Surrogacy Leave and Pay in England, Wales and Scotland

Who this guide is for

Intended parents having a baby through surrogacy, and surrogates, who work in England, Wales or Scotland and want to know what leave and pay they can get from work, how to ask for it, and their rights if their employer gets it wrong.

What this guide does not cover

• Work in Northern Ireland: see the Northern Ireland guide.
• How to apply for a parental order, who is the child's legal parent, surrogacy agreements and expenses. These are family court matters. This guide does not cover them: see GOV.UK or ask a family law solicitor.
• Intended parents who are not genetically related to the child apply for an adoption order, and the adoption rules are different. This guide does not cover adoption through an adoption agency or an adoption order: ask Acas.
• Maternity pay for the surrogate: use the maternity pay checker. Asking to work flexibly or part time: use the flexible working checker. Bereavement leave: use the bereavement leave checker.
• The Shared Parental Leave rules, how long the extra redundancy protection after adoption leave lasts, and whether a single intended parent qualifies. This guide does not cover these: ask Acas.
• How much compensation a tribunal can award: use the tribunal checker.

The questions that decide the answer

1. Are you an intended parent or the surrogate? Intended parents can get adoption leave and pay, or paternity leave and pay. The surrogate has the same maternity rights as any other pregnant employee.
2. Will you apply for a parental order in the 6 months after the birth, and do you expect it to be granted? The leave and pay in this guide depend on it. A parental order needs one intended parent to be genetically related to the child. If neither of you is, you apply for an adoption order instead and different rules apply.
3. Are you an employee? Adoption leave and paternity leave are for employees. The pay depends on being taxed through PAYE, so agency workers can get it. If you pay tax through self-assessment, you cannot get Statutory Adoption Pay.
4. When is the baby due, when did you start this job, and what do you earn? These decide whether you get the pay. If any of them is missing, the answer depends on them.

"Which leave can we take?"

If you are eligible, one of you can take adoption leave and the other can take paternity leave. It is up to you to decide which of you takes which.

Only one of you can get adoption leave and pay. You cannot change or swap once you have told your employers.

If you are genetically related to the child, you can choose paternity leave and pay instead of adoption leave and pay, but you cannot get both.

You may also be able to share leave and pay through Shared Parental Leave and Pay.

If you do not qualify for paid leave, you may be able to take parental leave or annual leave. Your employer may offer more than the legal minimum, but never less.

"How much adoption leave do I get?"

Statutory Adoption Leave is up to 52 weeks: 26 weeks of Ordinary Adoption Leave and 26 weeks of Additional Adoption Leave.

Employees have the right to adoption leave from their first day in the job. It does not depend on how long you have worked there.

In a surrogacy case, adoption leave starts on the day the baby is born, or the day after if you are at work that day. If the baby arrives early, your leave starts straight away: let your employer know as soon as you can.

During adoption leave your employment rights are protected, including pay rises and going back to work, and you build up holiday as normal.

"How much adoption pay will I get?"

Statutory Adoption Pay is paid for up to 39 weeks. For the first 6 weeks you get 90% of your average weekly earnings.

For the next 33 weeks you get £194.32 a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. This rate applies from 6 April 2026.

It is paid in the same way as your wages, and tax and National Insurance are deducted. It starts when your adoption leave starts.

"Do I qualify for adoption pay?"

You qualify for Statutory Adoption Pay if all of these apply:

• you have been continuously employed by your employer for at least 26 weeks by the 15th week before the week the baby is due;
• you earn on average at least £129 a week before tax in the 8 weeks before that week;
• you are classed as employed for tax purposes, which includes employees and agency workers taxed through PAYE;
• you intend to apply for a parental order and expect it to be granted, for example because you have no convictions involving children and the surrogate agrees;
• you give the right notice, and proof of the surrogacy if your employer asks for it.

For adoption pay in a surrogacy case, the 26 weeks are counted up to the 15th week before the week the baby is due, not up to a matching date.

If your employer decides you cannot get Statutory Adoption Pay, they must give you form SAP1 within 7 days of making that decision, explaining why.

If you disagree with the amount you get, or your employer cannot pay it (for example because it is insolvent), contact the HMRC Statutory Payment Dispute Team.

"How do I tell my employer?"

No later than the 15th week before the expected week of birth, tell your employer the week the baby is due and when you want your adoption leave to start. It is a good idea to do this in writing, and your employer can ask for it in writing.

Where possible, give at least 28 days' notice of the date you want your adoption pay to start.

Your employer must reply in writing within 28 days, confirming the date your adoption leave will run to.

Your employer can ask for a statutory declaration: a written statement, signed in front of a legal professional, that you have applied or will apply for a parental order in the 6 months after the birth.

To change the start date of your adoption leave, tell your employer at least 28 days before the date it is due to start, or at least 28 days before the earlier date you want.

"What paternity leave and pay can the other parent get?"

From 6 April 2026, paternity leave is a right from your first day of employment. Before that date, employees needed 26 weeks of service.

To take paternity leave, you must intend to apply for a parental order in the 6 months after the birth and expect it to be granted.

You can take 1 or 2 weeks of paternity leave, together or as 2 separate weeks. It can start on the day the baby is born (or the day after if you are working that day) or a later date you choose, and it must end within 52 weeks of the birth.

Statutory Paternity Pay is £194.32 a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.

For Statutory Paternity Pay you must be the spouse, civil partner or partner of the other intended parent (including same-sex partners) and share the main responsibility for the child. You must also have at least 26 weeks of continuous employment up to any day in the qualifying week, still be employed by the same employer at the birth, and earn on average at least £129 a week.

The qualifying week is the 15th week before the week the baby is expected.

By the end of the qualifying week, tell your employer the expected date of birth, and confirm in writing that you expect to be responsible for bringing up the child, that you are the partner of the other intended parent, and that you are both parental order parents. You can use a letter, an email or GOV.UK form SC4.

Give your employer the start date and length of each period of paternity leave at least 28 days before it starts. Tell them the actual date of birth as soon as you can after the birth.

Workers are not entitled to paternity leave, but they might be entitled to statutory paternity pay.

"Can I have time off for antenatal appointments?"

As an intended parent, you can take unpaid time off to go to 2 antenatal appointments with the person giving birth. If you are a couple, only one of you can take this time off, and you decide which.

You can take up to 6 and a half hours off work for each appointment. Employees need no minimum service for this. Agency workers need 12 weeks in the same job with the same hirer.

Your employer cannot ask for proof of the appointment, but can ask you to sign a written declaration that you are taking the time off to go to one.

"Can I work during adoption leave, and what happens when I go back?"

You can agree with your employer to work up to 10 keeping in touch days during adoption leave. Part of a day counts as a full day. If you work more than 10, your adoption leave and pay end automatically.

If you have taken 26 weeks of adoption leave or less, you have the right to go back to the same job.

If you have taken more than 26 weeks, you have the right to go back to the same job unless your employer has a good reason to offer a similar one. It must be suitable and appropriate, and no worse on pay, benefits, holiday, seniority or location.

If you do not give a return date, your employer will assume you are coming back after 52 weeks. To come back earlier, give 8 weeks' notice.

"Our baby needs neonatal care"

You might also get neonatal care leave and pay, on top of adoption leave. It is a right from your first day in a job, once the baby has been in neonatal care for at least 7 days in a row, and it lasts up to 12 weeks depending on how long the care lasts.

"I'm the surrogate"

Every pregnant employee has the right to 52 weeks' maternity leave and to return to their job afterwards. What a surrogate does after the child is born does not affect their right to maternity leave.

The person carrying the baby is entitled to time off for antenatal appointments. For maternity pay and the rest of the maternity rules, use the maternity pay checker.

"I've been dismissed or treated unfairly"

Your employer should not dismiss you or treat you unfairly because you are taking adoption leave. There is extra redundancy protection for employees who take adoption leave.

A dismissal where the main reason is that you wanted to take family leave, such as adoption, paternity or parental leave, is automatically unfair. You do not need 2 years' service to claim.

You can make a claim to an employment tribunal. Before most claims, you must notify Acas to start early conciliation. It is free. Your time limit is paused while conciliation runs, but only if you notify Acas within your time limit.

Deadlines you must meet

• Adoption leave: tell your employer no later than the 15th week before the expected week of birth.
• Adoption pay: at least 28 days' notice of the start date where possible.
• Paternity leave: tell your employer by the end of the qualifying week, give at least 28 days' notice of each period, and finish the leave within 52 weeks of the birth.
• Parental order: the leave and pay depend on applying in the 6 months after the birth.
• Coming back early from adoption leave: 8 weeks' notice.
• Most tribunal claims, including unfair dismissal: 3 months less 1 day from the act you are complaining about, or 6 months less 1 day where that act (or the last act in a series) happened on or after 1 October 2026.
• Notify Acas within your time limit, so that the clock is paused. Your exact date depends on your facts: the tribunal deadline checker works it out.

Traps

• Intended parents take adoption leave and paternity leave, not maternity leave, which is for the person who gives birth.
• Only one of a couple can take adoption leave, and you cannot swap once you have told your employers.
• The leave needs no minimum service, but the pay does: 26 weeks by the 15th week before the week the baby is due.
• From week 7, adoption pay is capped at £194.32 a week. Only the first 6 weeks have no upper limit.
• A pay dispute goes to HMRC, not to a tribunal.
• Do not use Northern Ireland rules here.