Eligible UK employees can take paternity leave after a birth or adoption, and receive statutory paternity pay for that period. Entitlement depends on length of service, average earnings above a lower limit, and giving the employer proper notice.
Leave and pay again differ
The right to take the leave and the right to be paid for it have separate eligibility tests. An employee may qualify for leave but not for pay if their earnings fall below the threshold. Employers can offer enhanced paternity pay above the statutory rate, and many do, but the statutory floor is what the law requires.
- Paid at a flat weekly rate or a percentage of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower
- Employers can generally reclaim most or all of the statutory amount from HMRC
- Shared Parental Leave provides a separate, more flexible route for splitting leave between parents
- Rules have been changed to allow the leave to be taken more flexibly within a longer window
Why it matters when hiring internationally
The recoverability of statutory payments is the detail companies most often miss: unlike most employment costs, the statutory element is largely reclaimed from HMRC, so the net employer cost is mainly any enhancement offered. That changes the calculus when deciding how generous a UK parental policy should be.