This is the calendar week, which begins on a Sunday, in which the baby is due. This is also known as the expected week of childbirth.

Lower earnings limit for national insurance contributions. For the 2022/2023 this is £123.00 per week.

SPP1 is the form an employer must give to an employee on paternity leave who is not entitled to receive SPP. This form can then be presented to HMRC to claim the SPP directly from them.

This is the two week period during which the employee can take paternity leave and be paid paternity pay. The PPP cannot start until the baby is born. The employee can choose to take one or two whole weeks leave but not two separate weeks.

The weeks can start on any day, for example, Thursday to Wednesday. The leave must end by the 56th day after the date of birth. If the baby is born early, the employee can choose to take their leave any time between the actual date of birth and the end of an eight week period starting from the Sunday of the week the baby was originally due.

This is the 15th week before the baby due date (EWC) date.

SC3 is the form the employee should complete to request paternity pay and leave. The employee should discuss their leave plans with you by the 15th week before the week the baby is due.

The employee can change their mind about the leave dates but should give you 28 days notice. If required, they can complete another SC3 form.

The amount of SPP that you can recover from HMRC depends on whether you're classed as a small or standard employer. If you're a small employer you can claim back 100% of the SPP that you pay to the employee plus a further 3% of that amount in NI compensation. Find out more in our handy What is Small Employers' Relief (SER)? guide.

This is the eight week period leading up to the qualifying week and is used to calculate the employee's average weekly gross pay.