Paternity and partner leave in the UK

What you are entitled to

Leave and pay are two separate entitlements with two separate tests, and it is common to qualify for one and not the other. Getting this the wrong way round is the single most expensive mistake partners make.

Paternity Leave is 2 weeks. You can take both weeks together or as two separate one-week blocks. A "week" means the number of days you normally work, so a two-day-a-week job gives a two-day week of leave. You get the same two weeks whether you have one baby or twins.

Leave cannot start before the birth, and it must end within 52 weeks of the birth, or of the due date if the baby arrives early. You do not have to name a precise date up front; "the day of the birth" or "one week after the birth" is enough.

Statutory Paternity Pay is £194.32 a week, or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. HMRC set that as the 2026 to 2027 rate and it applies from 6 April 2026. It is paid like wages, with tax and National Insurance deducted. A contractual scheme can pay more but never less.

Who qualifies

You must be taking the time off to look after the child, and be the father, the husband or partner of the mother or adopter including same-sex partners, the child's adopter, or the intended parent in a surrogacy arrangement.

For leave

You need to be an employee and give the correct notice. That is the whole test. Paternity Leave is a day-one right — length of service is irrelevant. Workers who are not employees, and the self-employed, are excluded entirely.

For pay

All four of these must hold:

• You are employed by your employer up to the date of birth.
• You have been continuously employed for at least 26 weeks up to the end of any day in the qualifying week — the 15th week before the baby is due.
• Your average weekly earnings are at least £129 a week before tax. That is the Lower Earnings Limit for 2026/27 and it moves every year.
• You give the correct notice.

If you do not qualify, your employer must tell you within 28 days and give you form SPP1 explaining why. Keep it: it is the evidence you need if you challenge the decision.

The notice deadlines

There are two, and the first one lands earlier than most people expect.

• At least 15 weeks before the due date: tell your employer when the baby is due. There is an online form for this, previously form SC3, which you complete, print and send to your employer — unless your employer has its own form, in which case use theirs.
• At least 28 days before the leave starts: tell your employer when you want leave to begin and whether you want one week or two. The same 28 days applies if you later move the start date.

There is a transitional easement worth knowing. If your baby is due before 25 July 2026 and you will have been employed for less than 26 weeks up to any day in the qualifying week, you do not need to give the 15 weeks' notice. You still need the 28 days' notice of your start date. For babies due on or after 26 July 2026, both notice periods apply as normal.

You do not need to provide proof of the pregnancy or the birth. Your employer cannot demand a MATB1 from you.

Beyond the two weeks

Shared Parental Leave lets a mother or adopter end their maternity or adoption leave early and share the balance with a partner: up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay between you, at the same £194.32 weekly rate. It can be taken in up to three separate blocks each, and you can take Paternity Leave and Shared Parental Leave in any order.

Unpaid Parental Leave is a separate 18 weeks per child, usable up to the child's 18th birthday, normally in blocks of a week.

Antenatal appointments: you can take unpaid time off to accompany a pregnant woman to two antenatal appointments, up to 6 hours 30 minutes each. Permanent employees can use this immediately; agency workers need 12 weeks in the job first. Adopters get the same for two adoption appointments after being matched.

If something goes wrong

Paternity Leave and Pay still apply if your baby is stillborn from 24 weeks of pregnancy, or born alive at any point in the pregnancy. Leave you had already booked can be taken, and any leave you have not yet booked can be booked and taken within 8 weeks of the death. Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay and Leave may also apply.

Your employment rights are protected throughout: pay rises, accrued holiday and the right to return to your job all continue to run.

If you do not qualify for pay

The two weeks of leave are still yours if you are an employee, whatever the SPP1 says — they are simply unpaid. Several things can then close the gap. Check whether your employer runs a contractual paternity scheme, because many pay full salary for the two weeks and the enhanced terms are usually buried in a staff handbook rather than advertised. Check whether you have accrued annual leave you can take immediately after the two weeks. If your household income drops, a new or revised Universal Credit claim can pick up part of the shortfall, and a claim has to be made in the assessment period you want it to count for, so waiting until the money has run out costs you.

Agency workers and the genuinely self-employed have no statutory paternity entitlement at all. Neither does a partner who is a worker rather than an employee. If your employment status is disputed — and it often is for gig and contract work — the status test, not your job title, decides it.

Where to get help

GOV.UK is the governing authority, and HMRC's employer rates guidance is where the weekly figure and the Lower Earnings Limit are set each year — check the tax year you will actually be paid in, because leave that straddles April crosses a rate change. Northern Ireland operates under separate rules. If your employer refuses leave or pay you believe you are entitled to, Acas is the first port of call before any tribunal claim.