Qualifying conditions Employees entitlement to PBL is from their first day of employment. However, to be eligible for SPBP the employee must: - Have been in continuous employment for at least 26 weeks before the week in which the child passes
NOTE: From 6 April 2026, SPBP is a day one right for employees in Northern Ireland only. The 26-week requirement remains for employees in the rest of the UK. - Have average weekly earnings of at least the lower earnings limit, in the eight weeks ending with the week in which the child passes
- Give their employer 'notice' for SPBP in writing within 28 days of the first day of the SPBP period
- Provide evidence of entitlement in writing with their notice, with a written declaration confirming they meet the qualifying conditions, with:
- The name of the person claiming SPB
- The date of the child's death, or date of birth for a stillborn child
- The period or periods in which to receive SPBP
- They’ve completed the employee declaration. Unlike other statutory parental pay, this isn’t mandatory before the employee can receive the payment
Other parental pay/leave The employee must take SPBP after any maternity/paternity/adoption pay/leave they're currently receiving.
Entitlement The employee can take SPBP in either a single block of two weeks, or as two separate blocks. Each block can start on any day of the week. The period the employee needs to take their entitlement is 56 weeks of the date the child passed away. If an employee works a part of the week where they claimed SPBP, there isn't obligation on the employer to pay SPBP that week. This doesn't affect the employee's entitlement to receive payment for the second week, if they haven't taken it yet. Where an employee has entitlement to Statutory Sick Pay for part of a week, you can't pay SPBP at the same time. If eligibility to SPBP is due to more than one child passing, the employee's entitlement is two weeks SPBP in respect of each child.
Pension contributions When an employee receives statutory parental pay, you need to pay employer pension contributions based on their full pay, not the statutory payment. To find out how, visit our article covering how to handle employer pension contributions for employees receiving statutory pay.
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