From the 2024/2025 tax year, employees can choose to take their two weeks of SPP together, or separately. For more information, visit our changes to Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) and SPP Adoption pay (SPPA) guide.
If this is your employee's second child, check that their weeks paid SPP value is cleared. Find out more in our statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) doesn't calculate for a second child guide.
Process SPP
The steps you need to follow depend on whether your employee's baby due date is 6 April or prior, or 7 April onwards when the new rules apply. Click the relevant option below to view the steps.
Baby due date is 6 April 2024 or prior >- Double-click the relevant employee.
- Click the Absence tab and click the S.P.P button.
- The Statutory Paternity Pay window will open on the Details tab.
- Enter the Baby Arrival Dates and check the Employment Dates are correct.
- Ensure the Manual Statutory Paternity Pay Calculations check box is clear.
- Check and complete the Ordinary SPP details section.
- To process two weeks of SPP, leave the Returned to Work field blank
- To process one week of SPP, enter a Returned to Work date 8 days after the Ended work for PPP date
- Click Auto Calc to calculate the employee's average weekly gross pay.
- If you're prompted that holiday payments made in or near the relevant period may affect the average earnings, click OK.
- To view the values that make up the average weekly gross pay, click the 8 Weeks Gross tab.
- To check the employee's entitlement click the Entitlement tab. SPP - how to check an employee's entitlement >
- Click OK, then click Save.
- Click Close.
Baby due date is 7 April 2024 onwards >When you enter a Date Baby Due of 7 April 2024 or after, the Ordinary SPP details section updates to allow you to enter two separate weeks.
- Double-click the relevant employee.
- Click the Absence tab and click the S.P.P button.
- The Statutory Paternity Pay window will open on the Details tab.
- Enter the Baby Arrival Dates and check the Employment Dates are correct.
NOTE: The baby due date must be 07/04/2024 or after to process two separate weeks of SPP. If it's prior to this, you can only process one week, or two weeks taken together. - Ensure the Manual Statutory Paternity Pay Calculations check box is clear.
- Under the Ordinary SPP details section, select the Declaration received checkbox to confirm you've received the correct documents.
- Enter the Last Day of Work in the Week 1 row.
- Click OK, the message 'Are you entering 2 weeks of Statutory Paternity Pay for the employee?' appears:
- If you are, click Yes and your software automatically adds the last day of work for Week 2 to follow Week 1
- If the employee is taking the second week later, click No. You can then return to this screen when the employee takes the second week, and enter the last Day of work for Week 2 to calculate it at that time
TIP: The employee must take the second week within 52 weeks of the child's birth.
- Click Auto Calc to calculate the employee's average weekly gross pay.
- If you're prompted that holiday payments made in or near the relevant period may affect the average earnings, click OK.
- To view the values that make up the average weekly gross pay, click the 8 Weeks Gross tab.
- To check the employee's entitlement click the Entitlement tab. SPP - how to check an employee's entitlement >
- Click OK, then click Save.
- Click Close.
What's next
When you've set up SPP, your software calculates the SPP due for the employee up to the process date, when you next run their payroll. You can see the amount due in the Summary tab of Enter Payments.
TIP: You may also need to adjust normal payments to accommodate statutory pay for the period.
Employer Payment Summary
You must submit an employer payment summary at the end of the tax month to notify HMRC of any SPP being reclaimed. Find out more on when to submit an employer payment summary (EPS) >