Day-One Paternity, Parental and Bereaved Partner's Leave from April 2026

From 6 April 2026, three significant changes to family-friendly leave take effect under the Employment Rights Act 2025. Statutory paternity leave becomes a day-one right, removing the previous 26-week qualifying period. Unpaid parental leave becomes a day-one right, removing the previous 12-month qualifying period. And a new entitlement to bereaved partner's paternity leave gives up to 52 weeks of leave to the partner of a mother or primary adopter who dies during pregnancy or shortly after birth or placement.

Statutory family pay rates also rise to £194.32 per week from 6 April 2026, covering statutory maternity pay (SMP), paternity pay (SPP), adoption pay (SAP), and shared parental pay (ShPP).

Source: Retail Gazette, family-friendly leave and sick pay changes and GOV.UK, ERA Timeline Update.

Why These Changes Matter

The qualifying period removal for paternity and parental leave was a long-standing political commitment. Until 6 April 2026, an employee in their first job (or in the first year with a new employer) could be excluded from leave entitlements at exactly the point when family events most often happen.

Removing those gates aligns paternity and parental leave with maternity leave, which has been a day-one right since 2003. The headline effect is that any employee, regardless of length of service, can now take paternity leave or unpaid parental leave when a qualifying family event occurs.

Bereaved partner's paternity leave is a new entitlement that did not previously exist in any form. It addresses the specific scenario where a parent dies during or shortly after pregnancy and the surviving parent needs an extended period to care for the child.

The Three Changes from 6 April 2026

1. Day-One Paternity Leave

Until 6 April 2026, statutory paternity leave required 26 weeks of continuous service ending with the qualifying week. From 6 April 2026, eligibility for the leave itself is from day one of employment.

The leave entitlement is unchanged: up to two weeks (taken in one block of two weeks or two separate blocks of one week each) within 52 weeks of the birth or adoption placement. Notice requirements remain at 15 weeks before the expected week of childbirth, with confirmation of dates after the birth.

The key change is timing. An employee who started a new job 8 weeks before their child is born is now entitled to paternity leave from that employer.

Statutory paternity pay (SPP) still requires the employee to have earned at least the lower earnings limit on average over the relevant period. The leave is a day-one right, but paid leave still depends on earnings. This creates a known gap for self-employed and very low-paid workers.

2. Day-One Unpaid Parental Leave

Until 6 April 2026, unpaid parental leave required one year of continuous service. From 6 April 2026, eligibility is from day one.

Unpaid parental leave is up to 18 weeks per child (per parent), to be taken before the child reaches age 18. It is normally limited to 4 weeks per child per year, in one-week blocks, with 21 days' notice to the employer.

The change is significant for employees who change jobs frequently. Parents of younger children whose 18-week entitlement has not yet been used now retain access to unpaid parental leave from day one of any new role.

Employers can still postpone parental leave for up to six months (other than around birth or adoption) where the business cannot reasonably accommodate it.

3. Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave (New)

This is a new entitlement that did not previously exist. From 6 April 2026, where a mother or primary adopter dies during pregnancy or before the child reaches the end of statutory maternity, adoption, or shared parental leave, the surviving partner is entitled to extended bereaved partner's paternity leave of up to 52 weeks.

The intention is to give the surviving parent leave equivalent to what the deceased parent would have taken, regardless of which parent had originally been on maternity or adoption leave.

This is a low-frequency but high-impact entitlement. Employers will not encounter it often, but when they do the employee needs clear, sympathetic, and accurate communication. Manager guidance and HR scripts should explicitly cover this scenario rather than leaving managers to improvise.

4. Statutory Family Pay Rises to £194.32 per Week

Effective 6 April 2026, the standard rate of SMP, SPP, SAP, and ShPP all rise to £194.32 per week. Statutory maternity pay continues to be paid at 90% of average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks, then the lower of £194.32 or 90% of average weekly earnings for up to 33 further weeks.

Payroll systems and any contractual provisions that quote the previous statutory rate need to be updated. Enhanced (contractual) family pay schemes that calculate top-ups against the statutory rate may need recalculating.

Quick-Reference Summary

Change	Effective	Was	Now
Paternity leave qualifying period	6 April 2026	26 weeks' service	Day one
Unpaid parental leave qualifying period	6 April 2026	1 year service	Day one
Bereaved partner's paternity leave	6 April 2026	Did not exist	Up to 52 weeks
SMP / SPP / SAP / ShPP standard rate	6 April 2026	£187.18 per week	£194.32 per week

What Employers Must Do Before 6 April 2026

Update employment contracts that reference the 26-week paternity qualifying period or the 12-month parental leave qualifying period. Standard wording in older contracts often quotes the old rules verbatim.
Update the employee handbook paternity, parental leave, and family-friendly sections. Add a new section on bereaved partner's paternity leave.
Reconfigure payroll to apply the new £194.32 weekly rate from 6 April 2026.
Train line managers on the new rights, particularly the bereaved partner's paternity leave provision. Managers need a clear script for an event that they may never have encountered before.
Update HR systems to remove qualifying-period gates on paternity and parental leave eligibility checks.
Communicate the changes to existing staff, especially those expecting children or with eligible dependants.

The Known Equity Gap

Reporting in The Guardian flagged a continuing gap in family pay. Statutory paternity pay (SPP) and statutory shared parental pay (ShPP) remain unavailable to self-employed parents and to employed parents earning below the lower earnings limit. Statutory maternity allowance covers self-employed mothers, but no equivalent exists for paternity.

Employers cannot fix this gap unilaterally, but enhanced (contractual) paternity pay schemes can be designed to bridge it for employees who fall below the LEL. If you offer enhanced paternity pay, review whether your scheme inadvertently excludes the lowest-paid workers as a side effect of being calculated as a top-up to SPP.

Notice and Evidence Requirements

Notice and evidence requirements remain largely unchanged:

Paternity leave: notice in or before the 15th week before expected childbirth, signed declaration, with flexibility to vary dates with 28 days' notice.
Unpaid parental leave: 21 days' notice; entitlement is in respect of a specified child.
Bereaved partner's paternity leave: short-notice flexibility is expected to be set out in supporting regulations; treat any request sympathetically and within statutory minimums.

Employers should not require evidence beyond statutory minimums (for example, requiring a birth certificate before allowing paternity leave to start) as this can amount to indirect discrimination.

Common Errors to Avoid

Maintaining the 26-week paternity qualifying period in contracts or handbooks after 6 April. This is the most common error and creates immediate risk of disputes.
Treating unpaid parental leave as still requiring 12 months' service. Standard handbook wording is often outdated; review every reference.
Failing to recognise bereaved partner's paternity leave. This is a new right, not a re-naming of an existing one. Manager training must explicitly cover it.
Underpaying the new statutory rate of £194.32. Payroll configuration must be updated and any contractual top-ups recalculated.
Refusing leave on technical grounds. The day-one rule is unconditional; refusing paternity leave to a new starter on length-of-service grounds is no longer lawful.

Enforcement Risk After 6 April

The Fair Work Agency takes over enforcement of statutory pay obligations from 6 April 2026. Failing to pay the correct rate of SPP, SMP, SAP, or ShPP, or failing to recognise day-one eligibility, is now subject to Fair Work Agency civil proceedings as well as Employment Tribunal claims.

For background on the new enforcement regime, see The Fair Work Agency Launches April 2026.

How Policy Pros Can Help

Policy Pros drafts and reviews maternity, paternity, adoption and parental leave policies for UK employers. We can update your existing documentation to reflect the 6 April 2026 changes on a fixed-price basis, including the new bereaved partner's paternity leave provision.

If your wider HR documentation needs review, our policy review service can identify everything that needs changing across contracts, handbooks, and payroll-linked policies. For broader changes taking effect on the same date, see our Employment Rights Act 6 April 2026 employer checklist.

SSP day-one is also live from the same date. See our companion statutory sick pay April 2026 employer guide.