Paternity leave in the UK: two weeks, £194.32 and two notice deadlines

Paternity leave in the UK is short and tightly bound by deadlines: two weeks, a fixed weekly rate, and notice to your employer 15 weeks before the birth. Here is who qualifies, what it pays and what happens if you miss the notice.

How long is Paternity Leave and when can you take it?

Up to two weeks. You can take both weeks together or as two separate one-week blocks. The number of children makes no difference: twins bring the same entitlement.

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A week of leave is the number of days you normally work in a week. If you work Mondays and Tuesdays, a week of leave is two days. Leave cannot start before the birth and must end within 52 weeks of the birth, or of the due date if the baby is early. The start and end rules differ if you adopt, and Northern Ireland has its own rules.

You do not have to name an exact date. A general marker is enough — the day of the birth, or one week after.

Who qualifies for the leave and the pay?

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 the leave you need to be an employee and give the correct notice — the right applies from your first day of employment. The pay has more conditions: you must be employed up to the date of birth, earn an average of at least £129 a week before tax, and have been continuously employed by that employer for at least 26 weeks up to the end of any day in the "qualifying week", which is the 15th week before the baby is due.

If you have taken paid time off to attend adoption appointments, you cannot then get Paternity Pay and Leave. If you do not qualify, your employer must tell you within 28 days and explain why, using form SPP1.

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How much does it pay in 2026?

The statutory weekly rate is £194.32, or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. It is paid the same way as wages, with tax and National Insurance deducted. An employer may pay more under a company scheme, but never less than the statutory amount.

Your employer must confirm the start and end dates of your Paternity Pay when you claim it. To move the start of a paid block, give 28 days' notice.

How much notice does your employer need?

Two separate deadlines, and confusing them is expensive. You must tell your employer the baby's due date at least 15 weeks before it. You can do this with the online form, previously form SC3: fill it in, download or print it and send it to your employer. If your employer has its own form, use that instead.

The second deadline is at least 28 days before the leave starts: you say when you want it to begin and whether you are taking one week or two. Moving the start date also takes 28 days' notice. GOV.UK has a paternity planner that works out the cut-off dates.

One exception: 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, the 15-week notice does not apply, though the 28-day notice still does. For babies due on or after 26 July 2026 both notice periods apply.

You do not need to provide proof of the pregnancy or the birth, and you claim both leave and pay through your employer, not from the state.

What else can you take beyond the two weeks?

Time off for antenatal appointments: up to 6.5 hours for each of two appointments to accompany the pregnant woman. It is unpaid, though an employer may allow longer. The right belongs to the baby's father, the expectant mother's spouse or civil partner, a person in a long-term relationship with her, and the intended parent in a surrogacy arrangement. If you are adopting, you can attend two adoption appointments once you have been matched with a child.

Beyond that there is Shared Parental Leave and Pay, and Unpaid Parental Leave of 18 weeks per child up to their 18th birthday. Paternity Leave can be combined with either, in any order.

What about your rights at work and losing a baby?

Employment rights are protected during the leave: pay rises still apply to you, holiday continues to build up, and you keep the right to return to work.

If your baby is stillborn from 24 weeks of pregnancy, or born alive at any point in the pregnancy, you keep the right to Paternity Pay and Leave. Leave you had already booked can still be taken; if there is leave left to book after the loss, you can still book and take it, but you must do so within eight weeks of the death. Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay and Leave may also apply.