New Paternity Leave Rules 2026 — Day-1 Rights Explained

Statutory Paternity Leave (SPL) previously required 26 weeks' continuous employment by the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (or the equivalent for adoption). This threshold meant that employees who started a job while their partner was already pregnant could miss out entirely.

From 6 April 2026, that 26-week qualifying period is removed. Every employee qualifies for paternity leave from day one of their employment. There is no minimum service requirement. An employee who starts work on 1 April and whose child is born on 30 April is entitled to paternity leave.

Flexible working requests also became a day-1 right from April 2026 under the same Act. Employees can request flexible working from their first day in employment, and employers must respond within 2 months (down from 3).

The amount of statutory paternity leave has not changed — the Act reformed eligibility, not the length or rate. The entitlement remains:

• Up to 2 weeks of statutory paternity leave
• Leave can be taken as one week or two consecutive weeks — it cannot be split into individual days
• Leave must be taken within 56 days of the birth (or the expected date of birth if earlier)
• Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) is paid at the lower of £184.03 per week or 90% of average weekly earnings
• SPP is paid by the employer and can be partially reclaimed from HMRC (small employers can reclaim 103% — the extra 3% covers administration costs)

The same rules apply for adoptive parents and for families using a surrogate. The qualifying period for adoption leave was also removed from April 2026 — but Statutory Adoption Pay similarly retains a service requirement.

Employees must still notify their employer of their intention to take paternity leave. The notification requirements have not changed significantly, but the timing is affected by the removal of the qualifying period. The rules are:

• Notification must be given by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth — or as soon as reasonably practicable if that is not possible
• The employee must state: the expected week of childbirth; whether they want 1 or 2 weeks' leave; and the date they want to start leave
• Employees can change their start date, but must give 28 days' notice of the change where possible
• Employers cannot ask for more evidence than is reasonably necessary — a statutory declaration from the employee confirming eligibility is sufficient

When an employee notifies you of an intention to take paternity leave:

1. Do not refuse the leave. Statutory paternity leave is a legal right. You cannot refuse it, require the employee to cancel it, or treat an employee less favourably because they have taken or intend to take it. Doing so is automatically unfair dismissal from day one.
2. Confirm the arrangements in writing. Good practice is to confirm the leave dates, pay arrangements, and return-to-work date in writing.
3. Calculate and pay SPP correctly. SPP is based on average weekly earnings over the 8 weeks before the qualifying week. Make sure payroll has the correct figure.
4. Maintain benefits during leave. Terms and conditions (other than pay) continue during paternity leave — holiday accrues, benefits continue. The employee returns to the same job on return.
5. Keep contact reasonable. You can maintain reasonable contact during leave, but the employee is not obliged to work. The "keeping in touch" (KIT) day concept does not apply to paternity leave the way it does to maternity or shared parental leave.

Shared Parental Leave (ShPL) allows partners to share up to 50 weeks of leave (and 37 weeks of pay) from the mother's maternity leave entitlement. Paternity leave and shared parental leave are separate entitlements — taking paternity leave does not reduce the shared parental leave entitlement.

A typical approach for a couple: the non-birthing parent takes 2 weeks' paternity leave immediately after the birth, then later (when the mother has ended her maternity leave) takes a period of shared parental leave. Both rights are now available from day 1 of employment.

The qualifying period for shared parental leave was also reduced under the Act. The previous requirement of 26 weeks' service for the partner to trigger their shared parental leave has been removed, consistent with the paternity leave changes.

• Remove any reference to the 26-week qualifying period from your paternity leave policy
• Update your employee handbook and any contract clauses that reference eligibility requirements
• Brief your HR team or line managers — a new starter who announces their partner is pregnant the week after joining now has full entitlement to paternity leave
• Check that your payroll system has been updated to handle SPP for employees who have not yet completed 26 weeks

Sources: Employment Rights Act 2025 (paternity and parental leave provisions). GOV.UK: Paternity pay and leave. GOV.UK: Shared parental leave and pay. ACAS: Paternity rights at work. HMRC: Statutory Paternity Pay — employer guide.
Last updated: 12 April 2026. Also see: Employment Rights Act 2025 — full summary.