How do I add paternity pay?

Summary

The following article explains how to enter and keep track of an employee's Statutory Paternity pay.

If you are unsure whether to pay Statutory Paternity Pay, please refer to the information provided by HMRC explaining the rules governing statutory pay or visit the HMRC web site [1].

More Information

Entering the Paternity Pay record

To allow the Payroll system to calculate SPP where applicable, the SMP/SAP/SPP flag on Page 3: Statutory Payments of the employee record, should be set to Yes.

Go to " Systems Payroll Run Payroll Period"

When the system starts to pay Paternity Pay, you will have to zero out the Hours Worked/Basic Salary to ensure they only receive their Paternity Pay and any other additions/deductions from their pay.

Go to " Systems Payroll Run Payroll Period".

Enter <Y> against the employee's pay frequency or click the [Down arrow] and select [Yes].
Click [OK] button to go into the payroll.
Choose the relevant employee and press <Ctrl+F8> to open the SMP/SAP/SPP/ASPP/ShPP Entry screen.
Click [Add] if they have existing records.
Choose [Paternity].

Within this [Details] tab, you will need to complete the relevant details for this record:

Date Baby Due

Enter the date the baby is due. The employee must have worked for you for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the baby is due. If the Payroll system warns you the employee has "NOT been employed for 26 Weeks" then it has calculated the number of weeks since the employee started and has worked out that they have not worked for you for long enough to qualify for Paternity Pay.

Qualifying Week

This will be calculated for you by the system. This date is 15 weeks before the date the baby is due. When you enter the average weekly earnings, this date will be used as a point of reference.

Average Weekly Earnings

Enter the employee's average weekly wage based on their pay over the 8 weeks previous to the Qualifying Week. This will be calculated for you but you may override it if necessary.

Date Baby Born

ONLY enter this date if the baby is born BEFORE the employee was intending to start Paternity Leave.

Paternity Leave Begins

The Paternity Pay Period will usually begin on the first Sunday on or after this date, unless Paternity Leave is starting earlier than expected because the baby has been born early. This should be the first FULL day of absence from work.

Completing the Paternity Pay Entry

When you have entered all the relevant details for the Paternity Pay record, the SPP Entitlement section will display the Paternity Pay Period and the amounts to be paid over this period.

Press <Esc> and <Enter> to accept the record.

View the Paternity Diary

When a record has been created, you may view a weekly diary which shows the amount of Paternity Pay to be paid per week.

To view the details:

Go to " Systems Payroll Run Payroll Period".

Enter <Y> against the employee's pay frequency or click the [Down arrow] and select [Yes].
Click [OK] button to go into the payroll.
Choose the relevant employee and press <Ctrl+F8> to open the SMP/SAP/SPP/ASPP/ShPP Entry screen.
Press [Edit] to open the relevant record.
Click on the [Diary] tab.

Week

This column lists the number of weeks of Paternity Pay.

End of PPP

This displays the week end date.

Status

This column allows you to designate a week to be unpaid/excluded from Paternity Pay, if it has not already been paid.

Select 'Worked' if an employee is not to be paid SPP for that week as they will have worked one or more days in this week and none or only some of them were KIT (Keeping in Touch) days.
Select 'Excluded' if the employee is excluded from a Paternity Pay Period for some other reason.
'SPP' - If these letters are shown, the Paternity pay has been paid and the relevant pay period has been closed.

SPP Paid

This column shows the amount of Paternity Pay which is paid during each Paternity Pay period.

Total

This column shows a running total of SPP paid to the employee.

Notes

If the period has not been closed, you can enter any notes here to indicate why you have withheld SPP.

Press <Esc> to exit the SPP Diary.