Paternity leave becomes a day one right for employees

Paternity leave became a day one right for employees on 6 April 2026, with the previous qualifying period removed, according to Which?¹. The rule that meant a parent lost entitlement to paternity leave if they took shared parental leave has also been scrapped¹. The updated rules apply to parents of children born or placed for adoption on or after 6 April 2026, and transitional arrangements are in place for babies due after that date but born earlier¹.

Maternity Action states that where the expected week of childbirth starts on or after 5 April 2026, there will no longer be a requirement to have 26 weeks of employment in order to qualify for paternity leave, describing it as a day one right for any employee meeting the requirements². The same organisation says that from 6 April 2026 there will no longer be a requirement to have worked for an employer for a year for Parental Leave, which also becomes a day one right⁴.

Paternity leave itself remains one or two weeks, taken in one go and not starting until the baby has been born¹. To qualify, the person must use the time to look after the new baby and be the child's father, the husband or partner of the mother including same-sex partners, the child's adopter, or the intended parent in a surrogacy arrangement¹. Statutory paternity pay requires earnings of at least £129 a week before tax, with no minimum earnings requirement for the leave itself¹. Written notice of intention to take paternity leave must be given at least 15 weeks before the baby's due date¹.

Maternity Action reports that from 6 April 2026 Statutory Sick Pay can be claimed from the first day of sickness absence, with no minimum earnings threshold, paid for a maximum of 28 weeks⁴. It also states that the two-child limit in Universal Credit ends in April 2026, with the change applying to assessment periods starting on or after 6 April 2026⁴. A separate Maternity Action page gives the end date for the two-child limit as monthly assessment periods beginning on or after 6 April 2027, and says Universal Credit will have fully replaced legacy benefits such as income-related ESA and Housing Benefit for working age people from April 2027². The two dates are not reconciled in the material.

Why it matters for households

Employees who change jobs, start a new job while pregnant, or have short service now qualify for paternity leave from the first day of employment, rather than after a qualifying period¹. Parents who take shared parental leave no longer lose paternity leave as a result¹. The change applies to children born or placed for adoption on or after 6 April 2026, so parents of children born before that date, including those with a due date after it, fall under transitional arrangements¹.

Statutory paternity pay remains conditional on earnings of at least £129 a week before tax, so the day one change affects the leave entitlement rather than removing the pay threshold¹. Rates for statutory maternity and paternity pay are set at £194.32 a week for 2026-27 where they are not based on 90% of average earnings¹. Households where a parent takes shared parental leave are affected by the removal of the rule that ended paternity leave entitlement¹. Parents arranging adoption leave and pay fall under the same 6 April 2026 start date for placements¹.

What happens next

Transitional arrangements apply for babies due after 6 April 2026 but born earlier¹. Maternity Action states that the time limit for bringing a claim relating to a childbirth injury is expected to increase to six months from October 2026⁴. It also states that the two-child limit will no longer apply to Universal Credit claims from monthly assessment periods beginning on or after 6 April 2027, and that from April 2027 Universal Credit will have fully replaced legacy benefits for working age people².