Paternity leave

Get up to 2 weeks' leave in the first 8 weeks of your child being born or adopted if you're the father, partner, adopter or intended parent.

Paternity pay

First week full pay 

You get 1 week on full pay if you are:  

  • the husband or partner of the mother or adopter  
  • the adopter (unless taking adoption leave) 
  • the intended parent (if you are having a baby through a surrogacy arrangement) 
  • the nominated carer (if you are the person nominated by the main carer to assist them in the care of their child, but are not the father, partner or intended parent)

Second week Statutory Paternity Pay 

You can find out how much you will get from Statutory Paternity Pay on GOV.UK.

You can get statutory paternity pay during your second week of paternity leave if you have at least 26 weeks’ service by: 

  • the 15th week before the baby is due  
  • the end of the week the child is matched with you (UK adoptions and fostering) 
  • the date the child enters the UK or when you want the pay to start if it's an overseas adoption  
Last published date:
Next review date: