Terminology explained

Matching date

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

Matching week

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

Placed

This is when the child starts living with your employee permanently with the aim of being formally adopted in the future. The child may have stayed with them before this date.

Before you begin

Information you need to calculate your employee’s Statutory Adoption Pay:

• a copy of the matching certificate — or in the case of an adoption from abroad, a copy of the Official Notification from the relevant UK authority that they’ve agreed that your employee is suitable to adopt a child from overseas
• the date the child’s expected to be placed with your employee or to enter the UK
• 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

Calculate average weekly earnings

Average weekly earnings must include all earnings on which Class 1 National Insurance contributions are due, or would be due if they were high enough.

Statutory Adoption Pay entitlement depends on your employee’s average weekly earnings in a ‘relevant period’. For the tax year 20242025 to 20252026 the average weekly earnings must be £123£125 or more.

Divide all the earnings paid in that relevant period by the number of days, weeks or months in that period.

The relevant period

This is usually an 8 week period before the matching week.

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

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

The matching date is 713 December 2024.2025.

Matching week	Payday	Last payday at least 8 weeks before the end of the relevant period	Last payday on or before the Saturday of the matching week
17 December 20242025 to 613 December 20242025	Friday	1110 October 20242025	65 December 20242025

The relevant period is 1211 October 20242025 to 65 December 2024.2025.

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

The matching date is 713 December 2024.

Matching week	Payday	Last payday at least 8 weeks before the end of the relevant period	Last payday on or before the Saturday of the matching week
17 December 20242025 to 612 December 20242025	Last day of month	30 September 20242025	2928 November 20242025

The relevant period is 1 October 20242025 to 3028 November 2024.2025.

Add up all the earnings paid between during the relevant period and:

• divide by 2 (number of months in the relevant period)
• multiply by 12 (number of months in the year)
• divide by 52 (number of weeks in the 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 when you have to bring your employees normal payday forward because of bank holidays at Easter or Christmas.

Divide the earnings by the number of week’s wages actually paid, not the number of weeks in the relevant period.

Employees paid multiples of a week

This may happen if your employee is paid 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 pay when working out the average weekly earnings

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

Overpayment/underpayment of earnings made during the relevant period

Always calculate average weekly earnings based on all earnings actually paid to the employee within the relevant period, regardless of any over or underpaid wages in that period.

Where an overpayment or underpayment of wages was made within the relevant period, you must include the overpaid or underpaid amount in the average weekly earnings calculation for deciding if Statutory Adoption Pay is due.

Non-cash payments and contractual benefits

You may normally pay some of your employee’s earnings as a non-cash payment, for example, providing board and lodging or giving them goods or services. However, you must pay any Statutory Adoption Pay in full. Statutory Adoption Pay cannot be sacrificed or offset against other benefits, it must be paid in cash.

All non-pay contractual benefits must continue during statutory adoption leave. These may include any childcare vouchers, company car or mobile phone provided to the employee as part of their contract of employment.

Calculate Statutory Adoption Pay

When you have calculated the average weekly earnings, work out how much Statutory Adoption Pay is due and pay it on the same day that you would normally pay wages and for the same period.

Statutory Adoption Pay is a weekly payment and the adoption pay period can start on any day of the week, usually the day after the last day your employee worked before starting their adoption leave.

For example, an Statutory Adoption Pay period which starts on a Wednesday will have pay weeks within the pay period which run from Wednesday to the following Tuesday.

Statutory Adoption Pay is usually paid for 39 weeks.

Statutory Adoption Pay is payable at:

• 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks
• £184.03£187.18 from 76 April 20242025 or 90% of their average weekly earnings (whichever is lower) for the remaining weeks

Statutory Adoption Pay paid part weekly

Statutory Adoption Pay can be paid as part weeks to help employers align the payments to their employees normal pay period by dividing the weekly rate by 7 and multiplying by the number of days Statutory Adoption Pay is to be paid in the week or month.

For example, if the pay period covers the end of one month and the beginning of the next (2 days in April and 5 days at the beginning of May) then pay 2/7ths in one month and 5/7ths at the beginning of the next month.

Help and advice

You can get advice from HM Revenue and Customs Employer Helpline.