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Paternity Leave Calculator

Calculate your Statutory Paternity Pay for 2026/27. See your weekly entitlement and how Shared Parental Leave could give you more paid time with your new baby.

UK rules for 2026/27.

Your figures

Calculator inputs

Useful next calculations

When to use this calculator

  • When you need a fast estimate before making a bigger decision.
  • When you want to compare a few scenarios using the same assumptions.
  • When you need a clearer starting point before using a detailed quote or formal document.
  • When you want to sanity-check a figure you have seen elsewhere.

A worked example

These are the example figures the calculator opens with.

A worked example
InputValue
Average Weekly Earnings (£)£500
Paternity Leave Duration1 week
Eligible Shared Parental Pay weeks remaining (after maternity/adoption pay)0

For those figures the calculator returns:

  • Weekly paternity pay: £194.32
  • Total SPP: £194.32
  • Shared Parental Pay: £0.00
  • Total paid leave: £194.32

Method & assumptions

This is a gross statutory-pay estimate for an eligible employee in 2026/27. Weekly pay is the lower of £194.32 or 90% of average weekly earnings. Average weekly earnings must reach the £129 lower earnings limit and statutory pay service requirements must be met. Leave can be taken as one or two one-week blocks within 52 weeks of the birth; day-one leave eligibility does not remove the separate pay requirements.

Only enter Shared Parental Pay weeks you are eligible to receive after the shared maternity/adoption entitlement has been curtailed. This tool does not establish eligibility or calculate your partner’s remaining entitlement. Tax, National Insurance and enhanced employer pay are excluded.

Common mistakes

  • Using optimistic assumptions without testing a more cautious scenario.
  • Comparing outputs from different tools without checking that the inputs match.
  • Treating the result as a final quote instead of a planning estimate.
  • Rounding inputs too aggressively.

What to do next

  • Try at least one more scenario so you can compare a realistic range.
  • Use the related calculators below to cross-check the decision from another angle.
  • Write down the key outputs from your best scenarios before you decide.
  • If the result surprises you, change one input at a time to isolate the driver.

Questions people ask

Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) for 2026/27 is paid at the lower of £194.32 per week or 90% of your average weekly earnings. You can take either one or two one-week blocks of paternity leave — you cannot take it as single days. To qualify, you must have worked for your employer continuously for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth, and you must earn at least £129 per week on average. SPP is subject to income tax and National Insurance deductions through PAYE.

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