An employee who joined last week says their baby is due in three months. They may qualify for statutory paternity leave even though they do not qualify for statutory paternity pay. Since 6 April 2026, leave has been a day-one right, while the pay rules still include service and earnings tests. That distinction should drive the employer's response, payroll decision and written confirmation.
Separate the right to leave from the right to pay
An employee can qualify for statutory paternity leave from their first day of employment. The previous 26-week service requirement for leave was removed on 6 April 2026. The employee must still have, or expect to have, responsibility for bringing up the child and normally be the child's father or the spouse, civil partner or partner of the mother or birth parent. Different detail applies to adoption and surrogacy.
Statutory paternity pay is a separate calculation. For a birth, the worker normally needs 26 weeks' continuous employment with the same employer by the qualifying week, must remain employed up to the birth, and must earn at least £129 a week on average during the relevant eight-week period. The qualifying week is the 15th week before the baby is due.
A short-service employee may therefore be entitled to protected time off but receive no statutory paternity pay. Do not reject the leave request simply because payroll says the pay test is not met. Record two decisions: leave eligibility and pay eligibility.
Acas: paternity leave rights ↗ · GOV.UK: employer eligibility checks ↗
Check the notice in two stages
For a birth expected on or after 26 July 2026, the usual notice periods apply. Before the end of the qualifying week, the employee should tell the employer that they are having a baby, intend to take paternity leave and the expected week of childbirth. They should also confirm in writing that they meet the relevant relationship and caring-purpose conditions.
The employee must then identify when the leave will start and how much they intend to take at least 28 days before each period. Notice of the dates does not have to be written unless the employer requests it, but a written record helps both sides. If the employee wants two separate weeks, make sure both periods are recorded.
Late notice is not automatically misconduct or a reason to refuse leave. Ask why it was late and whether there is a reasonable excuse. Early or late birth, premature delivery and hospital care can change the practical dates. Confirm the agreed position in writing rather than relying on an informal conversation with the line manager.
Record the leave pattern correctly
The statutory entitlement is one or two weeks. The employee can take two weeks together or two separate blocks of one week. A statutory week follows the employee's normal working week, so somebody working Monday and Tuesday uses a week of leave by being absent on those two normal working days.
Leave cannot start before the birth. It can be taken at any point during the first 52 weeks after the birth, subject to the special due-date rule where the baby is born early. Since 6 April 2026, paternity leave may also be taken after shared parental leave; the former restriction has been removed.
Keep the statutory entitlement separate from enhanced contractual arrangements. A business may offer longer leave, full pay or more flexible blocks, but its policy should say clearly what is statutory and what is additional. Apply enhanced terms consistently and check whether they create any repayment conditions.
GOV.UK: when paternity leave can be taken ↗ · Acas: shared parental leave planning ↗
Make the pay decision and explain it
For the 2026–27 tax year, statutory paternity pay is £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. It is payable for up to two weeks where the eligibility and notice requirements are met. Use the GOV.UK employer calculator for the relevant period, especially where pay varies, the employee was absent or the birth was early.
If statutory pay is not due, tell the employee in writing within 28 days of receiving the notice. GOV.UK provides form SPP1 for this purpose. Explain the reason without implying that the leave itself has also been refused. Payroll should retain the calculation and HR should keep the leave confirmation with the employee's family-leave record.
Check the contract before communicating enhanced pay. Statutory paternity pay does not have to be repaid if the employee does not return, but a clear contractual scheme may contain repayment conditions for the enhanced element. Remind the employee of any such term before enhanced pay begins.
Separate the HR approval from the payroll calculation.
HR + SAFETY can check the notice, qualifying week, leave pattern and statutory pay test before dates and pay are confirmed.
Discuss a paternity leave caseProtect employment rights during leave
Holiday continues to accrue during statutory paternity leave. On return, the employee's job and terms must remain the same. The employer must not subject somebody to detriment for taking or planning to take the leave. Dismissal because of paternity leave can be automatically unfair regardless of length of service.
Agree sensible contact before the leave starts. The employer must still tell the employee about promotion opportunities, redundancies and reorganisations that may affect their job. Avoid routine work requests during a short period of family leave, but do not exclude the employee from important information or decisions.
If the employee requests a different working pattern on return, handle that through the statutory flexible-working process rather than treating it as part of the paternity-leave approval. If the baby requires neonatal care, a separate day-one leave entitlement may also apply and should be mapped alongside the booked paternity leave.
Acas: returning from paternity leave ↗ · Related guide: neonatal care leave → · Related guide: flexible working requests →
Manager and payroll checklist
Legal requirements and official guidance were checked on 29 September 2026. This guide reflects the day-one leave change that took effect on 6 April 2026. The 26-week service and minimum-earnings requirements for statutory paternity pay remain in place. Northern Ireland has separate rules and guidance.
- Confirm employee status and the person's relationship and caring responsibility.
- Assess statutory leave and statutory pay under separate tests.
- Record the expected week of childbirth and qualifying week.
- Check the initial notice and the 28-day notice for each leave period.
- Confirm whether leave will be one week, two weeks together or two separate weeks.
- Calculate statutory pay using the correct relevant period and current rate.
- Issue SPP1 within 28 days if statutory pay is not due.
- Agree work cover and proportionate contact before leave starts.
- Keep the employee informed about vacancies, redundancy and reorganisation.
- Restore the same job and terms when the employee returns.
- Check for neonatal, shared parental, ordinary parental or dependants-leave rights where relevant.
Paternity leave and paternity pay are no longer governed by the same service test. Check the leave first, calculate pay separately, confirm both decisions in writing and plan the employee's return without disadvantaging them for using a statutory right.
This guide provides general information for UK employers. It is not legal advice and should not replace advice based on the facts of a specific matter.