Statutory Paternity Pay: manually calculate your employee’s payments

Terminology explained

Matching date (MD)

The date when the adoption agency told your employee that they had been matched with a child.

Matching week (MW)

The week (Sunday to Saturday) when the adoption agency told your employee that they had been matched with a child.

Week baby due

The week in which the expected date of the baby’s birth falls, starting with the preceding Sunday and ending on the following Saturday. If the birth falls on a Sunday, that date is the first day in the week baby due.

Qualifying week (QW)

The QW is the 15th week (Sunday to Saturday) before the week baby due.

Before you begin

InformationYou you need the following information to calculate your employee’s Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP):

• for SPP — the declaration of family commitment signed by your employee — form SC3, SC4, SC5 or your own version
• the date your employee intends to stop work
• your employee’s gross pay and the dates they were paid
• the date your employee started working for you
• confirmation that your employee’s gross earnings are liable to employer’s Class 1 National Insurance contributions (NICs) or would be but for their age or level of earnings

Calculate Average Weekly Earnings (AWE)

AWE must must include all earnings on which Class 1 1 NICs:

• are liability is due, or due
• would be due if theythe earnings were high enough. enough

SPP entitlement entitlement depends on your employee’s employee’s AWE in in a ‘relevant period’. For the tax year 20232024 to 20242025 the the AWE must must be £123 or more. Divide all the earnings paid in thatthe relevant period by the number of days, weeks or months in that period.

The relevant period (births)

This is usually the 88-week week period before the the QW.

The end of the relevant period is the last normal payday on, or before, the Saturday of the the QW. (orIf the date the baby is born where the baby is born before or during the QW)., the relevant period will end on the date the baby is born. 

The start of the relevant period is the day after the last normal payday falling at least 8 weeks before the end of the relevant period.

Example weekly paid employee

Baby due on 2524 March 2024:2025:

QW	Payday	Last payday at least 8 weeks before the end of the relevant period	Last payday on or before the Saturday of the QW
108 December 20232024 to 1614 December 20232024	Friday	2018 October 20232024	1513 December 20232024

The relevant period is 2119 October 20232024 to 1513 December 2023.2024.

Add up all the earnings paid between 2119 October 20232024 toand 1513 December 20232024 and divide by 8 (the number of weeks in the relevant period).

Do not round the figure up or down to whole pence.

Example monthly paid employee

Baby due dateon 2324 March 2024:2025:

QW	Payday	Last payday at least 8 weeks before the end of the relevant period	Last payday on or before the Saturday of the QW
108 December 20232024 to 1614 December 20232024	Last working day of the month	2930 September 20232024	3029 November 20232024

The relevant period is 301 SeptemberOctober 20232024 to 3029 November 2023.2024.

You need to:

1. Add up all the earnings paid between 301 SeptemberOctober 20232024 toand 3029 November 2023:
   2024.
   • divideDivide by 2 (the number of months in the relevant period)period).
   • multiplyMultiply by 12 (number of months in the year)year).
   • divideDivide by 52 (number of weeks in the year)year).

Do not round the figure up or down to whole pence.

The relevant period (adoption)

This is usually the 8 week period before the the MW.

The end of the relevant period is the last normal payday on or before the Saturday of the the MW.

The start of the relevant period is the day after the last normal payday falling at least 8 weeks before the end of the relevant period.

Example — weekly paid employee (adoption)

Matching date is 75 December 2023:2024:

MW	Payday	Last payday at least 8 weeks before the end of the relevant period	Last payday on or before the Saturday of the MW
31 December 20232024 to 96 December 20222024	Friday	1311 October 20232024	86 December 20232024

The relevant period is 1412 October 20232024 to 86 December 2023.2024.

Add up all the earnings paid during the relevant period and divide by 8 (the number of weeks in the relevant period).

Do not round the figure up or down to whole pence.

Example — monthly paid employee (adoption)

Matching daydate is 7 December 2023:2024:

MW	Payday	Last payday at least 8 weeks before the end of the relevant period	Last payday on or before the Saturday of the MW
3 December 2023 to 9 December 2023	Last day of month	30 September 20232024	3029 November 20232024

The relevant period is 1 October 20232024 to 3029 November 2023.2024.

You need to:

1. Add up all the earnings paid betweenin during the relevant period and:
   period.
   • divideDivide by 2 (the number of months in the relevant period)period).
   • multiplyMultiply by 12 (number of months in the year)year).
   • divideDivide by 52 (number of weeks in the year)year).

Do not round the figure up or down to whole pence.

Weekly paid employees without a whole number of weeks in the relevant period

This may happen if you bring forward your employee’s normal payday because of bank holidays, for example at Easter or Christmas. Divide the earnings by the number of weeks wages were actually paid, not the number of weeks in the relevant period.

Employees paid multiples of a week

This may happen if you pay your employee fortnightly or 4 weekly. Divide the earnings by the number of whole weeks in the relevant period.

Monthly paid employees without a whole number of months in the relevant period

Work out the number of rounded months as follows:

• count the number of whole months
• count the numbers of odd days

Round up or down as follows:

• February — 14 days or less round down, 15 days or more round up
• any month except February — 15 days or less round down, 16 days or more round up

Divide the earnings by this number of rounded months.

Employees not paid in a regular pay pattern

Divide the earnings by the number of days in the relevant period and multiply by 7.

Mistimed payments

This only applies to regular payments of earnings paid other than on their normal date, for example due to a bank holiday.

A mistimed payment:

• occurs when the date of the actual payment of earnings is made earlier or later than the normal contractual payday, such as an annual holiday
• should not be confused with a payroll error, where a mistake is made in the payroll resulting in a shortfall of paypay, when working out the AWE in the relevant period

Divide the total earnings in the relevant period by the number of weeks wages were actually paid.

Overpayment or underpayment of earnings made during the relevant period

Always calculate AWE on all earnings actually paid within the relevant period. Where over or under payments of wages occur within the relevant period, include the overpaid or underpaid amount in the AWE calculation to decide if SPP is due.

Salary sacrifice

If an employee has entered into a salary sacrifice with you their AWE is calculated using the amount of earnings actually paid to them after the sacrifice during the relevant period.

Contractual benefits

ForThe thecalculation purposes of calculating AWE for SPP,SSP the calculation is based only on earnings which are subject to Class 1 NICs. ThereforeDo not include the value of any benefits which are exempt from Classclass 1 NICs (such as some childcare vouchers will not be included in theyour AWE calculation.

Earnings in the relevant period affected by a backdated pay rise

If your employee receives a backdated pay rise which increases the amount of earnings already paid in the relevant period and was either:

• not entitled to SPP
• entitled to SPP at less than the standard rate

You must recalculate their AWE to check if they’re:they are:

• now entitled, and pay any SPP due
• entitled to an increase and pay any extra SPP due

Calculate SPP

SPP is is a weekly payment. It lasts for 1 or 2 complete weeks and the 2 weeks must be consecutive.

You must pay your employee the lower weekly rate of:

• £172.48£184.03 from 57 April 20232024
• 90% of their their AWE

The The SPP period period starts the day after the last day your employee worked before starting their paternity leave.

SPP weeks start with the first day of the pay period,period. forFor example an SPP period which starts on a Wednesday will have pay weeks within the pay period which run from Wednesday to the following Tuesday.

SPP paid part-weekly

SPPYou can bepay paidSSP as part weeks to help employersyou align theyour payments to theiryour employee’s normal pay period.

You Thecan split the weekly rate mayinto be2 splitparts. intoIf 2you anddo ifthis, ityou is,will make the calculation is done on the basis of dividing the weekly rate by 7.

For example, if the pay period coversfor thea endmonthly ofpaid oneemployee monthcovers and2 the beginning of the next (2 days in April and 5 days in May)May. thenTheir employer should pay 2/7thsthem two-sevenths in oneApril month and 5/7thsfive-sevenths thein next month.May.

Help and advice

You can get advice from HMRC Employer Helpline.