UK Statutory Leave Types Explained (2026 Guide for Employers)
A plain-English guide to the ten UK statutory leave entitlements — annual leave, SSP, maternity, paternity, shared parental, adoption, bereavement, unpaid parental, carer's and neonatal care leave — with 2026/27 rates.
UK employment law gives every employee a set of minimum leave rights set by law, not by the employer. You cannot offer less than these minimums, no matter what an employment contract says. There are ten of them, and getting any one wrong can lead to underpayment claims or tribunal disputes.
This is a clear, simple guide to each, with the current 2026/27 rates.
The ten statutory leave types at a glance
| Leave type | Max duration | Paid? | Key trigger |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual leave | 5.6 weeks/year | Yes | Entitlement-based |
| Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) | 28 weeks | Yes (£123.25/wk) | Off sick (paid from day 1) |
| Maternity leave | 52 weeks | 39 weeks SMP | Birth or adoption |
| Paternity leave | 2 weeks | Yes (SPP) | Birth/placement (within 52 weeks) |
| Shared Parental Leave | 50 weeks shared | 37 weeks shared | Maternity curtailment |
| Adoption leave | 52 weeks | 39 weeks SAP | Child placement |
| Parental Bereavement | 2 weeks | Yes (SPBP) | Child death under 18 |
| Unpaid Parental Leave | 18 weeks per child | No | Day-one right |
| Carer's leave | 1 week/year | No | Caring for a dependant |
| Neonatal care leave | 12 weeks | Yes | Baby in neonatal care |
Statutory pay rates change every April when HMRC publishes new tax-year figures. The rates below are the current 2026/27 values.
1. Annual leave
Every worker is entitled to at least 5.6 weeks of paid holiday per year — 28 days for someone working five days a week. Three things employers commonly get wrong:
- Bank holidays — the 28-day minimum can include bank holidays or sit on top of them. Either is lawful, but the contract must say which.
- Part-time workers get the same entitlement, pro-rata. Someone working 3 days a week gets (3 ÷ 5) × 28 = 16.8 days, rounded up to 17.
- Carry-over — by default unused leave is "use it or lose it," though you can permit carrying over a limited number of days. You cannot pay in lieu of holiday except when employment ends.
2. Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
When an employee is too ill to work, you must pay SSP. From 6 April 2026 the rules changed significantly:
- No waiting days — SSP is payable from the first day of sickness (previously the first 3 days were unpaid).
- No Lower Earnings Limit — every employee qualifies regardless of how much they earn (the old £123-a-week earnings floor was removed).
- The rate is the lower of £123.25 per week or 80% of the employee's average weekly earnings (2026/27) — so low earners get 80% of their pay rather than nothing.
- The daily rate is the weekly rate divided by the employee's qualifying days per week, so a 3-day-a-week employee gets a higher daily rate than a 5-day worker.
- SSP runs for a maximum of 28 weeks; linked spells within 56 days count toward the same limit.
- Employees can self-certify for up to 7 calendar days; after that a GP fit note is required.
Sickness that started before 6 April 2026 still follows the old rules (3 waiting days, the earnings floor) for its pre-reform days.
3. Statutory Maternity Leave
Eligible employees can take up to 52 weeks — 26 weeks Ordinary plus 26 weeks Additional Maternity Leave. Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is paid for up to 39 weeks:
- Weeks 1–6: 90% of average weekly earnings (AWE)
- Weeks 7–39: £194.32/week (2026/27), or 90% of AWE if lower
The final 13 weeks are unpaid. Employees can work up to 10 Keeping In Touch (KIT) days without ending their leave.
4. Statutory Paternity Leave
The eligible partner can take 1 or 2 weeks. Since the 2024 reform the two weeks can be taken separately (not just as one consecutive block) and at any point in the first 52 weeks after the birth or placement — with 28 days' notice. Statutory Paternity Pay is £194.32/week (2026/27), or 90% of AWE if lower.
5. Shared Parental Leave (SPL)
Eligible parents can share up to 50 weeks of leave (and up to 37 weeks of pay) after the mother or primary adopter curtails their maternity/adoption leave. It can be taken in multiple blocks, and employees get 20 SPLIT days (the SPL equivalent of KIT days). This is the most administratively complex statutory leave type.
6. Adoption Leave
An adopting employee gets the same leave and pay as maternity — up to 52 weeks' leave and 39 weeks of Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP), with the same 10 KIT days.
7. Parental Bereavement Leave
If an employee loses a child under 18, or suffers a stillbirth after 24 weeks, they're entitled to 2 weeks — as a single block or two separate weeks, within 56 weeks of the death. Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay is paid at the SSP flat rate for those eligible.
8. Unpaid Parental Leave
Employees are entitled to 18 weeks of unpaid leave per child, before the child's 18th birthday — capped at 4 weeks per child per year, with at least 21 days' notice. Since 6 April 2026 this is a day-one right (it previously needed one year's service).
9. Carer's Leave
Since 6 April 2024, employees have a day-one right to one week of unpaid leave per year to care for a dependant with a long-term care need. A "week" is the length of time they normally work over seven days, and it can be taken in half-days or full days.
10. Neonatal Care Leave
Since 6 April 2025, parents whose baby is admitted to neonatal care (within 28 days of birth, for a continuous stay of 7 days or more) get a day-one right to up to 12 weeks of leave — one week for every 7 days the baby spends in care, taken within 68 weeks of the birth. Statutory Neonatal Care Pay is £194.32/week (2026/27) or 90% of AWE if lower, for those who meet the service and earnings tests.
Statutory is the floor, not the ceiling
Everything above is the legal minimum. Many employers offer more — extra holiday, enhanced maternity pay, paid compassionate leave — through contractual entitlements on top of the statutory baseline.
Keeping ten leave types, their eligibility rules, and April rate changes straight across a growing team is exactly the kind of admin that slips. Coverboard comes pre-configured with all ten UK statutory leave types, calculates the correct pay and durations automatically, and refreshes the statutory rates each April — so your calculations stay accurate without manual tracking.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. For decisions about a specific employee, consult an employment law professional.