Statutory Adoption Pay for an agency temp: 90% for 6 weeks, then £194.32 or 90% for 33, and the 26-week test worked on one matching date

A temp on a long assignment says the family has been approved to adopt and expects to be matched with a child in the spring. The consultant says "I'll check", and the question lands with payroll. The pay is arithmetic and a calendar, and it can be worked from two GOV.UK pages in a few minutes. Whether agency gaps break continuity, the pages do not answer, and this guide says where that line is.

What GOV.UK says about the pay

The pay page gives a two-stage rate. Statutory Adoption Pay is paid for "up to 39 weeks": 90% of average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks, then £194.32 or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower, for the next 33 weeks. The page does not say which tax year £194.32 belongs to, so check it against your payroll software before quoting it to a candidate.

Where the cap bites

The two numbers cross at £194.32 divided by 0.9, which is £215.91 a week. Below that, the person gets 90% of their average for all 39 weeks. Above it, the first 6 weeks are 90% (which is more than £194.32) and the last 33 drop to the flat figure.

Our arithmetic, before any rounding your software applies. For the £300 temp: 6 x £270.00 is £1,620.00, 33 x £194.32 is £6,412.56, and together they come to £8,032.56. The same 39 weeks on assignment would have paid £11,700.00, so the gap is £3,667.44. Telling a candidate in advance is cheaper than the call after the first payslip.

The test that sorts people out

The eligibility page sets out conditions for pay. The temp must:

1. have been continuously employed by the employer for at least 26 weeks "by the week you were matched with a child";
2. earn on average at least £129 a week before tax;
3. give adequate notice and supply evidence of the adoption (both are on the how-to-claim page, which I did not read).

For a match in the week of Sunday 7 to Saturday 13 March 2027, counting 26 weeks back from the end of Saturday 13 March gives 12 September 2026. On that reading, a temp who started with the agency after that date misses the test, even if the assignment has run every week since. The page says "by the week", and I have taken that to mean the end of the matching week; confirm the exact day your payroll uses. The page gives different tests for overseas adoption and surrogacy, which are not worked here.

What the pages do not say

The pay page does not say the person must be an employee; the leave section does. GOV.UK does not address agency workers, or how a gap between two assignments affects "continuous employment". I have not read the statutory rules on either, so I have not worked a case with a gap, and payroll should confirm the agency's own treatment before telling a candidate they qualify.

What to collect when a temp mentions it

• Expected matching date, in writing. The 26-week cut-off is worked back from it.
• Start date of the first assignment with the agency, and any gaps since. This is the continuity evidence.
• Average weekly earnings over the lookback your payroll uses. Without it the 90% figure is a guess.
• Which route applies? Domestic adoption, overseas adoption and surrogacy have different tests.

The same continuity logic sits behind statutory paternity pay for agency temps and statutory maternity pay, and the question of who pays also arises with statutory sick pay.

Overlyft builds AI staff who join your payroll team and, when a temp mentions a matching date, work out the 26-week cut-off and the two-stage weekly figures from the payroll record, then queue the draft reply for a person to check and approve.

This is general information, not payroll or legal advice. Check GOV.UK and your payroll software before you confirm entitlement.