UK Statutory Leave

Starting with maternity leave in the UK, people who are pregnant have the right to take time off after they give birth, including surrogates for someone else. All pregnant people must by law take at least 2 weeks off after the baby is born (or 4 weeks if you work in a factory.)

If you are employed then you have the right to take up to 52 weeks of maternity leave and you have this right from the first day of starting a job, however, it is up to you how many weeks you choose to take off.

How does maternity pay work?

If you are classed as an employee, have worked for the same employer for 26 weeks, and earn at least £123 a week on average for 8 weeks before your qualifying week, then you are eligible for statutory maternity pay. The rate for this is set by the government, and you can receive it for up to 39 weeks. For the first 6 weeks you’ll get 90% of your average weekly earnings, then for the following 33 weeks you’ll get the SMP rate.

Employers can offer something called enhanced maternity pay which will be outlined in your employment contract.

Paternity leave is the time you can take off to spend with your new baby if you are the:

• child’s biological father
• child’s adopter or intended parent (if using a surrogate)
• child’s mother’s husband or partner (including same-sex partners).

You must also have been working for your employer for at least 26 continuous weeks by either:

• the end of the 15th week before the week of the due date
• the end of the week that you are told you’ve been matched with your child for adoption (for UK adoptions).

You’ll be able to take up to 2 weeks off, but it must be used consecutively, and it is pro-rated. This means that if you only work 2 days a week, then you can only take 2 days off and it’ll count as one week. Some employers might offer extended paternity leave, and this will be included in your employment contract.  

How does paternity pay work?

You are eligible for statutory paternity pay (SPP) if you are eligible to statutory paternity leave, it is paid either the SPP rate or 90% of your average weekly earnings (whichever is lower).

Shared parental leave (SPL) allows an employee and their partner to share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay between them. You are entitled to shared parental leave under the following circumstances:

• having a baby
• using a surrogate to have a baby
• adopting a child
• fostering a child who you’re planning to adopt

If you want to be eligible for SPL you or your partner has to:

• take less than the 52 weeks of maternity or adoption leave and use the rest as SPL
• take less than the 39 weeks of maternity or adoption pay (or Maternity Allowance) and use the rest as shared parental pay (ShPP)

For example, if you’re the mother and you’ve taken 20 weeks of Maternity Leave and Statutory Maternity Pay, you can share 32 weeks of SPL and 17 weeks of ShPP with your partner.

In the UK parents are entitled to up to 18 weeks of unpaid parental leave per child, this can be taken up until the child turns 18. Parents can take up to 4 weeks per year per child as leave (unless your employer agrees otherwise). You must take your parental leave as whole weeks, rather than individual days but you don’t have to take it all at once. 

Parents qualify for the unpaid parental leave under these circumstances: 

• they’ve been in the company for more than a year
• they’re named on the child’s birth or adoption certificate, or they have or expect to have parental responsibility
• they’re not self-employed or a ‘worker’, e.g. an agency worker or contractor
• they’re not a foster parent (unless they’ve secured parental responsibility through the courts)
• the child is under 18