Paternity leave in a dental practice in 2026 to 2027: a day-one right, £194.32 a week, and what the practice gets back

A nurse who joined the practice in August tells the practice manager that his partner is due in the spring. Can he take paternity leave, and will he be paid? The answer changed in April 2026 for the leave part, and it pays to know the two tests separately before replying.

Leave and pay are two different rights

GOV.UK's employer guide is clear on the split.

Paternity Leave. GOV.UK says employees are eligible for Paternity Leave from their first day of employment. There is no length-of-service test for the leave itself.

Statutory Paternity Pay. Pay has its own conditions. The employee must have been continuously employed by you for at least 26 weeks up to any day in the "qualifying week", and earn at least £129 a week (gross) on average over an 8-week relevant period.

So the nurse who joined in August can take the leave, but whether he is paid depends on whether he reaches 26 weeks by the qualifying week, which is the 15th week before the week the baby is due. Work that date out from the due date before you answer him.

How much leave, and when

Employees can take either one or two weeks. If they take two, GOV.UK says they can be taken together or separately. The leave must finish within 52 weeks of the birth. For a practice, two separate weeks are often easier to cover than a fortnight, and the employee can choose.

How much pay

GOV.UK gives Statutory Paternity Pay as £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. Using the National Living Wage of £12.71 an hour for staff aged 21 and over:

A part-timer on 10 hours earns £127.10 a week, below the £129 threshold, and would get the leave but no statutory pay.

What the practice gets back

Practices pay SPP through payroll and recover most or all of it from what they owe HMRC. GOV.UK's page on recovering statutory payments says an employer can usually reclaim 92%, or 109% if it qualifies for Small Employers' Relief. A business qualifies if it paid £45,000 or less in Class 1 National Insurance in the last complete tax year before the qualifying week.

For the full-time nurse's two weeks at £388.64:

• Small practice (relief applies): reclaims 109%, £423.62. The practice ends up £34.98 better off than the pay it handed over, which helps towards locum or agency cover.
• Larger practice: reclaims 92%, £357.55. The practice carries £31.09.

Most single-site practices with a handful of nurses and receptionists will be under the £45,000 line, but a larger group may not be. Check last year's employer Class 1 figure in payroll rather than guessing. Employer pension contributions on SPP may still apply; our guide to auto-enrolment for dental staff covers the triggers.

What the cover really costs

The pay is the small part. Two weeks of a nurse away means two weeks of chair time to cover. If the practice cannot cover, sessions get cut. Our surgery hourly rate calculator shows what an hour of lost chair time is worth, which is usually the number that decides whether to book a locum nurse.

A checklist for the practice manager

1. Note the due date and work out the qualifying week.
2. Check the employee's start date: leave is a day-one right; pay needs 26 weeks by the qualifying week.
3. Check average earnings against £129 a week.
4. Agree the weeks, one or two, together or apart, all within 52 weeks of the birth.
5. Set up SPP in payroll and the 92% or 109% reclaim.
6. Book cover for the sessions affected.

Holiday also keeps building up during paternity leave; the holiday entitlement guide shows how to count it.

Overlyft builds AI staff who join the practice team and draft the reply to a paternity request with the dates and pay worked out, ready for the practice manager to check and send, and flag the sessions that need cover in the diary.

This is general information, not employment advice. Check GOV.UK for the employee's own circumstances.