Use this guide when you or your partner are expecting a baby or adopting, ideally as early as you can. Have your expected due date or adoption match date, your employment contract or staff handbook family leave policy, and recent payslips. Rules here are for employees in Great Britain; check GOV.UK for the current details.
Step by step
Check what leave and pay you can get
Read your employer's family leave policy first, as some offer more than the legal minimum. Statutory maternity leave can last up to 52 weeks, paternity leave is shorter, and Shared Parental Leave lets parents split leave between them. From April 2026, paternity leave and unpaid parental leave became day-one rights, but statutory pay still has qualifying conditions such as length of service and earnings. Use the GOV.UK tools to check what you are entitled to and the current statutory pay rates.
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