: the first six weeks at 90% of average weekly earnings, then up to 33 weeks at £194.32 or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. It goes to the person who's given birth, not the partner taking paternity leave.

Shared parental leave (SPL) lets parents share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay after the mother ends her maternity leave early. Statutory shared parental pay (ShPP) is £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.

An employee might take paternity leave straight after the birth and then use shared parental leave later in the year. The UK government explains the rules in its shared parental leave employer guide, and it's worth signposting your team to your own maternity and parental leave policies too.

Your other responsibilities as an employer

Beyond paying SPP, you have a handful of duties that protect your employee and keep you compliant. Treating paternity leave fairly is a legal requirement, not just good practice.

Your main responsibilities include:

• Protecting their terms: Keep the employee's employment terms in place during leave and give them the right to return to work.
• Avoiding unfair treatment: Don't treat an employee unfairly or subject them to any detriment for taking, or asking to take, paternity leave.
• Issuing form SPP1 when needed: If your employee doesn't qualify for SPP, give them form SPP1 within 28 days so they can explore other support.
• Keeping clear policies: Hold accessible, up-to-date policies and records so everyone knows where they stand.

Handled well, these steps give your employee confidence and keep your business on the right side of the rules. The official employer guide to paternity pay and leave on GOV.UK is a useful reference to bookmark.

Simplify paternity pay with Xero

Working out statutory pay, deductions, and reclaims by hand takes time you'd rather spend running your business. Online payroll does the heavy lifting: it calculates statutory paternity pay, takes off tax and National Insurance, and tracks what you can recover from HMRC, all in one place.That means fewer manual calculations, cleaner records, and more confidence at tax time.

Ready to make paternity pay simpler? Get one month free.

FAQs on paternity pay for employers

Here are quick answers to the questions employers ask most often about paternity pay and leave.

Do employers have to pay paternity pay?

Yes, you must pay statutory paternity pay to any employee who meets the eligibility rules, and you can't opt out. You can choose to pay more than the statutory minimum, but never less.

Can you claim statutory paternity pay back from HMRC?

Yes, you reclaim it through your payroll submissions rather than filing a separate claim. The percentage you get back depends on whether you count as a small employer.

What happens if your employee doesn't qualify for paternity pay?

You give them form SPP1 within 28 days, which explains why they don't qualify and points them towards other support. They may still be entitled to take the leave even without the pay.

Can an employee take paternity leave and shared parental leave?

Yes, an employee can take their paternity leave and then use shared parental leave later, as long as they meet the conditions for each. The two are separate entitlements with their own rules.