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Statutory pay

Pay­ments may be required from an employ­er if an employ­ee is not at work for a vari­ety of rea­sons.

There are detailed con­di­tions for an employ­ee to qual­i­fy for any of these statu­to­ry pay­ments.

Employ­ees are only eli­gi­ble for a statu­to­ry pay­ment if they have suf­fi­cient aver­age week­ly earn­ings of at least the low­er earn­ings lim­it (exclud­ing Sick Pay from 6 April 2026).

2026/27:

TypeMax pay­ment peri­odAmount (£)
Statu­to­ry Sick Paylow­er of £123.25 or 80% of week­ly earn­ings
Statu­to­ry Mater­ni­ty PayFirst six weeks90% of week­ly earn­ings
Next 33 weeks194.32
Statu­to­ry Pater­ni­ty Pay2 weeks194.32
Statu­to­ry Adop­tion PayFirst six weeks90% of week­ly earn­ings
Next 33 weeks194.32
Shared Parental Pay194.32
Statu­to­ry Parental Bereave­ment Pay — two weeks194.32

Statu­to­ry pay­ments may be payable at 90% (80% for sick pay) aver­age week­ly earn­ings through­out the pay­ment peri­od in cer­tain cir­cum­stances. This applies where 90%/80% week­ly earn­ings are less than the stan­dard rate.

2025/26:

TypeMax pay­ment peri­odAmount (£)
Statu­to­ry Sick Pay118.75
Statu­to­ry Mater­ni­ty PayFirst six weeks90% of week­ly earn­ings
Next 33 weeks187.18
Statu­to­ry Pater­ni­ty Pay2 weeks187.18
Statu­to­ry Adop­tion PayFirst six weeks90% of week­ly earn­ings
Next 33 weeks187.18
Shared Parental Pay187.18
Statu­to­ry Parental Bereave­ment Pay — two weeks187.18

With the excep­tion of Statu­to­ry Sick Pay, statu­to­ry pay­ments may be payable at 90% aver­age week­ly earn­ings through­out the pay­ment peri­od in cer­tain cir­cum­stances. This applies where 90% week­ly earn­ings are less than the stan­dard rate of £187.18.

Statutory Sick Pay

Pay­ments may be required from an employ­er if an employ­ee is too ill to work.

SSP is gen­er­al­ly payable for a peri­od up to 28 weeks.

Statutory Maternity Pay

Pay­ments may be required from an employ­er when an employ­ee takes time off to have a baby.

SMP is payable for a peri­od up to 39 weeks.

Statutory Paternity Pay

Pay­ments may be required from an employ­er when an employ­ee takes time off dur­ing their part­ner’s Statu­to­ry Mater­ni­ty Pay peri­od.

Pay­ment is for a peri­od of either one or two com­plete weeks.

Shared Parental Pay

Pay­ments may be required from an employ­er when an employ­ee takes time off fol­low­ing the cur­tail­ment of the peri­od of SMP by the moth­er.

Pay­ment is for up to a max­i­mum of 37 weeks and is depen­dent on the moth­er’s unused SMP peri­od.

Statutory Adoption Pay

Pay­ments may be required from an employ­er when an employ­ee takes time off when they adopt a child.

Pay­ment is for a peri­od up to 39 weeks.

Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay

Pay­ments may be required from an employ­er when par­ents take time off fol­low­ing the death of a child or a still­birth.

Pay­ment is for up to a max­i­mum of two weeks.