Police parental leave pay: paternity, adoption and pension
What officers in England and Wales get for paternity leave (maternity support leave), adoption leave, adoption support leave and unpaid parental leave: who qualifies, how each week is paid, the July 2026 move to two weeks’ full pay, the SMP earnings window, repayment if you leave, increments and your pension.
Independent information, not advice · Sources checked 19 October 2026 · England and Wales
A police officer whose partner is having a baby gets up to two weeks' maternity support leave, the Police Regulations' name for paternity leave. The first week is on full pay. The second week is paid at the statutory paternity pay rate (£194.32 a week in 2026/27) if you have 26 weeks' service by the end of the 15th week before the due week. In July 2026 the Government accepted that both weeks should be on full pay, but that only takes effect once the Home Office determination is amended, so check with your force. An officer adopting a child gets up to 52 weeks' adoption leave with 26 weeks' service, and 26 weeks on full pay with a year's service. The adopter's partner gets two weeks' adoption support leave, paid like paternity leave. Paid leave keeps your 2015 pension building as if you were on normal pay; unpaid family leave can be bought back if you elect within three months of returning.
Looking for maternity pay?
Officers with 63 weeks’ service get 26 weeks on full pay, then SMP to week 39. The full rules, the half-pay option and worked examples are in our police maternity pay guide, and the free maternity pay calculator puts your own numbers on each phase. This page covers everything around it: the other parent, adoption, the earnings window, repayment, increments and pension.
The five things most officers need to know
- Paternity leave is two weeks. Police Regulations call it maternity support leave. Week 1 is full pay; week 2 is at the statutory rate (£194.32) with 26 weeks’ service, moving to full pay once the July 2026 decision is written into the determination.
- Adoption is paid like maternity. With a year’s service at the matching week you get 26 weeks on full pay, then Statutory Adoption Pay to week 39.
- Overtime in the earnings window rarely changes an officer’s maternity or adoption pay if you qualify for the police full-pay weeks, because the statutory pay sits inside your full pay. It matters if you get statutory pay only.
- The “one-month return” rule is force policy, not regulation. Annex L does not contain it, but most forces apply something like it. Read your force’s policy before deciding not to go back.
- Paid leave protects your pension; unpaid leave does not. You have three months from your return to elect to buy back unpaid family leave.
Plan your dates first. The free pregnancy timeline planner works out the expected week of childbirth, the qualifying week that sets both SMP and paternity pay service, and the payslips in the earnings window.
Maternity, adoption and paternity at a glance
The four main types of police family leave side by side. Each row cites the rule it comes from; the sections below explain them.
| Maternity | Adoption | Paternity (maternity support) | Adopter's partner (adoption support) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who | The birth mother | The officer adopting (one of a couple) | The father, the mother’s partner or her nominated carer | The adopter’s spouse or partner |
| Leave | Up to 15 months, within 6 months before to 12 months after the due date (Annex R Part 1) | 52 weeks with 26 weeks’ service at the matching week; 1 week with less (Annex R Part 2) | 2 weeks at or around the birth (Annex S) | 2 weeks at or around the adoption (Annex S) |
| Occupational pay | 26 weeks’ full pay with 63 weeks’ service, or full pay to week 21 and half pay weeks 22 to 31 (Annex L) | Week 1 full pay for everyone; weeks 2 to 26 full pay with 1 year’s service; half-pay option weeks 22 to 31 (Annex R paras 23, 24, 24A) | Week 1 full pay. Week 2 at the SPP rate with 26 weeks’ service; both weeks full pay once the July 2026 change is made | Same as maternity support leave |
| Statutory pay | SMP, 39 weeks: 90% of average earnings for 6 weeks, then £194.32 or 90% if lower | SAP, 39 weeks: same structure as SMP | SPP: £194.32 or 90% of average earnings if lower | SPP: same |
| Pension (2015 scheme) | Assumed pay while paid, on statutory pay and in the first 26 weeks if unpaid; later unpaid weeks can be bought back | Assumed pay while paid or on SAP; unpaid weeks can be bought back | Assumed pay for any reduced-pay week | Assumed pay for any reduced-pay week |
| Counts for pay increments | First 52 weeks (reg 24(3)(f)) | All of it (reg 24(3)(h)) | All of it (reg 24(3)(i)) | All of it (reg 24(3)(j)) |
| Leave | How much | Pay | Increments and pension |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shared parental leave (SPL) | Up to 50 weeks’ leave and 37 weeks’ pay shared between parents, in the first year, by cutting short maternity or adoption leave | ShPP at £194.32 or 90% of average earnings if lower; check whether your force pays more | See the SPL guide |
| Unpaid parental leave | Federation guidance: 18 weeks per child, normally before the 5th birthday or 5th anniversary of placement; 1 year’s service; 21 days’ notice (Annex S Part 2) | Unpaid | Counts for increments (reg 24(3)(g)); pension can be bought back (PPR 2015 reg 172) |
| Neonatal care leave | Statutory scheme for parents of babies in neonatal care | Statutory neonatal care pay where eligible | See the neonatal guide |
| Keeping in touch days | Up to 10 days during maternity or adoption leave, by agreement (Annex R Part 3) | Paid for the hours worked; does not reduce SMP or SAP for that week | See the KIT days guide |
Statutory rates are the GOV.UK figures for 2026/27. “Assumed pay” is the 2015 pension scheme rule that credits you with your normal pensionable pay. See pension.
Where the rules come from
Police officers are office holders, not employees. Your family leave and occupational pay come from the Police Regulations 2003 and the Home Office determinations made under them, not from the employment law most websites quote. The determinations that matter here are:
- Annex L: maternity pay.
- Annex R: maternity leave (Part 1), adoption leave and adoption pay (Part 2) and keeping in touch days (Part 3).
- Annex S: maternity support leave, adoption support leave (Part 1) and parental leave (Part 2).
Statutory pay is different. The rules for SMP, SPP, SAP and ShPP treat office holders as employees, so officers get statutory pay on the same tests as everyone else: 26 weeks’ service at the qualifying or matching week and average earnings of at least £129 a week. Where both apply, the statutory payment is paid as part of your police pay, not on top of it.
Police staff, including PCSOs, are employees. Their paternity, adoption and parental leave come from employment law and the force’s staff scheme, so the rules on this page do not apply to them. Ask your HR team or union for the staff policy.
Police paternity leave: maternity support leave
The Police Regulations do not use the word “paternity”. The leave a partner takes around a birth is maternity support leave under Annex S. These are the rules in the determination text published by the Home Office:
| Rule | What it says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Entitlement | Two weeks’ maternity support leave at or around the time of birth, “so far as the exigencies of duty permit” | Annex S para 1 |
| Who qualifies | The child’s father, or the partner or nominated carer of the expectant mother. A nominated carer is the person the mother nominates to help care for the child and support her around the birth | Annex S paras 1 and 2 |
| Week 1 pay | Normal rate of pay, whatever your length of service. Any SPP you receive for the week is paid as part of it, not on top | Annex S paras 4 and 6 |
| Week 2 pay (current text) | The statutory paternity pay rate (£194.32 a week, or 90% of average earnings if lower), if you have served 26 continuous weeks in any force ending with the week before the 14th week before the expected week of birth | Annex S para 5; GOV.UK rates 2026/27 |
| Week 2 pay (accepted July 2026) | Full pay for officers who meet the service rule above, once the determination is amended after consultation | HCWS264; PRRB 2026 |
| Part-time officers | Each paid day counts as 8 hours multiplied by your part-time factor | Annex S para 8 |
| Annual leave | Maternity support leave counts as service for annual leave | Annex S para 11 |
| Pay increments | Maternity support leave counts as service in your rank | Reg 24(3)(i) |
The 26-week service test, in dates
The service you need for the paid second week ends with “the week immediately preceding the 14th week before the expected week of the child’s birth”, which is the end of the 15th week before the due week. That is the same week as the SMP and SPP qualifying week. For a baby due on 14 April 2027, it runs from 27 December 2026 to 2 January 2027. Service in any police force counts, as long as it is continuous. The timeline planner works this out for any due date.
Statutory paternity pay
SPP itself needs 26 weeks’ continuous service up to the qualifying week and average earnings of at least £129 a week. It is £194.32 a week in 2026/27, or 90% of your average weekly earnings if that is lower. A full-time officer’s average earnings are far above the level where 90% would be lower, so overtime makes no difference to SPP. Your force pays it through payroll with tax and National Insurance deducted.
When you can take it
Annex S says “at or around the time of birth” and “so far as the exigencies of duty permit”. That last phrase matters: for officers this is not the absolute right that statutory paternity leave is for employees, although in practice forces plan around a due date. Employees under the statutory scheme can take paternity leave as one week, two weeks together or two separate weeks, ending within 52 weeks of the birth, but it cannot start before the birth. If you want to split your weeks or take them later, ask your force how it applies the “at or around the time of birth” wording before you plan around it.
- Tell your line manager and HR the due date as early as you can, in writing, with the dates you want.
- Ask HR whether your force has already moved to two weeks’ full pay, and get the answer in writing.
- Agree with your resourcing unit what happens if the baby is early or late.
- Check your payslip after the leave: week 1 should be full pay with SPP shown inside it.
If your baby needs neonatal care, separate rules may give you more time: see neonatal care and bereaved partners’ leave. Partners can also attend antenatal appointments; how forces handle that is covered in pregnant police officer: antenatal appointments.
The July 2026 change: two weeks' full pay
The Police Remuneration Review Body’s 2026 report, published on 15 July 2026, recommended that maternity support leave should be two weeks on full pay from 1 September 2026. The Government accepted it the same day in its written statement HCWS264. According to the Federation’s summary of the response:
- the second week of full pay goes to officers who meet the current service requirement for statutory paternity pay (the 26-week test above);
- the same change applies to adoption support leave, for the partner of an officer who adopts; and
- both changes will be implemented after consultation on amendments to the determinations under the Police Regulations 2003.
Accepted is not the same as in force. Until the amended Annex S is made, the determination still says the second week is paid at the statutory rate. Some forces may already pay both weeks in full under their own policy, and the amended determination might be back-dated, but we have not seen either confirmed. If your leave falls after 1 September 2026, ask HR in writing which rate applies and whether it will be corrected if the change is back-dated. We will update this page when the amended determination is published.
Police adoption leave and pay
Adoption leave for officers is in Part 2 of Annex R. The pay was brought into line with maternity pay from 4 January 2021 by Home Office Circular 003/2020, which gave officers who meet the criteria “maternity and adoption leave with full pay for 26 weeks”.
| Rule | What it says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Notice | Tell your force you have been matched, the expected placement date and when you want leave to start, within 7 days of being told of the match (or as soon as reasonably practicable) | Annex R paras 14 and 16 |
| Start | Adoption leave must begin within the 14 days ending with the expected placement date | Annex R para 15 |
| Under 26 weeks’ service at the matching week | One week’s adoption leave, paid at your normal rate | Annex R paras 19 and 23 |
| 26 weeks’ service at the matching week | 52 weeks’ adoption leave (ordinary and additional) | Annex R para 20 |
| One year’s service at the matching week | Full pay for weeks 2 to 26 as well as week 1, with any SAP paid as part of it | Annex R paras 24 and 25, as amended by HOC 003/2020 |
| Half-pay option | Instead of full pay in weeks 22 to 26, you can elect half pay in weeks 22 to 31 | Annex R para 24A (HOC 003/2020) |
| Statutory Adoption Pay | Up to 39 weeks: 90% of average weekly earnings for 6 weeks, then £194.32 or 90% if lower. Needs 26 weeks’ service by the matching week and average earnings of at least £129 a week | GOV.UK |
| Returning early | Give not less than 28 days’ notice of your return date | Annex R para 22 |
| Who cannot take it | A step-child or foster child who already lived with you; and only one of a couple adopting jointly can take adoption leave | Annex R paras 17 and 18 |
| More than one child | Being matched with more than one child at the same time does not change the entitlement | Annex R para 21 |
| KIT days | Up to 10 by agreement, without ending your leave or using up a paid week | Annex R Part 3 para 29 |
| Annual leave and increments | Adoption leave counts as service for annual leave and for service in your rank | Annex R para 28; reg 24(3)(h) |
The pay sequence with a year’s service
- Weeks 1 to 26: full pay, with SAP paid inside it (the first 6 weeks of SAP are 90% of your average earnings).
- Or, if you elect the half-pay option: full pay to week 21, then half pay for weeks 22 to 31.
- To week 39: SAP at £194.32 a week, or 90% of your average earnings if lower.
- Weeks 40 to 52: unpaid. You can buy back the pension for these weeks (see buying back unpaid leave).
Between 26 weeks and a year’s service you get 52 weeks’ leave, the first week on full pay, and SAP for up to 39 weeks if you meet the SAP tests. Under 26 weeks the determination text gives one week’s leave on full pay. GOV.UK lists no minimum service for statutory adoption leave for employees, so if you are near the line, ask HR how your force applies the officer rule.
Surrogacy and overseas adoption. The statutory scheme covers intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement and overseas adoptions, with different qualifying dates (GOV.UK). The police determination text we read is written around being matched with a child, so ask your force how it applies police adoption pay to surrogacy or an overseas adoption.
Keeping in touch. You can work up to 10 KIT days during adoption leave by agreement, without ending the leave. A KIT day does not use up one of your paid weeks and does not reduce your SAP for that week. See KIT days explained.
The adopter's partner: adoption support leave
If your spouse or partner is the one taking adoption leave, you can take two weeks’ adoption support leave at or around the time of the adoption, again so far as the exigencies of duty permit (Annex S para 3). It is paid exactly like maternity support leave: week 1 at your normal rate, week 2 at the statutory paternity pay rate if you have 26 weeks’ service ending with the week you are matched, and both weeks on full pay once the July 2026 change is made. It counts for annual leave and for service in your rank.
Where both adopters are officers, only one can take adoption leave (Annex R para 18). The other takes adoption support leave, and you can then use shared parental leave if you want to share the rest of the year.
Maternity pay in brief
Maternity pay has its own guide, so this is only the outline. Under Annex L, as amended by Home Office Circular 003/2020 from 4 January 2021, an officer with 63 weeks’ continuous service at the start of the expected week of childbirth, who is still pregnant (or has had a live premature birth) 15 weeks before the due date, is paid for the first 26 weeks of maternity leave. SMP is paid inside that pay. She can instead choose full pay to week 21 and half pay for weeks 22 to 31; in those half-pay weeks the half pay is reduced by half the SMP, so she receives half pay plus half the SMP. SMP then runs to week 39.
Related: pregnancy-related sickness and the 4-week rule (which can start SMP early, but not police maternity leave), KIT days and your rights at work while pregnant.
Shared parental leave
Shared parental leave lets parents share up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay in the first year after the birth or placement, by the mother or adopter cutting short maternity or adoption leave (GOV.UK). Statutory Shared Parental Pay is £194.32 a week or 90% of average earnings if lower. Officers can use it, and police couples often do.
The catch for officers is money: the police full-pay weeks belong to maternity and adoption leave, so moving weeks into shared parental leave can swap full pay for the statutory rate unless your force tops it up. Before you share, compare the two routes. The shared parental leave guide works through it, and the parent financial planner in the maternity calculator models it.
Unpaid parental leave
Separate from all of the above, officers with a year’s continuous service who have, or expect to have, responsibility for a child can take unpaid parental leave (Annex S Part 2). Federation guidance gives 18 weeks per child, normally to be taken before the child’s fifth birthday or the fifth anniversary of the placement (the 18th birthday for a child entitled to disability living allowance). You give at least 21 days’ notice of the dates, and the chief officer grants it so far as the exigencies of duty permit.
- Increments: parental leave counts as service in your rank (reg 24(3)(g)), even though it is unpaid.
- Pension: unpaid parental leave is one of the types of leave you can buy back (PPR 2015 reg 172).
- Not the same as a career break. A career break is not reckonable for increments and cannot be bought back. See career break rules.
Overtime, allowances and the SMP earnings window
Statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay all depend on your average weekly earnings over a short window. For SMP, the window (the “relevant period”) runs back from the last normal pay day before the start of the 14th week before the expected week of childbirth, to the last normal pay day at least 8 weeks earlier (SMP (General) Regulations 1986, regulation 21). For a monthly-paid officer that is usually two payslips. Monthly earnings are converted to weekly by multiplying by 12 and dividing by 52. You need average earnings of at least £129 a week to get statutory pay at all.
| Payment | Counts? | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Basic pay | Yes | Paid in the window |
| Overtime and unsocial hours payments | Yes, if paid in the window | It is the pay date that matters, not when you worked |
| Acting or temporary pay | Yes, if paid in the window | |
| London Weighting and other taxable allowances | Generally yes | Ask payroll to confirm what was included |
| Back-dated pay award | Yes, through the pay-rise rule | SMP is recalculated if the rise covers any part of the window to the end of maternity leave (reg 21(7)) |
| Expenses repaid to you | Generally no | They are not earnings |
Why overtime usually does not change an officer’s pay
Your average earnings set only the first six weeks of SMP (or SAP), at 90%. After that the rate is £194.32 a week, or 90% if lower, whatever you earned. And if you qualify for police maternity pay (63 weeks’ service) or police adoption pay (a year’s service), those first six weeks fall inside your full-pay weeks: Annex L and Annex R reduce your police pay by the statutory pay you receive, so a higher SMP just means less of the same total comes from the occupational part. In almost every case your total pay for those weeks is your normal full pay either way.
It matters when statutory pay is all you get: an officer with fewer than 63 weeks’ service at the start of the expected week, or fewer than a year’s service at the matching week for adoption. See the new recruit example below. It makes no practical difference to paternity pay, because a full-time officer’s 90% figure is far above £194.32.
Pay rises during leave
If you get a pay rise that applies to any part of the period from the start of the earnings window to the end of your maternity leave, your SMP is recalculated as if the rise had applied throughout the window (regulation 21(7)). The 2026 police pay award took effect from 1 September 2026, so anyone whose window or leave includes that date should check their SMP was recalculated. Separately, the maternity equality clause in section 74 of the Equality Act 2010 means pay rises during the protected period must be reflected in your occupational maternity pay and in your pay afterwards.
Ask payroll for the dates of your relevant period, the gross pay they used and the average weekly earnings figure. The pregnancy timeline planner shows which payslips fall in your window, and the parent financial planner shows what extra overtime in the window would add.
Repaying maternity or adoption pay if you do not go back
This is the area where most online guidance overstates the rules. Annex L does not contain a return-to-work condition, and neither do the adoption pay paragraphs of Annex R. The condition comes from force policies, and the Police Federation describes it as standard practice:
- Federation (national, 2022): an officer must return to work for a month after maternity leave, and if she does not, the force could reclaim her police maternity pay. It adds that she may be able to take this period as annual leave.
- Kent Federation: the amount repaid is the difference between the regulation maternity pay and SMP.
- Dorset Police: police maternity pay is conditional on returning for four weeks’ service. A notice period counts as a return if it is covered by annual leave or by sick leave certified with a fit note. The same applies after a career break, parental leave or unpaid leave that immediately follows maternity leave.
Statutory pay is not part of the claim. The policies and guidance we read reclaim the occupational part only, not SMP.
Adoption pay: we did not find a published repayment rule for police adoption pay. Some forces apply the maternity condition to it by policy, so check yours.
- Read your force’s maternity (or adoption) policy for the exact return period, what counts as a return and how repayment is worked out.
- Ask whether annual leave owed to you can cover the return period or your notice.
- If you cannot return for health reasons, tell HR and occupational health, and talk to your Federation representative before you resign.
- Ask for any repayment in writing with the calculation, and ask about paying in instalments.
Increments, pay awards, promotion and acting rank
Increments
Your progression up the pay scale depends on service in your rank, and regulation 24(3) of the Police Regulations 2003 says which family leave counts:
- Maternity leave: the first 52 weeks of each maternity period count (all of it if shorter).
- Adoption, maternity support, adoption support and parental leave: all of it counts.
- Any other unpaid leave is disregarded, which is why a career break pushes increments back.
So an increment that falls due while you are on leave should be applied on time. If you are on full pay, your pay should rise from that date. Dorset’s policy adds that the first 52 weeks also count towards probationary service, and that officers “continue to be eligible for any pay awards during maternity leave”.
Pay awards
A pay award that applies while you are on maternity leave must be reflected in your maternity-related pay and in your pay when you come back (Equality Act 2010, section 74), and in your SMP through the pay-rise rule described above.
Promotion
Treating you unfavourably because you are pregnant or on maternity leave is discrimination under section 18 of the Equality Act 2010, which covers officers through section 42. Being left out of a promotion process, or not being told about it, because you are on leave can fall within that. If a process runs while you are away, ask how you can take part (for example on a KIT day). If you are promoted with effect from a date during your leave, your pay for any remaining full-pay weeks should follow the new rank. The detail of your rights at work is in pregnant police officer: discrimination.
Acting and temporary rank
There is no specific rule in the determinations we read about acting pay during maternity or adoption leave. Two things are clear: acting or temporary pay received in your earnings window counts towards your average weekly earnings for statutory pay, and the adoption and support leave rules define “normal rate of pay” as the pay you would have had if you were not on leave. Whether an acting or temporary arrangement continues while you are away is decided by your force, so ask HR before your leave starts.
Your pension during family leave
Since 1 April 2022 every serving officer builds pension in the 2015 scheme, a career average scheme: each year you build 1/55.3 of that year’s pensionable earnings. Family leave would cut that, but regulation 34 of the Police Pensions Regulations 2015 treats most paid family leave as a period of assumed pay, so you build pension as if you were on your normal pensionable pay.
| Period | Pension | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Paid leave on reduced pay (maternity, adoption, maternity support, adoption support, paid parental) | Assumed pay: you build pension as if on your normal pensionable pay | Reg 34(2)(a) |
| Weeks on statutory pay only (SMP, SAP, SPP, ShPP) | Assumed pay | Reg 34(2)(b) |
| Unpaid maternity leave in the first 26 weeks | Assumed pay (rare for officers, because Annex L pays the first 26 weeks) | Reg 34(2)(c) |
| Unpaid maternity leave after week 26 (for officers, usually from week 40) | No pension builds unless you buy it back | Reg 172 |
| Unpaid adoption, parental, maternity support or adoption support leave | No pension builds unless you buy it back | Reg 172 |
In practice: two weeks’ paternity leave costs you no pension, and maternity or adoption leave costs none until the pay stops at week 39. For a maternity leave, regulation 34 also covers unpaid weeks inside the first 26, but officers who qualify for Annex L are paid for all of those. The gap opens in the unpaid weeks after week 39, and in any unpaid parental leave.
Member contribution rates in the 2015 scheme are 12.88%, 13.88% or 14.22% from 1 April 2026, depending on your pensionable earnings. Your force pensions team can tell you which band applies to you after a year with unpaid leave in it.
Buying back unpaid family leave
Regulations 172 and 173 of the Police Pensions Regulations 2015 let you pay the member contributions you would have paid for a period of unpaid leave, so that it counts for pension. It covers unpaid adoption, maternity, parental, maternity support and adoption support leave (and some sick leave). It does not cover a career break.
- Elect in writing within three months of the day you return to work (or by your last day of service if earlier). Some forces, Dorset for example, ask you to choose before your leave starts.
- The scheme manager calculates the amount and sends you a notice. For working out your contribution rate, earnings you would have had during the unpaid leave are ignored and the rate that applied immediately before the leave is used.
- Pay within six months of the notice, as a lump sum or by instalments deducted from your pay. If you leave before you have finished paying, the rest is due within two months of leaving.
- If you do not pay in full, the scheme manager decides how much of the unpaid period counts.
What is at stake. For scale: 13 weeks of a top-scale constable’s pay (£52,015 a year) is about £13,004 of pensionable earnings, which at 1/55.3 would build about £235 a year of pension before revaluation. What a buy-back actually costs and restores depends on the figures your scheme manager uses: the Federation’s maternity guide says the buy-back is at the rate of your last pay, which will usually be the statutory rate. Ask for the quote, and ask what pensionable earnings the bought-back weeks will be credited with, before you decide.
The election window is short and starts on your first day back, which is often the busiest time of the leave. Put the deadline in your diary before you go, and ask your pensions team to send the forms with your return-to-work paperwork.
Worked examples
Paternity leave for a top-scale constable, now and after the change
Dan is a constable on £52,015 (pay point 7 from 1 September 2026), about £1,000.29 a week gross. His partner is due on 14 April 2027, so the 15th week before the due week runs from 27 December 2026 to 2 January 2027; he has served far longer than 26 weeks by then. Under the current Annex S text, week 1 is full pay and week 2 is paid at £194.32, about £805.97 gross less than a normal week. If his force has brought in the July 2026 change by the time he takes the leave, week 2 is full pay too. Rough weekly figures only: pay is not always worked out as annual pay divided by 52.
Adoption leave with a year's service
Priya, also on £52,015, is matched with a child and has more than a year's service at the end of the matching week. She gets full pay for the first 26 weeks of adoption leave, about £26,008 gross, with her SAP paid inside it. Weeks 27 to 39 are SAP at £194.32 a week, about £2,526 in total. Weeks 40 to 52 are unpaid, and she can buy that pension back if she elects within three months of returning. Her partner, a police sergeant, takes two weeks' adoption support leave.
A new recruit and the SMP earnings window
Amy is a constable on £32,255 (point 1, the starting point for new recruits) and will have more than 26 weeks' service at the qualifying week but fewer than 63 weeks at the start of the due week, so she gets SMP but not police maternity pay. On basic pay alone her average weekly earnings are about £620.29, so her first 6 weeks of SMP are about £3,349.56 in total, and with 33 weeks at £194.32 her 39 weeks of SMP come to about £9,762. If £400 of overtime is paid across the two payslips in her earnings window, her average rises to about £666.44 and her first 6 weeks rise by about £249.23. The other 33 weeks do not change.
Not going back after maternity leave
Jo, a top-scale constable, takes 26 weeks' full pay (about £26,008 gross). Inside that, her SMP for those weeks is about £9,288 (6 weeks at 90% of about £1,000.29, then 20 weeks at £194.32). If she resigns without returning, and her force applies the condition the Federation describes, the amount at risk is the difference: about £16,720 gross. Her SMP is not part of the claim. Check your own force's policy: Dorset, for example, counts a notice period covered by annual leave or certified sick leave as a return.
Names are illustrative. Pay comes from the 1 September 2026 constable scales; statutory rates are GOV.UK 2026/27. Figures are gross, before tax, National Insurance and pension contributions, and use annual pay divided by 52 as a weekly rate, so your payslip will differ slightly. For your own numbers use the maternity pay calculator.
When both parents are officers
- A birth: the mother takes maternity leave and pay under Annex R and Annex L; the other parent takes two weeks’ maternity support leave under Annex S. Each qualifies on their own service.
- An adoption: only one of you can take adoption leave; the other takes adoption support leave.
- Sharing the rest of the year: shared parental leave is the route, but compare the money first, because the full-pay weeks belong to the parent on maternity or adoption leave. See shared parental leave.
- Rotas: if you are in the same force or team, tell both resourcing units early. Two absences at once are easier to plan with months of notice.
Myths
- “Police paternity leave is two weeks on full pay.” Not yet everywhere. The Government accepted it in July 2026, but the determination still has to be amended. Until then week 2 is at the statutory rate unless your force pays more.
- “Your force cannot refuse paternity leave.” For officers, Annex S grants it so far as the exigencies of duty permit.
- “Adoption pay is up to each force.” Since January 2021 the 26 weeks’ full pay with a year’s service is in Annex R itself.
- “Work lots of overtime in the window to boost your maternity pay.” If you qualify for police maternity pay, the first six weeks are full pay anyway. It helps only if you get SMP alone.
- “The one-month return rule is in Police Regulations.” It is not in Annex L. It is force policy, and the period and details vary.
- “Maternity leave stops your increments.” The first 52 weeks count as service in your rank.
- “You lose pension for all of the SMP weeks.” Weeks on statutory pay are assumed pay; only the unpaid weeks create a gap.
- “You have years to buy back unpaid maternity leave.” You have three months from your return to elect.
Checklist
- Work out the qualifying week (and for adoption, the matching week) with the planner, and check your service on that date.
- Partners: give HR the due date and the two weeks you want, in writing, and ask whether week 2 will be full pay.
- Adopters: notify within 7 days of being matched, and start leave within 14 days of the placement date.
- Decide between 26 weeks’ full pay and the half-pay option for weeks 22 to 31, and tell payroll.
- If you get statutory pay only, check which payslips fall in your earnings window.
- Read your force’s return-to-work and repayment rule before you make any decision about leaving.
- Book annual leave around the leave, not inside your statutory pay period.
- Agree how you will hear about vacancies and promotion processes while you are away.
- Diary the three-month pension buy-back deadline from your return date.
- Check your first payslips after a pay award or increment date during your leave.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
This guide covers police officers in England and Wales. Police Scotland and the PSNI have their own regulations, determinations and pension schemes, although statutory pay (SMP, SPP, SAP and ShPP) works the same across the UK. Check leave, pay and pension rules with your own force and staff association.
Not verified
We searched for these on 19 October 2026 and could not confirm them from an official source. Ask your force or Federation representative.
- A current consolidated Annex R and Annex S. We quote the determination text the Home Office published (Annex R Part 2 and Annex S from 1 September 2006) and the 2021 amendments in Circular 003/2020. We found no official consolidated version and cannot rule out other changes, for example to the one-week adoption leave for officers with under 26 weeks’ service.
- When the two weeks’ full pay for maternity support and adoption support leave takes effect, and whether it will be back-dated to 1 September 2026. The amended determination had not been published when we checked.
- Whether officers can split maternity support leave into two separate weeks or take it later in the first year, as employees can under the statutory scheme since April 2024.
- A national return-to-work or repayment rule. It is in force policies and Federation guidance, not in Annex L. We found no published rule for police adoption pay.
- The length of unpaid parental leave for officers. The 2006 Annex S text says 13 weeks per child; Federation guidance says 18 weeks, the same as the statutory scheme for employees. We have not seen the amending determination.
- What a pension buy-back costs and credits. The regulations say you pay the contributions that would have been payable; the Federation says this is usually at the statutory rate. We could not confirm what pensionable earnings the bought-back weeks are credited with, or whether the force pays an employer share.
- Whether forces top up shared parental pay for officers. Practice varies and we found no national rule.
- Acting and temporary pay during maternity or adoption leave. We found no national rule beyond the general points above.
Your dates and your pay, worked out
Enter your due date to see the qualifying week, the payslips in your earnings window, when leave can start and your pay phases, with a calendar file. Then put pounds on each phase with the maternity pay calculator. Both are free and nothing you enter is stored.
Frequently asked questions
How long is police paternity leave?
Two weeks. Police Regulations call it maternity support leave (Annex S to the determinations under the Police Regulations 2003). It is granted at or around the time of the birth to the child's father, or to the partner or nominated carer of the expectant mother, so far as the exigencies of duty permit.
Is police paternity leave paid?
Yes. The first week is on full pay for every officer. The second week is paid at the statutory paternity pay rate (£194.32 a week in 2026/27, or 90% of average earnings if lower) if you have 26 weeks' continuous service ending with the week before the 14th week before the due week. In July 2026 the Government accepted that both weeks should be on full pay; it takes effect once the determination is amended after consultation.
When does the two weeks' full pay for police paternity leave start?
The Police Remuneration Review Body recommended two weeks on full pay from 1 September 2026, and the Government accepted it in its written statement HCWS264 of 15 July 2026, but said it will be implemented after consultation on amending the determinations. Until your force confirms the change is in place, the second week may still be paid at the statutory rate. Some forces may pay more under their own policy, so ask HR.
Can my force refuse paternity leave?
Annex S says the leave is granted 'so far as the exigencies of duty permit', so it is not an absolute right for officers in the way statutory paternity leave is for employees. In practice forces plan around the due date. Give notice early, agree the dates in writing, and talk to your Federation representative if leave is refused.
Can I split my two weeks of police paternity leave?
For employees, the statutory rules let paternity leave be taken as one week, two weeks together, or two separate weeks, ending within 52 weeks of the birth. Annex S for officers says the leave is taken at or around the time of the birth. How your force applies that to split weeks is a force policy question, so check before you plan a split.
How much adoption pay do police officers get?
With a year's continuous service at the end of the week you are matched with a child, 26 weeks on full pay (or full pay to week 21 then half pay for weeks 22 to 31), with Statutory Adoption Pay paid inside it. SAP then continues to week 39 at £194.32 a week or 90% of average earnings if lower. Every officer gets the first week of adoption leave on full pay, whatever their service.
How long is police adoption leave?
52 weeks if you have 26 weeks' continuous service at the end of the matching week. With less service the determination text gives one week's adoption leave. Leave must start within the 14 days ending with the expected placement date, and you must give notice within 7 days of being told of the match.
Can both police officers in a couple take adoption leave?
No. Where a couple adopts jointly, only one of you can take adoption leave. The other can take two weeks' adoption support leave, paid like paternity leave, and you can share leave later through shared parental leave.
Does overtime increase police maternity pay?
Overtime paid in the eight-week earnings window before the qualifying week raises your average weekly earnings, which sets the first six weeks of SMP at 90%. If you qualify for police maternity pay, those weeks are paid at full pay anyway, with SMP inside it, so overtime rarely changes what you receive. It matters most if you have under 63 weeks' service and get SMP only. The later weeks are £194.32 whatever you earned.
Do I have to pay back police maternity or adoption pay if I do not return?
Annex L and the adoption pay rules do not contain a repayment condition. Force policies and Federation guidance do: the Federation says an officer must return for a month or the force could reclaim the police maternity pay, and Dorset's policy says four weeks. The policies we read reclaim the occupational part, not SMP. Read your own force's policy before you decide.
Do I still get pay increments on maternity, adoption or paternity leave?
Yes, for the leave the regulations count. Regulation 24(3) of the Police Regulations 2003 counts the first 52 weeks of maternity leave, and all adoption, parental, maternity support and adoption support leave, as service in your rank for pay. Other unpaid leave is disregarded.
Does maternity or paternity leave affect my police pension?
Not while you are paid. In the 2015 scheme, paid family leave on reduced pay and weeks on statutory pay are periods of assumed pay, so pension builds as if you were on normal pay (Police Pensions Regulations 2015, regulation 34). Unpaid maternity leave after the first 26 weeks, and unpaid adoption, parental or support leave, do not build pension unless you buy them back.
How do I buy back unpaid maternity or adoption leave in the police pension?
Write to your scheme manager (usually via your force pensions team) within three months of the day you return to work. They work out the contributions that would have been payable and send you a notice; you then have six months to pay, as a lump sum or by deductions from pay (Police Pensions Regulations 2015, regulations 172 and 173).
Do police officers get shared parental leave?
Yes. Shared parental leave lets parents share up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay in the first year by cutting short maternity or adoption leave. Statutory Shared Parental Pay is £194.32 a week or 90% of average earnings if lower. See our shared parental leave guide for how it works for police couples.
Sources and how we checked them
Every rule on this page was written from the sources below, all accessed on 19 October 2026. Regulations and Home Office determinations come first, then GOV.UK, then the Federation and force policies. Force policies are examples of practice, not rules for every force. Spotted something out of date? See our corrections policy.
- Home Office determinations under the Police Regulations 2003 (Annex L, Annex R and Annex S) : Annex R Part 2 adoption leave (from 1 September 2006, paras 13 to 28), Part 3 KIT days (para 29); Annex S Part 1 maternity support and adoption support leave (paras 1 to 11), Part 2 parental leave. No official consolidated current version found; see Not verified. Accessed 19 October 2026.
- Home Office Circular 003/2020: Annex L (maternity pay) : 26 weeks, 63 weeks' service, SMP offset, half-pay option weeks 22 to 31 with half the SMP offset; no repayment provision; in force 4 January 2021. Accessed 19 October 2026.
- Home Office Circular 003/2020: Annex R amendment : Para 24 amended to the 26th week; new para 24A half-pay option for adoption pay. Accessed 19 October 2026.
- Home Office Circular 003/2020 (summary page) : Maternity and adoption leave with full pay for 26 weeks from 4 January 2021. Accessed 19 October 2026.
- Police Regulations 2003, regulation 24 : 24(3)(d) unpaid leave disregarded; (f) first 52 weeks of maternity leave; (g) parental leave; (h) adoption leave; (i) maternity support leave; (j) adoption support leave. Accessed 19 October 2026.
- Police Pensions Regulations 2015, regulation 34 : Assumed pay during paid child-related leave on reduced pay, statutory pay and the first 26 weeks of unpaid maternity leave. Accessed 19 October 2026.
- Police Pensions Regulations 2015, regulations 172 and 173 : Option to pay contributions for unpaid adoption, maternity, parental, maternity support, adoption support and sick leave: elect within 3 months of returning; pay within 6 months of the notice; lump sum or instalments. Accessed 19 October 2026.
- Statutory Maternity Pay (General) Regulations 1986, regulation 21 : The relevant period (8 weeks to the last normal pay day before the 14th week before the expected week); monthly pay x 12 / 52; pay rises in 21(7). Accessed 19 October 2026.
- Equality Act 2010, section 74 : Maternity equality clause: pay rises during the protected period reflected in maternity-related pay and in pay afterwards. Accessed 19 October 2026.
- GOV.UK, Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 : SMP, SPP, SAP and ShPP £194.32 or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower; lower earnings limit £129 a week. Accessed 19 October 2026.
- GOV.UK, Paternity pay and leave: eligibility and leave : 26 weeks' employment to the qualifying week (15th week before the due week); £129 a week; statutory leave in one or two blocks within 52 weeks (employees). Accessed 19 October 2026.
- GOV.UK, Adoption pay and leave: eligibility : SAP needs 26 weeks' employment by the matching week and average earnings of £129 a week; surrogacy and overseas rules. Accessed 19 October 2026.
- GOV.UK, Shared parental leave and pay : Up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay shared in the first year. Accessed 19 October 2026.
- Police Remuneration Review Body report 2026 (GOV.UK) : Published 15 July 2026; links the Government's written statement HCWS264. Accessed 19 October 2026.
- BTP Federation, Police pay award 2026 : Summary of the Government response: maternity support and adoption support leave to two weeks' full pay, for officers meeting the current service rule, after consultation on the determinations. Accessed 19 October 2026.
- Police Federation of England and Wales, Maternity Guide for Police Officers (2022) : Return to work for a month or the force could reclaim police maternity pay; up to 52 weeks reckonable for pay and leave; buy-back of unpaid maternity leave at the rate of your last pay. Accessed 19 October 2026.
- Warwickshire Police Federation, Family leave : Adoption leave and pay (one year's service for the paid weeks), parental leave of 18 weeks per child. Updated August 2016, so the paid adoption weeks it gives are out of date. Accessed 19 October 2026.
- Kent Police Federation, Maternity, paternity and adoption leave : Return for at least one month or repay the difference between statutory and regulation maternity pay. Accessed 19 October 2026.
- Dorset Police, Maternity leave: additional information for police officers : Four weeks' return or repay; notice covered by annual or certified sick leave counts; first 52 weeks reckonable for increments; pay awards during leave; election to pay pension contributions for unpaid leave. Accessed 19 October 2026.
On this topic elsewhere
Disclaimer
PolicePay.co.uk is an independent reference site. It is not affiliated with any police force, the Home Office, the Police Remuneration Review Body or the Police Federation. This page is general information for police officers in England and Wales, not legal, financial or pension advice, and cannot take account of your circumstances. Your force’s policy and your pension scheme administrator decide what happens in your case. Speak to your Federation representative, your HR or payroll team and your force pensions team. Details are as checked on 19 October 2026.