The leave is day one. The pay is not.
Since 6 April 2026 paternity leave has needed no service at all. Somebody who started last week can take the fortnight.
Statutory paternity pay was not touched. It still needs 26 weeks of continuous employment, complete by the end of the qualifying week, which is the fifteenth week before the baby is due. That is roughly six months before the birth.
So the commonest real case is somebody entitled to two weeks off and nothing for them. It reads like a mistake in the entitlement and it is not: two rules were changed at different times and only one of them moved. The tool answers the two questions separately for exactly this reason, because a single number cannot say "yes to the leave, no to the pay".
There is no uncapped period, which is why it is so much smaller
Maternity pay opens with six weeks at 90% of earnings with no ceiling. Paternity pay has no equivalent at all. Every week is the lower of 90% or the flat rate, from week one.
On £800 a week, that difference is stark:
- The mother gets £720 a week for six weeks, then £194.32
- The father gets £194.32 a week for two weeks. £388.64, and that is all of it
Below about £216 a week the two rates meet, because 90% of earnings never reaches the flat rate. Above it, the gap only widens.
Two weeks, in blocks of a whole week
The fortnight can be taken together or as two separate single weeks, anywhere in the 52 weeks after the birth. It cannot be split into odd days, and it cannot start before the birth. If the baby is early, the window runs from the actual birth rather than the due date.
Shared parental: why the numbers are 50 and 37
Maternity leave is 52 weeks and maternity pay is 39 weeks. What can be shared is 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay. Those look like arbitrary figures until you see where the missing two weeks went.
They are the mother's compulsory maternity leave: the fortnight after the birth that cannot be waived by her, by her employer, or by anybody else. Because it cannot be given up, it can never enter the pot. Fifty and thirty seven are simply fifty two and thirty nine with that fortnight taken out.
Shared parental leave did not go day one
Worth being clear about, because "day one" is the headline everywhere and it only applies to one of these. Paternity leave went day one on 6 April 2026.Shared parental leave did not.
The parent taking shared parental leave still has to pass the continuity test: 26 weeks with the same employer by the end of the qualifying week. Somebody who fails it has no shared parental leave at all, not merely unpaid shared parental leave, and their two weeks of paternity leave are the only thing still standing.
Nothing exists until she curtails
Shared parental leave is not an entitlement sitting alongside maternity leave. It is carved out of it. The mother has to give notice curtailing her maternity leave, and what she gives up is what there is.
Take 22 weeks and 30 are shareable. Take the full 52 and none are. She can revoke that curtailment notice only in limited circumstances, so it is worth being sure before it goes in.
The two eligibility tests point in opposite directions
This is where couples rule themselves out wrongly, because they assume both parents take the same test. They do not.
The parent taking the leave passes a continuity test: 26 weeks with the same employer, by the end of the qualifying week.
The other parent passes an employment and earnings test: 26 weeks of work in the 66 weeks before the due date, with any employer or self employed, earning an average of at least £30 a week in any 13 of those weeks.
One is about staying put. The other is about having worked at all. Somebody who has moved jobs repeatedly can easily fail the first and pass the second, which means their partner may still be able to take the leave even where they cannot.
Notice, blocks and SPLIT days
Each block of shared parental leave needs eight weeks of notice, and three blocks can be booked as of right. More is possible only if the employer agrees.
Up to 20 shared parental leave in touch days can be worked without ending the leave, which is twice the ten keeping in touch days maternity leave carries. They are optional on both sides.
Everything shared has to be taken inside the first year after the birth. Paid weeks left unused on the first birthday are simply lost.
Your contract may be better than the law, and often is
This works the statutory minimum from your dates. A contractual scheme can pay considerably more and many do. It does not cover adoption, surrogacy, neonatal care leave, or the separate rules that apply in Northern Ireland. The maternity pay and leave planner works the other side of it, and the continuous service checker shows the qualifying dates for everything else that turns on length of service.
Common questions
Is paternity leave a day one right?
The leave is, since 6 April 2026. The pay is not. Statutory paternity pay was left exactly where it was and still needs 26 weeks of continuous employment complete by the qualifying week, which is the fifteenth week before the baby is due. So a new starter can take the fortnight off and get nothing for it.
Is shared parental leave a day one right too?
No. Only paternity leave went day one on 6 April 2026. The parent taking shared parental leave still has to pass the continuity test, 26 weeks with the same employer by the end of the qualifying week. Fail it and there is no shared parental leave at all, paid or unpaid, and the two weeks of paternity leave are the only thing left.
How much is statutory paternity pay?
Whichever is lower of £194.32 a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings, for one or two weeks. On any decent salary that means the whole entitlement is two weeks at £194.32, which is £388.64.
Why is maternity pay so much bigger?
Because maternity pay opens with six weeks at 90% of earnings with no cap on it, and paternity pay has no equivalent. Every paternity week is the lower of 90% or the flat rate, from week one. On £800 a week the mother gets £720 a week for six weeks; the father gets £194.32 for two.
Can I split my two weeks of paternity leave?
Into two separate single weeks, yes. Not into odd days. A whole week is the smallest block, and both weeks have to be finished within 52 weeks of the birth.
Why is shared parental leave 50 weeks and not 52?
Because the mother’s first two weeks after the birth are compulsory maternity leave. They cannot be waived by her or anybody else, so they can never enter the pot. Fifty and thirty seven are just maternity’s fifty two and thirty nine with that fortnight taken out.
How does shared parental leave actually start?
The mother gives notice curtailing her maternity leave. Until she does, there is nothing to share: what she gives up is what there is. If she takes 22 weeks, 30 are left. If she takes the full year, none are.
Do both parents have to pass the same eligibility test?
No, and assuming so is how couples rule themselves out wrongly. The parent taking the leave needs 26 weeks with the SAME employer by the end of the qualifying week. The other parent needs 26 weeks of work in the 66 weeks before the due date, with any employer or self employed, earning at least £30 a week on average in any 13 of them. One test is about staying put, the other is about having worked at all.
How much notice do I need for shared parental leave?
Eight weeks for each block, and three blocks can be booked as of right. More is possible only if the employer agrees. You also get up to 20 shared parental leave in touch days, which is twice the ten keeping in touch days that maternity leave carries.
Is there still a lower earnings limit?
Yes, £129 a week. Statutory sick pay lost its lower earnings limit on 6 April 2026 under the Employment Rights Act 2025, but that change did not extend to the parental payments, so these still have one. Below it there is no statutory pay, though the leave is unaffected.