Am I entitled to Statutory Paternity Pay?
Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) is a benefit that is paid by your employer if you have to take time of work because:
- Your partner has given birth to a child, or
- You have just become the father of a child or
- You and your partner are adopting a child
SPP can be paid to men or women. You do not have to be married to your partner. Your partner can be the same sex as you. You may also be entitled to SPP if you become the father of a child but you do not live with the mother. It can only be paid for the time you take off work in order to look after your child.
SPP if your partner has just given birth or you have just become the father of a child
Not all people are entitled to SPP. To work out whether you are entitled you need to know your qualifying week.
How to work out your qualifying week:
- Take the date your baby is due and write down the Sunday at the beginning of that week
- Use a diary or calendar to count back 15 weeks from this Sunday
- This will give you another Sunday, which is the date at the start of your qualifying week
You are entitled to SPP if:
- You are the father of the child and you are living with the mother of the child or you expect to help with the upbringing of the child or
- Your partner has given birth to a child and you expect to be the main person, apart from the mother, involved with the upbringing of the child.
As well as being in one of the above groups:
- You must be 16 or over, and
- You must have worked for your employer continuously for at least 26 weeks up to and including the qualifying week, and
- The child that you are claiming SPP for has been born, but is no more than 8 weeks old, and
- You must have also earned, on average, at least as much as the National Insurance Lower Earnings Limit during the 8 weeks up to and including the qualifying week.
The National Insurance Lower Earnings Limit is £82 (April 2005 - April 2006) per week. This means that you must have earned at least £82 per week in each of the 8 weeks up to and including the qualifying week. You may lose your right to SPP if you are on reduced hours or on sick pay during the eight weeks before the qualifying week.
You do not have to have paid national insurance contributions to qualify for SPP
Need more help? Live in Manchester? Send us an email