If your partner is having a baby or you are adopting a child as a couple, you may be able to get Statutory Paternity Pay.

Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Age rules: There are no specific age rules

Type of benefit: Non means tested

Taxable: Yes

Administered by: Your employer

To get Statutory Paternity Pay, you must have been working for the same employer without a break for at least 26 weeks by the 15th week before the baby is due. You must also carry on working for that employer without a break up to the date the child is born or placed with you for adoption.

You must be earning an average of at least £123 a week (before tax). If you have been furloughed because of coronavirus, your earnings should be assessed on what you would usually have earned, and not on the 80% you have been receiving. If your earnings change, they will be assessed based on the eight-week period that ends 15 weeks before the child is due. You can use the calculator on the gov.uk website to check this. 

If your partner doesn't use up all their Statutory Maternity or Adoption Leave, and goes back to work, you may be able to take the remainder of their leave to look after your child. You would be paid the remainder of the Statutory Pay or Maternity Allowance that they would have been entitled to. This is called Shared Parental Leave and Pay.

Updated: June 2022

Statutory Paternity Pay is £172.48 or 90% of your average weekly earnings if this is less.

Statutory Paternity Pay is paid for one or two weeks during your Paternity Leave.

Benefit Cap

Statutory Paternity Pay is not included in the Benefit Cap which limits the total amount in some benefits that working-age people can receive.

How will I be paid Statutory Paternity Pay?

Your employer pays Statutory Paternity Pay in the same way and at the same time as your wages are normally paid, for example, weekly or monthly.

Statutory Paternity Pay and other benefits

Statutory Paternity Pay counts in full as earnings when calculating your entitlement to other means-tested benefits. For tax credits, £100 per week is ignored. For Universal Credit, some of your Statutory Paternity Pay will be ignored. Use our Benefits Calculator to check how much you will be entitled to.

Updated: April 2023

To claim Statutory Paternity Pay, you must tell your employer when you intend to take leave by the 15th week before your baby is due.

What documents will I need to claim Statutory Paternity Pay?

When you tell your employer that you intend to take paternity leave, they might ask you for self-certificate form SC3. This confirms you have the right to Statutory Paternity Pay. You can download form SC3.

When will my Statutory Paternity Pay claim begin?

If you are taking paternity leave for a birth, the leave can start either on the day the baby is born or on a date that has been agreed in advance with your employer. Your paternity leave cannot start before the baby is born, and, if you are agreeing a date later than the birth of your baby, it must be completed within 56 of days of the birth.

If you are taking paternity leave for an adoption, the leave can start either on the day that the child is placed with you, or on a date that has been agreed in advance with your employer. If you are agreeing a later leave date later than the date your child was placed with you, the leave must be completed within 56 days of the adoption date.

Change of circumstances

You must report changes in your circumstances which might affect your entitlement to this benefit.

Shared Parental Leave and Pay

If you want to share the care of the child, you might be able to claim Statutory Shared Parental Pay.

See the Turn2us Shared Parental Leave and Pay guide for further details.

Reviewed: June 2022

If you disagree with a Statutory Paternity Pay decision made by your employer, you can contact HM Revenue and Customs Statutory Payments Disputes Team.

This may affect your job and your relationship with your employer so you may want to seek specialist advice on this matter first.

Reviewed: June 2022