The law on paternity and parental leave changed materially on 6 April 2026. The Employment Rights Act 2025 brought in day-one rights for paternity leave and unpaid parental leave, and a separate piece of legislation introduced a new entitlement to bereaved partner's paternity leave on the same date. If you have not reviewed your contracts, handbooks, and manager guidance since then, there is a real chance your documentation is wrong and your line managers are giving incorrect advice. This article sets out the current legal position and what employers need to have in place now.
What has changed
Four changes came into force on 6 April 2026 that every employer needs to understand. First, paternity leave is a day-one right — the 26-week qualifying period has been removed. Second, unpaid parental leave is also a day-one right — the 12-month qualifying period is gone. Third, paternity leave can now be taken after shared parental leave, lifting the previous restriction. Fourth, a new statutory right to bereaved partner's paternity leave of up to 52 weeks has been introduced where the mother or primary adopter dies.
These sit alongside the earlier 2024 reforms to paternity leave mechanics — the ability to split leave into two separate one-week blocks taken at any point within 52 weeks of birth or placement. Taken together, the framework is considerably more flexible than two years ago, and considerably more complex to administer.
Paternity leave — the current position
From 6 April 2026, eligible employees can take up to two weeks of statutory paternity leave from their first day of employment. There is no qualifying service period for the leave itself. Provided the employee meets the relationship-based eligibility criteria — they are the biological father, the spouse, civil partner or partner (including same-sex partner) of the mother or birth parent, the partner of the primary adopter, or an intended parent in a surrogacy arrangement — they are entitled to paternity leave regardless of length of service.
The amount of leave has not changed. Two weeks remains the maximum, taken either as a single one- or two-week block, or as two separate one-week blocks within 52 weeks of birth or placement.
Statutory Paternity Pay — the position is different. SPP is paid at the lower of £194.32 per week (the 2026/27 rate) or 90% of average weekly earnings. To qualify for SPP, the employee must have at least 26 weeks' continuous service by the end of the qualifying week (the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth), have average weekly earnings at or above the Lower Earnings Limit of £129 per week, and still be employed by you at the time the leave is taken.
This means a new starter taking paternity leave in their first week of employment is entitled to the leave but will almost certainly not be entitled to SPP. Whether you offer enhanced contractual paternity pay to employees who do not qualify for SPP is a commercial decision — but it should be a deliberate one, set out clearly in policy and applied consistently.
Flexible timing — how it works in practice
Paternity leave does not have to be taken as a single block immediately after birth or adoption. Employees can split their entitlement into two separate one-week periods and take them at different points within the first 52 weeks.
- Leave can be taken as one two-week block, two separate one-week blocks, or a single week.
- All leave must be completed within 52 weeks of birth or adoption placement.
- Employees can change the timing of the second block with 28 days' notice.
- Statutory Paternity Pay applies only to whichever weeks of leave are taken, and only where the SPP eligibility conditions are met.
Unpaid parental leave — what the entitlement actually is
Unpaid parental leave is a separate right from paternity leave and is now also a day-one entitlement. Employees with parental responsibility are entitled to 18 weeks of unpaid leave per child, available up to the child's 18th birthday, with a maximum of 4 weeks per child in any 12-month period (unless you agree otherwise). Leave is taken in whole-week blocks, with single days only available where the child receives Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Child Disability Payment or Adult Disability Payment.
Notice is 21 days before the intended start date. Employers can postpone the leave for up to six months on operational grounds — but cannot refuse it where eligibility is met. Postponement is not available where the leave is to be taken immediately after the birth or placement of the child.
The change on 6 April 2026 was the removal of the 12-month qualifying period. Everything else about the entitlement remains as it was.
Bereaved partner's paternity leave — new entitlement
A separate piece of legislation — the Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave Regulations 2026 — came into force on 6 April 2026 alongside the Employment Rights Act 2025 changes. Although it sits outside the ERA, it is part of the same April 2026 package and is the change most likely to be missed by employers.
- A surviving partner whose spouse, civil partner or partner dies in connection with childbirth, or before the end of paternity leave, is entitled to up to 52 weeks of unpaid bereaved partner's paternity leave.
- This is a day-one right with no service requirement.
- The leave must be taken within 52 weeks of the child's birth, adoption placement, or entry into Great Britain for overseas adoptions.
- It is in addition to ordinary paternity leave entitlement.
This entitlement will be invoked rarely, but when it is invoked it will be in circumstances of acute trauma. Employers should have a written policy in place that covers the procedural mechanics so that managers do not have to work them out in the moment.
Shared parental leave
Shared Parental Leave allows eligible parents to share up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of Shared Parental Pay in the year following birth or adoption. Uptake remains relatively low, but the removal of the restriction on taking paternity leave after SPL gives families new flexibility in how they sequence their entitlements.
The notice process for SPL involves multiple steps: a curtailment notice from the primary carer, a notice of entitlement from the secondary carer, and up to three separate period of leave notices. Each has its own timeframe. Employers have 14 days to respond to a period of leave notice. A continuous block of leave requested in a valid period of leave notice cannot be refused. A discontinuous request can be refused or counter-proposed during a 14-day discussion window. The procedural complexity means that SPL process documentation needs to be clear, current, and accessible — most SPL claims fail or stall because of process errors, not disputes about entitlement.
Carer's leave
The Carer's Leave Act 2023 introduced a statutory right to up to one week of unpaid carer's leave per year, available from 6 April 2024. It applies to employees who have a dependant with a long-term care need and is a day-one right. Notice required is the greater of three days or twice the length of the leave requested. Leave can be taken in half-day or whole-day blocks, up to a week in total per rolling 12-month period.
An employer cannot refuse carer's leave but can postpone it where the operation of the business would be unduly disrupted. Postponement must be in writing, must include reasons, and must offer a new date that allows the leave to be taken within a month of the original requested date.
Carer's leave is distinct from paternity and parental leave but sits within the same family of entitlements. Many employers still do not have a standalone carer's leave policy. If yours is one of them, that gap needs addressing.
Notice obligations by leave type
- Paternity leave (standard): Notice by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth.
- Paternity leave (transitional rule for new day-one eligibility): 28 days' notice for babies due 5 April–25 July 2026.
- Paternity leave (timing or second-block change): 28 days' notice.
- Unpaid parental leave: 21 days' notice. No qualifying period from 6 April 2026.
- Shared Parental Leave initial notice: At least 8 weeks before the first period of SPL.
- Bereaved partner's paternity leave: As soon as reasonably practicable.
- Carer's leave: The greater of three days, or twice the length of the leave requested.
Statutory pay rates and recovery — current figures
From 6 April 2026, Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Shared Parental Pay are both set at £194.32 per week, or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower. Statutory Maternity, Adoption, Parental Bereavement and Neonatal Care Pay are also £194.32 per week (after the initial 90% period for SMP and SAP). The Lower Earnings Limit — the threshold for SPP and SShPP eligibility — is £129 per week.
Employers can recover 92% of statutory family-related payments from HMRC. If you qualify for Small Employers' Relief, you can recover 109% — that is, 100% of the payment plus 9% compensation, up from 8.5% in 2025/26. You qualify for SER if your total Class 1 National Insurance liability in the previous complete tax year was £45,000 or less, calculated before deduction of Employment Allowance. Statutory Sick Pay (£123.25 per week from 6 April 2026) cannot be recovered.
What employers need to do now
- Remove all references to qualifying service periods for paternity leave and unpaid parental leave from contracts, handbooks, offer letters, and onboarding materials — they are inaccurate from 6 April 2026.
- Keep references to the 26-week qualifying period for Statutory Paternity Pay — that has not changed. Make the leave/pay distinction explicit in your policy wording.
- Update your paternity leave policy to reflect day-one eligibility, the flexible two-block structure, and the right to take paternity leave after shared parental leave.
- Add a bereaved partner's paternity leave policy. This is the change most likely to be missed.
- Create or update a standalone carer's leave policy if you do not already have one.
- Update SPP rates in your payroll system to £194.32 and confirm the system handles short-service employees correctly — entitled to leave, not entitled to SPP.
- Update Small Employers' Relief recovery to 109% if you qualify.
- Brief line managers — the most likely compliance failure is a manager telling a new starter they are not eligible when they are, or paying SPP to an employee who does not qualify because the manager assumed leave eligibility means pay eligibility.
- Review your SPL process documentation and notice templates.
- Update absence management and HR systems to reflect day-one eligibility for paternity leave, unpaid parental leave, and bereaved partner's paternity leave.
The changes are in force. The employers most at risk are those who have not updated their documentation, whose payroll systems still apply the wrong rates, and whose managers are still operating on the basis of the old rules.