Overview of updated family leave rights in the UK

Maternity leave

All eligible employees are entitled to 52 weeks’ maternity leave, regardless of length of service and earnings.

Eligibility for statutory maternity pay (SMP) is separate from entitlement to leave. To qualify for SMP, an employee must:

• have 26 weeks’ continuous employment ending with the 15^th week before the expected week of childbirth; and
• have average weekly earnings at or above the Lower Earnings Limit (£129 per week as of 6 April 2026).

SMP is payable for up to 39 weeks. The first 6 weeks are paid at 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings. The remaining 33 weeks are paid at the lower of 90% of average weekly earnings, or the prescribed statutory rate (which increased from £187.18 to £194.32 per week from 6 April 2026). 

Employees are entitled to up to 52 weeks’ adoption leave, regardless of length of service and earnings, where they are:

• adopting a child through a UK adoption agency;
• adopting a child from overseas;
• a foster parent approved to adopt a child placed with them; or
• an intended parent in a surrogacy arrangement who is eligible for and intends to apply for a parental order.

Adoption leave is available to one adopter only (the ‘primary adopter’). The other adopter may be entitled to paternity leave or shared parental leave, if eligible.

Eligibility for statutory adoption pay (SAP) is separate from entitlement to leave. To qualify for SAP, the employee must:

• have 26 weeks’ continuous employment ending with the week in which they are notified of having been matched with a child; and
• have average weekly earnings at or above the Lower Earnings Limit.

SAP is payable for up to 39 weeks. The first 6 weeks are paid at 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings. The remaining 33 weeks are paid at the lower of 90% of average weekly earnings, or the prescribed statutory rate (same as the SMP rate).

Eligible employees are entitled to take either one or two consecutive weeks’ paternity leave following the birth of a child or placement for adoption. 

Paternity leave became a day one right from 6 April 2026. Employees can also now take statutory paternity leave and statutory shared parental leave in any order.

Eligibility for statutory paternity pay (SPP) is separate from entitlement to leave. To qualify for SPP, the employee must:

• have at least 26 weeks’ continuous employment ending with the qualifying week (the 15^th week before the expected week of childbirth, or the week of notification of adoption match); and
• have average weekly earnings of at least the Lower Earnings Limit.

SPP is payable for up to two weeks at the lower of 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, or the prescribed statutory rate (same as the SMP rate).

Shared parental leave (SPL) allows eligible parents to share the care of a child during the first year following birth or adoption, providing flexibility in how leave is taken between them. The maximum amount of SPL available is 52 weeks, less any weeks of maternity leave or adoption leave already taken by the child’s mother or primary adopter. 

To opt into SPL, the child’s mother (or primary adopter) must curtail their maternity leave (or adoption leave), and both parents must meet the relevant eligibility criteria. 

Eligibility for SPL depends on, among other things, the employee having at least 26 weeks’ continuous employment ending with the qualifying week (the 15^th week before the expected week of childbirth, or the week they are notified of being matched with a child for adoption). There are also additional employment and earnings tests that must be satisfied by both parents.

Statutory shared parental pay (SSPP) is available for up to 39 weeks, less any weeks of statutory maternity or adoption pay already claimed, provided the employee meets the Lower Earnings Limit and service requirements. SSPP is paid at the lower of 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, or the prescribed statutory rate (same as the SMP rate).

Employees who lose a child under 18, or who suffer a stillbirth from 24 weeks of pregnancy, have a day one right to take up to two weeks’ parental bereavement leave. This may be taken at any point within 56 weeks of the child’s death or stillbirth.

The employee can choose to take leave as two consecutive weeks, two separate one-week periods, or a single week.

Eligibility for statutory parental bereavement pay (SPBP) is separate from entitlement to leave. To qualify for SPBP, the employee must:

• have 26 weeks’ continuous employment; and
• have average weekly earnings at or above the Lower Earnings Limit.

SPBP is paid at the lower of 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, or the prescribed statutory rate (same as the SMP rate).

Employees have a day one right to take up to 12 weeks’ neonatal leave where their child is born on or after 6 April 2025 and receives neonatal care. Neonatal leave applies in addition to other family-related leave, such as maternity, paternity or adoption leave.

Neonatal leave must be taken in weekly blocks within 68 weeks of the child’s birth. The amount of leave available depends on the length of time the child spends in neonatal care, up to a statutory maximum of 12 weeks.

Eligibility for statutory neonatal care pay (SNCP) is separate from entitlement to leave. To qualify for SNCP, the employee must:

• have 26 weeks’ continuous employment; and
• have average weekly earnings at or above the Lower Earnings Limit.

SNCP is paid at the lower of 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, or the prescribed statutory rate (same as the SMP rate)

Employees have a day one right to take a reasonable amount of time off work to deal with an unexpected emergency involving a dependant. There are no qualifying service requirements and no statutory limit on the number of occasions leave can be taken, provided the time taken is reasonable in the circumstances.

Time off for dependants is unpaid, unless the employer chooses to offer an enhanced right to paid leave. The right is intended to allow employees to deal with the immediate crisis and make necessary arrangements, rather than to provide ongoing care. Examples of situations covered include:

• a child falling ill or being involved in an incident at school;
• an unexpected breakdown in care arrangements; and
• dealing with the death of a dependant, including making funeral arrangements.

Employees are entitled to take up to 18 weeks' unpaid parental leave for the purpose of caring for a child, subject to a maximum of 4 weeks per child in any leave year (unless the employer agrees otherwise). Parental leave may be taken up to the child’s 18^th birthday.

Parental leave became a day one right on 6 April 2026.

Parental leave must generally be taken in blocks of at least one week. However, where the child is disabled, the leave may be taken in shorter periods, including individual days.

Employees have a day one right to take up to one week’s unpaid carer’s leave in any rolling 12-month period ‘to provide or arrange care for a dependant with a long-term care need’. Employees may take the leave flexibly, as full days, half days, or a combination, either consecutively or on separate occasions across the 12-month period.

A ‘dependant’ must be one of the following:

• the employee's spouse or civil partner;
• the employee's child or parent;
• someone who lives in the same household as the employee (other than because they are the employee's boarder, employee, lodger or tenant); or
• someone who reasonably relies on the employee to provide or arrange care.

A 'long-term care need' only covers individuals who:

• have an illness or injury (physical or mental) that requires, or is likely to require, care for more than three months;
• have a disability, in terms of the Equality Act 2010; or
• require care for a reason connected with their old age.

From 6 April 2026, fathers and partners have a day one right to take bereaved partner’s paternity leave where the child’s primary carer (such as the mother or primary adopter) dies within 52 weeks of the child’s birth or adoption placement.

Employees can choose the length of leave as long as it starts after the bereavement and ends within the 52-week period starting with the day after the child’s birth or placement. The leave must be taken as a single, continuous period.

There is no statutory right to pay during bereaved partner’s paternity leave.