Statutory Paternity Pay
When an employee is pregnant, it’s imperative that they receive the correct maternity pay and leave entitlement that they deserve. As a business, working out how much pay a pregnant employee is entitled to and if they meet the eligibility criteria can be a prolonged process.
Payroll with Perks are able to take this process off your hands, providing a range of outsourced, part managed bureau and fully managed payroll solutions to ensure your employees’ Statutory Maternity Pay is processed and delivered accurately and on time.
If an employee’s partner is due to give birth, adopt a child or have a child through a surrogate, they are entitled to receive Statutory Paternity Pay if they meet the conditions for eligibility.
Statutory Paternity Pay is £139.58 a week or 90% of their average weekly earnings (the lowest of the two). Tax and national insurance are deducted and the payments are given the same way as wages.
To be eligible for Statutory Paternity Pay, an employee must:
- Be the father, husband/partner of the mother/adopter, the child’s adopter or the intended parent through surrogacy
- Provide sufficient and correct notice (this will need to be a minimum of 15 weeks prior to the week before the baby is due)
- Have worked consistently for the employer for a minimum of 26 weeks up until the 15th week (‘qualifying week’) prior to the expected due date of the baby
- Remain employed by the employer up until the day the baby is born/their adopted baby is placed with them
- Earn at least £112 a week
- Be using their time off to look after their child and/or partner.
For Statutory Paternity Leave (1 or 2 consecutive weeks which cannot be taken until after the child is born), employees’ leave will need to end within 56 days since the child was born.
To be eligible for Paternity Leave, the employee must be classified as such – not a ‘worker’.
For the complete, in-depth guidelines on Statutory Paternity Pay entitlement, eligibility and exceptions, please visit the Gov website.
If you’d rather spend time in your working day focusing on your clients and customers, find out more information about Payroll with Perks outsourced payroll solutions. See how we could tailor a solution to ensure your employees are paid their Statutory Paternity Leave correctly and on time, whilst you get on with what you really want to focus on.
A. Whichever is lowest – Statutory Paternity Pay is £139.58 a week or 90% of an employee’s average weekly earnings.
A. Yes, however the partner will have to meet extra qualifying conditions: the employee must work for an employer that is liable to pay the employer’s contribution of class one National Insurance and must earn, at minimum, the lower earnings limit for National Insurance at Qualifying Week end. The Mother/adoptive parent must be back at work and no longer be receiving relevant payment and have at least two weeks left of their 39 week payment.
A. 1 or 2 consecutive weeks to be taken after the child is born.
A. An employee that is on paternity leave and receiving paternity pay has protected employment rights, including their right to accrued holiday, pay rises and return to work.
