Statutory paternity pay (SPP) eligibility and entitlement

Employee eligibility and entitlement for SPP in Sage 50 Payroll.

When an employee's partner is having a baby, the employee may qualify for SPP.

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Eligibility

To qualify for SPP, an employee must:

• Have 26 weeks of continuous employment with you up to and including the qualifying week. You must still employ them up to the date of birth
• Provide HMRC form SC3 at least 15 weeks before the baby is due
• Have average weekly earnings in the eight weeks before the qualifying week at or above the current national insurance lower earnings limit. For the 2026/2027 tax year this is £129.00
• Take time off to look after the child and be one of the following:
  • The child's biological father
  • The mother's spouse, civil partner, or a partner (including same-sex partners) who lives with the mother and child in an enduring family relationship
• Give 15 weeks notice of the due date, and 28 days notice of any period of SPP
  • To find out more about the notice period, go to Gov.UK

If your employee isn't eligible to receive SPP, give them form SPP1. For further information about eligibility for SPP, go to the paternity pay guidance on Gov.UK.

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Entitlement

For employees who qualify, SPP is payable for one or two weeks. Employees can take these two weeks separately, up to 52 weeks after the child's birth.

The employee can take seven or 14 days of paid leave as two separate periods of seven days, or one period of 14 days.

They can't, for example, take a period of five days and a later period of nine days.

• The statutory weekly rate for SPP is the lower of £194.32 , or 90% of the employee's average weekly earnings

If the employee meets all qualifying conditions, as an employer you need to pay the statutory rate of SPP. Whether you pay any further wages on top of the statutory requirement depends on the employee's contract of employment. You're under no statutory obligation to pay anything further.