Recording Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP)

From the 2024/2025 tax year, employee's can take two separate weeks of SPP/SPPA within a year of the birth or adoption of their child.

Record each instance of SPP separately unless you take both weeks together.

Entering the leave details

You enter the details of the paternity leave when you process the pay run. You enter this in the ABSENCES screen.

NOTE: Employees can't take holiday or get holiday pay while on paternity leave. However, you can arrange with your employee to take it before or after paternity leave.

▼To record SPP

Select the Pay Runs tab, then select Process Pay Run.
Check the pay date is correct and select Next.
Select the employee and then select Add Absence.
Choose Paternity (Birth), or Paternity (Adoption) and complete the following details:

Item	Description
Child Due Date	Birth only: Enter the date that the child is due.
Documentation Received	The employee must tell you they’re taking paternity leave using Form SC3, SC4 or SC5. Choose Yes.
Qualifying Week	Birth only: The 15th week before the baby is due to.
Matching Date	Adoption only: Enter the date the adopted child matched with the adoptive parents.
Placement Date	Adoption only: The date the adopted child placed with the adoptive parents.
Actual Date of Birth	Birth only: Enter the baby's birth date.
Start Date	Enter the date the employee wants to start their paternity leave instance.
End Date	Enter the date the employee wants the instance of paternity leave to end.
Pension Earnings	To include the SPP in pensionable earnings, select this check box. For more information about pensionable earning, read. Common pension terms.
Qualifying earnings	To include the SPP in qualifying earnings, select this check box. For more information about qualifying earnings, read Common pension terms.

Select Save.

TIP: You may need to manually adjust the average weekly earnings figure. For more information about this, read the Override AWE section below.
There may not be enough information to calculate the average weekly earnings (AWE). This option appears:

Issue Certificate SPP1	If the employee doesn't qualify for SPP due to earnings below £123 (24/25) or £125 (25/26), select the SPP1 link. Then give them the form. For more information, read Statutory Paternity Pay: non-payment explanation (SPP1).
Manually set the AWE value	You may have changed Payroll systems part-way through the tax year, meaning this information is held in your previous software. You can select Manually set the AWE value and enter the figure. It is your responsibility to calculate this.

Select Save.
Complete the pay run as normal.

TIP: Payroll calculates SPP in whole weeks only, from the leave start date. For example, leave starts on Wednesday. The week is from Wednesday to the following Tuesday.

Pensions

Employers need to keep paying pension contributions while employees are on maternity leave. Base these contributions on the employee's pay before their leave. You can set the pension contribution to a fixed amount in the pay run using the Manage contributions option. When the employee returns, you can change it back. For more information, read How to handle employer pension contributions for employees receiving statutory pay.

Stop the SPP payment

If the employee returns to work early, change the return date in the absence record.

CAUTION: Don't delete the paternity record. This will cause Payroll to issue a refund