Maternity and Paternity Leave and Pay in the UK

This guide is for people who have recently moved to the United Kingdom, work for an employer, and are expecting a baby, adopting a child or becoming parents through surrogacy. After reading it you will know what leave and pay each parent may be able to get, where to check eligibility and pay amounts, and how the rules on notice and claiming fit together.

• What parents may be able to get
• Maternity leave and pay
• Paternity leave and pay
• Pay rates and eligibility
• Notice, claiming and changing dates
• Your employment rights while on leave
• FAQ

What parents may be able to get

The official guidance treats leave and pay as separate entitlements. Leave is time away from work, and pay is the money you may receive during it. Each has its own rules, so qualifying for one does not automatically mean qualifying for the other. This matters for newcomers, who are often new to their employer as well as to the country.

For the parent having the baby, the government’s maternity pay and leave guide lists four possible entitlements: Statutory Maternity Leave, Statutory Maternity Pay, paid time off for antenatal care, and extra help from the government. “Statutory” means the legal minimum. An employer can offer more under its own policy, and your contract or staff handbook is where that would appear.

For the partner, the paternity pay and leave guide covers people whose partner is having a baby, people adopting a child, and people having a baby through a surrogacy arrangement. It lists 2 weeks’ Paternity Leave, Paternity Pay, Shared Parental Leave and Pay, and Unpaid Parental Leave as the possible entitlements.

Both guides are also available in Welsh. Neither page sets out any differences between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, so the pages do not say whether any nation handles these entitlements differently. Your employer’s HR team can confirm which rules it applies.

Maternity leave and pay

Statutory Maternity Leave is the time off work. Statutory Maternity Pay is the payment you may receive during that time if you qualify. The official overview does not say how long either one lasts. It points instead to two tools: an eligibility checker, which shows what maternity pay and leave you are eligible for, and a maternity planner, which works out your pay and leave from your dates.

As well as leave and pay, the guide lists paid time off for antenatal care, meaning appointments during pregnancy. It also mentions “extra help from the government” but does not name the specific support in its overview. The eligibility checker shows what might apply.

Some families prefer to share time off between both parents. The maternity guide notes that you may also be eligible for Shared Parental Leave and Pay, which is a separate scheme with its own rules.

Paternity leave and pay

The paternity guide gives one firm figure: Paternity Leave is 2 weeks. It is available when your partner is having a baby, when you are adopting a child, or when you are having a baby through a surrogacy arrangement.

The guide also warns that you may not get both leave and pay. Each has its own conditions, so a partner can qualify for Paternity Leave without qualifying for Paternity Pay. The overview does not list those conditions. They are set out in the eligibility section of the guide.

Partners also have rights before the birth. You can get time off to go with your partner, or the surrogate mother, to 2 antenatal appointments. If you are adopting, you can get time off to attend 2 adoption appointments after you have been matched with a child. The overview does not say whether this time off is paid.

Beyond the 2 weeks, partners may be able to use Shared Parental Leave and Pay, or Unpaid Parental Leave. As the names suggest, the first can include pay and the second does not.

Pay rates and eligibility

Most newcomers want two answers: how much they will be paid, and whether they have worked for their employer long enough to qualify. The two official overview pages used for this guide answer neither question. They give no weekly rates for Statutory Maternity Pay or Paternity Pay, and no earnings or length-of-employment thresholds. We have not filled that gap with figures from other sources, because rates change and a wrong number does more harm than none.

The official route is the eligibility checker and maternity planner linked from the maternity guide, and the eligibility section of the paternity guide. They work from your own dates and circumstances and are maintained by the government. Your employer’s payroll or HR team can also confirm what it pays, including any enhanced pay above the statutory minimum.

Questions about how parental leave affects a visa or immigration status are outside the scope of these pages. An adviser regulated by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) or a solicitor regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) can advise on an individual case.

Notice, claiming and changing dates

Both guides say there are rules on when and how to claim. The maternity guide also covers changing your dates, and the paternity guide covers when your leave can start. Neither overview gives the deadline for telling your employer or lists the documents you need to provide. Those details are in the “how to claim” sections of each guide.

A typical order is to read the claiming section of the relevant guide, use the maternity planner to see the key dates, and then check your employer’s parental leave policy, which may say how it wants notice to be given.

Keeping copies of everything you send to your employer, and everything it sends back, makes later questions easier to settle. If your dates change, the section of the maternity guide on changing dates explains the process.

Your employment rights while on leave

Your employment rights continue while you are away from work. Both official guides say that during Statutory Maternity Leave or Paternity Leave your rights are protected. These include your right to pay rises, to build up (accrue) holiday, and to return to work.

In practice, you keep building up holiday while you are on leave and you keep your right to pay rises. When you use the holiday you have built up is a matter to agree with your employer.

FAQ

How long is Paternity Leave in the UK?

The official paternity guide sets it at 2 weeks. It applies when your partner is having a baby, when you are adopting, or when you are having a baby through surrogacy. Partners may also be able to use Shared Parental Leave and Pay or Unpaid Parental Leave.

How much is Statutory Maternity Pay?

The official overview page does not give the rate. GOV.UK offers an eligibility checker and a maternity planner that work out pay and leave from your own dates. Your employer’s payroll team can confirm what it pays, including any enhanced company pay.

Can I get Paternity Leave but not Paternity Pay?

Yes, this can happen. The official guide says you may not get both leave and pay, because each has its own conditions. The eligibility section of the GOV.UK paternity guide explains which ones apply.

Can a partner take time off for antenatal appointments?

Yes. The paternity guide says you can get time off to go with your partner, or the surrogate mother, to 2 antenatal appointments. People adopting can get time off for 2 adoption appointments after being matched with a child.

Official sources: gov.uk · gov.uk

Last verified: 5 November 2026 against the official pages linked above. Rules and fees change; the official page always wins.

This is general information, not legal or immigration advice. Immigration advice in the UK may only be given by advisers regulated by the OISC or by solicitors regulated by the SRA.