Family leave
Paternity pay calculator for Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Where you work, the due date, your start date and your pay: the calculator separates the right to leave from the right to be paid, which since April 2026 no longer go together in Great Britain.
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Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) is £194.32 a week, or 90% of average weekly earnings if that is less, for one week or two. To be paid it you must have worked for the employer for 26 weeks by the end of the qualifying week, the 15th week before the baby is due, still be employed on the day of the birth and earn at least £129 a week on average. The leave works differently. In England, Scotland and Wales, section 16 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 removed the qualifying period from 6 April 2026, so paternity leave is now a right from the first day in the job, and the two weeks can be taken together or separately at any time in the 52 weeks after the birth. Northern Ireland still requires 26 weeks’ service for the leave and a single block within 56 days. Two paid weeks at the flat rate come to £388.64 before tax.
Statutory Paternity Pay
£388.64
2 × £194.32 (the lower of £194.32 and 90% of earnings)
| Paternity leave | Yes, a day-one right |
| How it can be taken | 1 or 2 weeks, together or as two separate weeks |
| Leave must end by | 16 January 2028 |
| Tell your employer the due date by | 10 October 2026 |
Great Britain: since 6 April 2026 paternity leave has no qualifying period (Employment Rights Act 2025, s.16). Pay keeps the 26-week and earnings conditions.
The example in the calculator
The calculator opens on a baby due on 18 January 2027, a father who started on 3 November 2025 and earns £690 a week, taking two weeks from the due date. The qualifying week runs from 4 October 2026 to 10 October 2026, so the latest start date that meets the service test for pay is 18 April 2026. He qualifies for both leave and pay: 2 weeks at £194.32, £388.64 in all. Working in Great Britain, he has until 16 January 2028 to finish the leave; in Northern Ireland the last day would be 14 March 2027.
| Situation | Leave in GB | Leave in NI | Pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Started 3 November 2025, £690 a week | Yes | Yes | £388.64 |
| Started 1 June 2026, £690 a week | Yes, day-one right | No | Not due |
| Started 3 November 2025, £180 a week | Yes | Yes | £324.00 (90% of pay) |
The second row is the case the 2026 reform was written for. In Great Britain a father who joined in June 2026 can take two weeks of paternity leave, with his employment rights protected during it, but without SPP. In Northern Ireland he has no statutory paternity leave at all and would need holiday or his employer’s goodwill. The third row shows the 90% rule: on £180 a week, 90% is below the flat rate, so each week pays £162.00.
What the calculator checks
- Service for pay: employment that began on or before the date shown, so that 26 weeks are completed by the end of the qualifying week. A baby born early does not change this: you qualify if you would have reached the 26 weeks.
- Earnings: average weekly earnings over the 8-week relevant period of at least £129, worked out like SMP average weekly earnings.
- The deadline: 52 weeks from the birth in Great Britain, counted from the due date if the baby is early; 56 days in Northern Ireland.
- The pattern: one or two weeks, separate or together in Great Britain; one block of one week or two consecutive weeks in Northern Ireland.
It does not check notice. You must tell your employer the due date by the end of the qualifying week, 10 October 2026 in the example, and give 28 days’ notice of when each week of leave starts. The rules for notice, the antenatal appointments and the reform itself are in paternity leave since April 2026. SPP is taxed like wages and paid on your usual payday; your employer recovers most of it from HMRC.