Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay: eligibility, forms and records

Your employee may be entitled to Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay (OSPP) if their partner has a baby or adopts a child. This replaces their normal earnings and helps them take time off to care for the child or support the other parent.

As their employer, whether you have to pay them OSPP depends on how long they have worked for you, how much they earn and when the baby is due or the date of adoption. They’ll also have to provide you with a declaration of their eligibility and give you notice of when they want you to start paying their OSPP.

Payments of OSPP count as earnings. You must deduct tax and National Insurance contributions from them in the usual way.

You’ll normally be able to recover some or all of the OSPP you pay.

OSPP – an overview

Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay (OSPP) is paid for one or two weeks as requested by the employee. The amount of OSPP you must pay is the lower of:

• the standard weekly rate – £135.45 from 1 April 2012
• 90 per cent of their average weekly earnings

OSPP and paternity leave

An employee doesn’t necessarily have to be eligible for ordinary paternity leave in order to qualify for OSPP. This is the case for some agency workers, for example. This is because the meaning of ’employee’ for OSPP purposes covers anyone for whom you pay secondary Class 1 National Insurance contributions (or would pay them if their earnings were high enough).

Ordinary paternity leave and pay

Joint and individual adoptions

If a baby is being adopted on an individual basis, then OSPP is available to the adopter’s partner, regardless of gender. The adopter will be entitled to Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) provided they meet separate eligibility criteria that apply.

Where a couple is adopting on a joint basis, then they can choose which partner will take SAP and which will take OSPP.

Statutory Adoption Pay: eligibility, forms and records

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OSPP eligibility – births

If your employee’s partner is having a baby, your employee will be entitled to Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay (OSPP) if all of the following apply:

• they have responsibility for the baby’s upbringing
• they are the baby’s biological father or the mother’s partner (regardless of gender)
• they have at least 26 weeks’ continuous service with you by the end of the ‘qualifying week’ – the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth
• they have average weekly earnings at least equal to the National Insurance contributions lower earnings limit – £107 a week for 2012-13
• they have declared their eligibility for OSPP by giving you a completed form SC3 at least 28 days before they want their OSPP to start (or as soon as reasonably practical)

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OSPP eligibility – UK adoptions

Where a baby is being adopted within the UK, your employee will be entitled to Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay (OSPP) if all of the following apply:

• they have responsibility for the adopted child’s upbringing
• they are jointly adopting the child, or are the partner (regardless of gender) of a person adopting the child on an individual basis
• they have at least 26 weeks’ continuous service with you by the ‘matching week’ – this is the week (beginning on Sunday and ending on Saturday) in which the adopter is notified of having been matched with the child
• they continue to work for you from the matching week to the date of the child’s placement
• they have average earnings at least equal to the National Insurance contributions lower earnings limit – £107 a week for 2012-13
• they have declared their eligibility for OSPP by giving you a completed form SC4 at least 28 days before they want their OSPP to start

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OSPP eligibility – overseas adoptions

For overseas adoptions, your employee will be entitled to Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay (OSPP) if all of the following apply:

• official notification has been received from the relevant UK authority (usually the Department of Health) confirming that the adopter(s) have been deemed suitable to adopt a child from overseas
• your employee has responsibility for the adopted child’s upbringing
• they are either jointly adopting the child or are the partner (regardless of gender) of someone adopting the child individually
• they have worked for you continuously for at least 26 weeks by the later of the week that official notification is received or the time they want payment of OSPP to begin
• they continue to work for you up until the point the child enters the UK
• they have declared their eligibility for OSPP by giving you a completed form SC5 at least 28 days before they want their OSPP to start (or as soon as is reasonably practicable)
• they have average earnings at least equal to the National Insurance contributions lower earnings limit – £107 a week for 2012-13

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If an employee doesn’t qualify for OSPP

If you determine that your employee isn’t entitled to be paid Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay (OSPP) you must tell them about your decision. You can do this using form OSPP1.

Find form OSPP1 on the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) website – Opens in a new window

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Paying and recovering OSPP

Our guide on dealing with calculating and recovering Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay (OSPP) explains in detail how to calculate, pay and recover statutory pay.

If you use payroll software, it may help you decide if OSPP is due and make the calculations for you. Or you can use HMRC’s free statutory pay calculator in the Basic PAYE Tools package.

This will:

• tell you if your employee is entitled to be paid OSPP
• work out how much OSPP is due
• work out how much OSPP you can recover – including compensation, if you’re entitled to it

You’ll be able to recover at least 92 per cent of the OSPP you have to pay. If your total National Insurance payments are £45,000 a year or less, you’ll be able to recover 100 per cent of the OSPP and an additional 3 per cent of the OSPP you have to pay from 6 April 2012. This is to compensate you for the employer’s National Insurance contributions you have to pay on the OSPP.

You can recover OSPP by deducting it from your monthly PAYE payments. Or you may be able to ask HMRC for funding in advance – for more information, read our guide get help with statutory payments funding.

Our guide on dealing with calculating and recovering OSPP explains in detail how to calculate, pay and recover statutory pay.

How to calculate and recover Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay

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When to stop paying OSPP

You do not have to pay Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay (OSPP) to an employee for any week of their OSPP period during which they do any work for you. You must stop paying OSPP entirely if any of the following occurs:

• the employee dies
• they’re arrested or put in prison
• they work for another employer, who didn’t employ them during the qualifying week (in cases of birth) or the matching week (in cases of adoption)

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OSPP forms and records

There are various forms that you’ll need to use for dealing with Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay (OSPP):

• form SC3 Becoming a parent
• form SC4 Becoming an adoptive parent
• form SC5 Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay and ordinary paternity leave when adopting from abroad

You should use one of these forms to tell your employee about the terms and conditions that apply for OSPP. Each form includes a tear-off statement where the employee must tell you about dates and leave. There is also a declaration they must sign confirming that they’re entitled to ordinary paternity leave and OSPP.

Bear in mind that although you can allow ordinary paternity leave without a signed statement, you mustn’t pay OSPP without it.

Find form SC3 Becoming a parent on the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) website – Opens in a new window

Find form SC4 Becoming an adoptive parent on the HMRC website – Opens in a new window

Find form SC5 Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay when adopting from abroad declaration form on the HMRC website – Opens in a new window

Form OSPP1 Non-payment of Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay (OSPP)

If you determine that your employee isn’t entitled to be paid OSPP, you must tell them about your decision. You can do this using form OSPP1.

Find form OSPP1 Non-payment of Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay (OSPP) on the HMRC website – Opens in a new window

Form OSPP2 Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay record sheet

You’ll need to keep a record of the OSPP you pay and any changes in dates. You can use this form for keeping your record.

Find form OSPP2 Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay (OSPP) record sheet on the HMRC website – Opens in a new window

Record keeping

The records you’ll need to keep include:

• the declaration of family commitment, or a copy if you handed it back with form OSPP1
• the payment dates and amount paid – use form OSPP2
• the date the pay period began
• any OSPP that wasn’t paid and the reason why

As well as recording payments on OSPP2, you must also use the following to keep records of the payments of OSPP you make and the amounts you recover:

• form P11 or an equivalent employee payroll record (either electronic or paper) – if you’re using a paper form P11 complete column 1i and include the OSSP in gross pay in column 2 for each week or month that you pay OSSP
• form P14 End of year summary – you only have to show the OSPP paid to each employee in months when you recovered some or all of it 
• form P35 Employer Annual Return – you only have to show the total amount of OSPP recovered in the year and any amount of National Insurance contributions compensation you received

Remember that almost all employers are required to file their Employer Annual Return (form P35 and forms P14) online to HMRC. For more information, including details of the exemptions that apply, see our related guide file your Empoyer Annual Return: P35 and P14s.

If you use the Simplified Deduction Scheme for domestic employees there are different forms to use:

• P12 Simplified Deduction Card – if you’re recovering some or all of the OSPP, record all the payments of OSPP you make to your employee each week or month
• P37 Employer Annual Return

You must keep all these records for at least three years after the end of the tax year they relate to.

You can find out more about the forms you’ll need for dealing with OSPP and about using your own forms in HMRC’s publication E19 ‘Employer Helpbook for Ordinary and Additional Statutory Paternity Pay’. You’ll also find information on record keeping.

Download E19 Employer Helpbook for Ordinary and Additional Statutory Paternity Pay from the HMRC website (PDF, 643K) – Opens in a new window

Payroll calculations and records: an introduction

Simplified PAYE for domestic employees

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If an employee disagrees with your OSPP decision

If you determine that your employee isn’t entitled to Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay (OSPP) you must explain the reason for your decision to them. You can do this using form OSPP1. For OSPP Birth you must do this within 28 days of the day the employee gave you notice to start OSPP. For OSPP Adoption you must do this within 28 days of the end of the seven day period that starts on the date the adopter is notified of being matched with a child. Make a copy of your employee’s declaration – form SC3, SC4 or SC5 – and give the original back to them.

If your employee doesn’t agree with you, they have the right to ask you for a written statement showing:

• the weeks – if any – for which you think you should pay OSPP
• how much OSPP you think your employee is entitled to
• why you don’t think you should pay OSPP for other weeks in the pay period

Your employee can ask for a written statement at any time. If the request is reasonable you must give them the statement within a realistic time – for example, within seven days of being asked for it.

If you and your employee can’t agree how much OSPP you should pay, you can ask HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for guidance by telephoning HMRC’s Employer Helpline – Opens in a new window. Your employee can also ask HMRC for a decision if you can’t agree.

Find form OSPP1 on the HMRC website – Opens in a new window

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OSPP Help and advice

If you can’t find the information you need, you can ask a question through the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) email query service.

Use HMRC’s email query service to send a question about OSPP

Alternatively, you can get advice from HMRC’s Employer Helpline.

Find contact details for the Employer Helpline on the HMRC website – Opens in a new window

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