Paternity Pay Calculator
Calculate your Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) for 2025/26. See your 2-week pay, explore Shared Parental Leave options, and compare household income month by month during leave including tax and National Insurance.
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How to Use This Calculator
Paternity Pay tab
Enter your annual gross salary to calculate your Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) for 2 weeks of leave. The calculator shows your weekly SPP rate (£187.18/week or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is lower), gross and estimated net after tax and NI, and compares your paternity month income against a normal month. From April 2024, you can choose to split your 2 weeks into separate non-consecutive blocks taken any time within 52 weeks of birth.
Shared Parental Leave tab
See how Shared Parental Leave (ShPL) works alongside paternity leave. Enter both salaries and specify how many SMP weeks the mother is taking. The calculator shows how many leave and pay weeks are available to share, your ShPL pay rate, and the total household income during the shared leave period.
Take-Home During Leave tab
Compare your household income month by month across a 6-month period around the birth. See your income during paternity weeks, ShPL weeks, and when you return to normal salary — alongside the mother's SMP income. Enter your household costs to see whether your combined income covers expenses each month.
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The Formula
Statutory Paternity Pay is calculated based on your average weekly earnings (AWE):
SPP Weekly Rate = Lower of (90% × AWE) or £187.18
Total SPP (2 weeks) = SPP Weekly Rate × 2
Qualifying: employed 26+ weeks by 15th week before due date
AWE must be ≥ £123/week (Lower Earnings Limit)
Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) = Lower of (90% × AWE) or £187.18/week
Available ShPL weeks = 50 − mother's leave weeks − 2 (paternity)
Available ShPL pay weeks = 39 − mother's SMP weeks used
SPP and ShPP are both taxable income. Your employer deducts income tax and National Insurance in the same way as normal wages. Since paternity leave is only 2 weeks, the income reduction in your payslip is relatively small compared to the mother's maternity leave period.
From April 2024, the 2 weeks of paternity leave can be taken as 2 separate non-consecutive weeks at any point within 52 weeks of the birth or placement (previously they had to be consecutive within 56 days). This gives families significantly more flexibility.
Example
James — Software Developer, 33, Bristol
James earns £42,000/year. His partner earns £35,000. Their baby is due in July 2025. James plans to take 2 weeks of statutory paternity leave and is considering Shared Parental Leave.
Paternity Pay tab
James's 2 weeks of SPP pay him £374 gross instead of his normal £1,615 gross for a fortnight — a reduction of £1,241. Since 90% of his AWE (£727) exceeds the flat rate, the £187.18 cap applies.
Shared Parental Leave tab
James's partner plans to take 26 weeks of maternity leave (6 at 90% AWE + 20 at flat rate), then return to work. This frees up leave and pay for James to take as ShPL.
By taking 4 weeks of ShPL, James gets an additional £749 gross in statutory pay. Combined with his 2 weeks SPP (£374), he receives £1,123 total statutory pay across 6 weeks of leave — compared to £4,846 in normal gross pay for the same period.
Take-Home During Leave tab
The biggest income drop is in month 2 when James is on ShPL and his partner is on the SMP flat rate. With monthly costs of £2,500, they can cover essentials throughout but should budget for the reduced income during months 2-3.