Statutory Paternity Pay and Leave (SPPL) gets a flexibility boost!

Exciting news for future fathers and partners! HM Government is introducing changes to Statutory Paternity Pay and Leave (SPPL), making it easier for employees to bond with their new child and support their family. These changes come into effect on 8 March 2024, giving employees more control over how they use their statutory paternity leave.

Here’s what’s changing:

• More flexibility in taking leave: Currently, employees can only take their leave in one block of 1 or 2 weeks, but the change will mean they’ll be able to split their 2 weeks of leave into non-consecutive blocks. This means employees can take a week at a time, giving them more options to manage work and family commitments.
• Take leave when it fits with family-time: Right now, employees can only take Statutory Paternity Leave within the first 8 weeks after birth or adoption. The new rules extend this timeframe to the entire first year. This gives employees the freedom to choose a time that best suits their family’s needs, whether it’s closer to the birth or later on.
• Shorter notice period: Planning can be tricky with newborns! To help employees adapt to changing circumstances, the required notice period for each leave period is being reduced from 8 weeks to just 4 weeks. This gives employees more flexibility to respond to their baby’s needs and make decisions on shorter notice.

These changes apply to babies born or adopted on or after 6 April 2024. However, there is important information for employers regarding reclaiming Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) regarding early or premature births:

• If the baby is born early and before 6 April 2024, employees can still claim SPPL under the new rules. This means they can take their 2 non-consecutive weeks of leave before 6 April 2024 even though the baby was expected after that date.
• In this case, employers can reclaim SPP made under the new rules by following HMRC’s guidance. This guidance will be available closer to the implementation date.

Employers are encouraged to review their current parental leave policies and update them to reflect the new regulations.

If we manage your payroll for you, we take care of the Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) calculations and automatically reclaim the applicable SPP on your behalf. To find out more about our payroll services, please contact Julie Hunter on 0131 317 7377 or email Julie.hunter@jsca.co.uk

Photo by Alex Bodini on Unsplash