Parental and family leave in the United Kingdom
Reviewed by Mellow Editorial Team, HR & payroll content team
Employees in the UK are entitled to a range of statutory family leave rights, including maternity, paternity, shared parental, adoption and parental bereavement leave — each with its own eligibility rules, notice requirements and pay entitlements. Employers must understand all of them, because the Employment Rights Act 2025 has strengthened several day-one rights in this area.
Maternity leave and pay
Any employee who is pregnant is entitled to up to 52 weeks of maternity leave, regardless of how long she has worked for you. That leave splits into 26 weeks of ordinary maternity leave and 26 weeks of additional maternity leave.
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is separate from leave entitlement and has its own eligibility conditions: the employee must have been on your payroll continuously for at least 26 weeks ending with the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth, and must earn at least the lower earnings limit. SMP is paid for up to 39 weeks. You recover most of it from HMRC by deducting it from your PAYE payments; smaller employers can recover a higher percentage.
Notice requirements matter. The employee must tell you she is pregnant by the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth, and confirm when she wants to start leave. You must respond in writing within 28 days confirming the return date.
Paternity leave and pay
Eligible employees can take one or two consecutive weeks of statutory paternity leave following the birth or adoption of a child. To qualify, they must have 26 weeks of continuous service by the 15th week before the expected week of birth, and must be the child's father or the mother's partner.
Statutory Paternity Pay applies when the employee meets earnings and service thresholds. The Employment Rights Act 2025 is phasing in changes that will give fathers and partners greater flexibility over when paternity leave can be taken — including allowing it later in the first year of a child's life — so check the current HMRC guidance for the precise timetable.
Shared parental leave
Shared Parental Leave (SPL) lets eligible parents split up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of Statutory Shared Parental Pay between them. The mother or primary adopter must first curtail their maternity or adoption leave, and both parents must meet service and earnings conditions.
SPL can be taken in separate blocks — not necessarily back to back — which requires careful planning on the employer side. Each notice period is eight weeks, and employees can submit up to three notices each. You can refuse a request to take leave in discontinuous blocks (though you cannot refuse continuous-block requests). If you refuse a discontinuous request, the employee can either withdraw it or default to a continuous block starting on the date in the notice.
Managing SPL requires close coordination with payroll, since how Mellow runs payroll across six countries illustrates how complex pay calculations become when leave overlaps across pay periods.
Adoption leave and pay
An employee who is the primary adopter is entitled to up to 52 weeks of statutory adoption leave, with the same ordinary and additional split as maternity leave. Statutory Adoption Pay is available for up to 39 weeks, subject to service and earnings thresholds.
The secondary adopter is entitled to paternity leave. For overseas adoptions, the rules differ slightly on when leave can begin, so verify the current HMRC position when the situation arises.
Employees must notify you within seven days of being matched with a child (or as soon as reasonably practicable) and confirm the intended start date. You again have 28 days to confirm the return date in writing.
Parental bereavement leave
Since 2020, employees have had a day-one right to two weeks of parental bereavement leave following the death of a child under 18, or a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy. Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay applies where service and earnings thresholds are met.
This is a day-one right, meaning no minimum service period is needed for the leave itself — only for the statutory pay element. Given the Employment Rights Act 2025's general direction of travel towards stronger day-one rights, treat any bereaved parent's request with care and follow the formal process even if it feels uncomfortable.
What employers need to do in practice
Keep a clear record of every notice, confirmation letter and return date. Run SMP, SPL pay and other statutory payments through your payroll software — they must be reported to HMRC via Real Time Information on or before each payday. Underpaying statutory family pay or failing to respond to notices in time exposes you to HMRC penalties and employment tribunal claims.
Review your contractual family leave policy against the statutory floor each time the law changes. Contractual enhancements are your choice, but statutory minimums are not.
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