Family leave
Statutory Adoption Pay calculator
The date you were told of the match, the day leave starts, your start date and your earnings: the calculator checks eligibility and lays out the 39 weeks.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) mirrors maternity pay: 39 weeks, the first 6 at 90% of your average weekly earnings and the remaining weeks at £194.32 or 90% if lower. What changes is the reference week. For an adoption in the UK it is the matching week, the week (Sunday to Saturday) in which the agency tells you that you have been matched with a child; you need 26 weeks of continuous employment with your employer by the end of it and average earnings of at least £129 a week. Adoption leave of up to 52 weeks has no qualifying period for an employee. Only one adopter in a couple takes adoption leave and pay; the other can take paternity leave and pay, and the couple can switch to shared parental leave. Leave for a UK adoption can start up to 14 days before the expected placement, and the same rules apply in Northern Ireland.
Statutory Adoption Pay, 39 weeks
£9,707
6 weeks at £549.00, then up to £194.32 a week
| Matching week | 8 November 2026 to 14 November 2026 |
| Adoption leave (no qualifying period for employees) | 7 December 2026 to 5 December 2027 |
| Tell your employer within 7 days of the match, by | 19 November 2026 |
Week-by-week schedule
| Week | From | Rule | Gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 December 2026 | 90% of earnings | £549.00 |
| 2 | 14 December 2026 | 90% of earnings | £549.00 |
| 3 | 21 December 2026 | 90% of earnings | £549.00 |
| 4 | 28 December 2026 | 90% of earnings | £549.00 |
| 5 | 4 January 2027 | 90% of earnings | £549.00 |
| 6 | 11 January 2027 | 90% of earnings | £549.00 |
| 7 | 18 January 2027 | flat rate | £194.32 |
| 8 | 25 January 2027 | flat rate | £194.32 |
| 9 | 1 February 2027 | flat rate | £194.32 |
| 10 | 8 February 2027 | flat rate | £194.32 |
| 11 | 15 February 2027 | flat rate | £194.32 |
| 12 | 22 February 2027 | flat rate | £194.32 |
| 13 | 1 March 2027 | flat rate | £194.32 |
| 14 | 8 March 2027 | flat rate | £194.32 |
| 15 | 15 March 2027 | flat rate | £194.32 |
| 16 | 22 March 2027 | flat rate | £194.32 |
| 17 | 29 March 2027 | flat rate | £194.32 |
| 18 | 5 April 2027 | flat rate (2027/28 rate not set yet) | £194.32 |
| 19 | 12 April 2027 | flat rate (2027/28 rate not set yet) | £194.32 |
| 20 | 19 April 2027 | flat rate (2027/28 rate not set yet) | £194.32 |
| 21 | 26 April 2027 | flat rate (2027/28 rate not set yet) | £194.32 |
| 22 | 3 May 2027 | flat rate (2027/28 rate not set yet) | £194.32 |
| 23 | 10 May 2027 | flat rate (2027/28 rate not set yet) | £194.32 |
| 24 | 17 May 2027 | flat rate (2027/28 rate not set yet) | £194.32 |
| 25 | 24 May 2027 | flat rate (2027/28 rate not set yet) | £194.32 |
| 26 | 31 May 2027 | flat rate (2027/28 rate not set yet) | £194.32 |
| 27 | 7 June 2027 | flat rate (2027/28 rate not set yet) | £194.32 |
| 28 | 14 June 2027 | flat rate (2027/28 rate not set yet) | £194.32 |
| 29 | 21 June 2027 | flat rate (2027/28 rate not set yet) | £194.32 |
| 30 | 28 June 2027 | flat rate (2027/28 rate not set yet) | £194.32 |
| 31 | 5 July 2027 | flat rate (2027/28 rate not set yet) | £194.32 |
| 32 | 12 July 2027 | flat rate (2027/28 rate not set yet) | £194.32 |
| 33 | 19 July 2027 | flat rate (2027/28 rate not set yet) | £194.32 |
| 34 | 26 July 2027 | flat rate (2027/28 rate not set yet) | £194.32 |
| 35 | 2 August 2027 | flat rate (2027/28 rate not set yet) | £194.32 |
| 36 | 9 August 2027 | flat rate (2027/28 rate not set yet) | £194.32 |
| 37 | 16 August 2027 | flat rate (2027/28 rate not set yet) | £194.32 |
| 38 | 23 August 2027 | flat rate (2027/28 rate not set yet) | £194.32 |
| 39 | 30 August 2027 | flat rate (2027/28 rate not set yet) | £194.32 |
Reading the result
With the example filled in, the match is notified on 12 November 2026: the matching week runs from 8 November 2026 to 14 November 2026, so employment must have started by 23 May 2026. Leave and pay start on 7 December 2026. An adopter earning £610 a week receives £549.00 for six weeks, then £194.32 a week, £9,707 in total. The schedule under the result lists every week; weeks starting after the April 2027 uprating are priced at the current rate until the new rate is published.
Notice to give
Tell your employer within 7 days of being matched how much leave you want and when it should start, and ask for SAP at least 28 days before you want it to begin. The employer can ask for the matching certificate from the agency. For an overseas adoption the dates run from the official notification and the child’s arrival in the UK instead; the calculator covers UK adoptions only.
Keeping in touch days work as for maternity leave (KIT days), and the averaging of earnings follows the same method as for SMP (average weekly earnings).