Adoption leave and pay follow the same broad shape as maternity leave and pay, but they run on different dates. The key events are the day the adopter is told they have been matched with a child and the day the child is placed with them, not a due date or a birth. HR and payroll systems built around pregnancy often get this wrong. This page sets out the rules for adoptions in Great Britain and where software most often goes wrong. It is for adopters and for employers. Northern Ireland has separate legislation.
The short answer: an employee who adopts can take 26 weeks of ordinary adoption leave followed by 26 weeks of additional adoption leave, with no minimum length of service. Notice of the leave is due within 7 days of being matched. Statutory adoption pay needs 26 weeks' service by the week of the match and earnings at or above the lower earnings limit. It lasts 39 weeks: 90% of normal weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks, then the lower of £194.32 and 90%.
Who can take adoption leave
The leave is in the Paternity and Adoption Leave Regulations 2002. An employee qualifies if they are the child's adopter, have told the adoption agency that they agree to the placement and the date, and give the required notice (reg 15). Where a couple is matched jointly, the adopter is whichever of them chooses to be (reg 2); the other may be entitled to paternity leave (see maternity and paternity pay). The service condition for adoption leave was removed from 5 April 2015 (SI 2014/2112, reg 7(b)), so a system that applies a 26 week test to the leave is using a rule that ended in 2015.
How long and when it starts
Ordinary adoption leave lasts 26 weeks (reg 18), and additional adoption leave follows for another 26 weeks (reg 20). The employee can start on the day of placement, or on a chosen date up to 14 days before the expected placement (reg 16). If the employee is at work on the placement day, the leave starts the next day (reg 18(3)). Contract terms other than pay continue during both kinds of leave (reg 19).
The notices
- Leave notice: within 7 days of being told of the match, or as soon as reasonably practicable, giving the expected placement date and the chosen start date. The employer can ask for documents from the agency showing its name and address, the match date and the expected placement date (reg 17).
- Changing the start date: at least 28 days' notice, or as soon as reasonably practicable (reg 17(4)).
- Employer's reply: within 28 days of the notice, the employer must tell the employee when their additional adoption leave will end (reg 17(7)).
- Pay notice: at least 28 days before pay is to start, or as soon as reasonably practicable (SSCBA 1992 s171ZL(6)), with the agency's details, the dates and a declaration that the employee has chosen adoption pay, not paternity pay (SAP (General) Regulations 2002, reg 24).
A portal that asks for an expected week of birth, or that needs weeks of advance notice for the leave, cannot handle a match that comes with a week's warning.
Statutory adoption pay
Pay has its own tests: 26 weeks' continuous employment ending with the week of the match, normal weekly earnings over the 8 weeks to that week at or above the lower earnings limit, stopping work, and electing adoption pay (s171ZL). Only one member of a couple can receive it for the same child (s171ZL(4A)). The pay period is 39 weeks and can start on the placement day or up to 14 days before (reg 21). The first 6 weeks are paid at 90% of normal weekly earnings, and the rest at the lower of the prescribed rate and 90% (s171ZN(2E)). The prescribed rate is £194.32 a week (Weekly Rates Regulations 2002, reg 3), set from 6 April 2026 by the up-rating order (SI 2026/148, art 10(1)(b)). If a placement is disrupted, for example the child is returned, pay ends 8 weeks after the end of that week (reg 22).
Practical steps
- Employers: make sure the HR system uses the match and placement dates, applies no service test to the leave, accepts notice within 7 days of the match, sends the reply on the end of additional leave within 28 days, pays 90% for the first 6 weeks and uses £194.32 after that. Have a named person who can deal with overseas adoptions and disrupted placements by hand.
- Adopters: tell your employer within a week of the match and keep the agency's letter. If a portal says you are not eligible, ask whether it means leave or pay and which test failed. For time off for agency appointments before the placement, see adoption appointments. For sharing leave with a partner, see shared parental leave and pay; for working patterns on return, see flexible working requests.
This page covers adoption through a UK adoption agency. Overseas adoptions and surrogacy have further rules not covered here. It is general information on the law in Great Britain as at 1 November 2026, not legal advice.
Questions and answers
How long is adoption leave in the UK?
Up to 52 weeks: 26 weeks of ordinary adoption leave followed by 26 weeks of additional adoption leave (Paternity and Adoption Leave Regulations 2002, regs 18 and 20).
Do I need to have worked for my employer to get adoption leave?
No. The service condition for adoption leave was removed from 5 April 2015. Statutory adoption pay does need 26 weeks' continuous employment ending with the week of the match and earnings at or above the lower earnings limit.
How much is statutory adoption pay?
90% of normal weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks, then the lower of £194.32 a week and 90% for the remaining 33 weeks, from April 2026 (SSCBA 1992 s171ZN and the Weekly Rates Regulations 2002, reg 3, as up-rated by SI 2026/148).
When do I have to tell my employer about adoption leave?
Within 7 days of being told you have been matched with a child, or as soon as reasonably practicable (reg 17). Notice for adoption pay is due at least 28 days before the pay starts, or as soon as reasonably practicable.