Ordinary Paternity Pay
[ch 3: page 30]Ordinary Paternity Pay (OPP) will be paid by the employer for either one or two weeks at the same rate as the standard rate of Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) — £138.18 a week (for 2014-2015) or 90% of average weekly earnings (whichever is lower).
Employees who do not earn enough to qualify for OPP, or who are normally low paid, may be able to get Income Support while on paternity leave, as long as they meet the qualifying conditions for this benefit. More information is available from local Jobcentre Plus offices or Social Security offices.
Whereas women on low incomes who do not qualify for SMP can get Maternity Allowance, there is no equivalent for low income fathers.
Employees will have to give the employer a completed self-certificate as evidence of their entitlement to OPP. A model self-certificate which employees can use, Becoming a parent (SC3), is available to download from HM Revenue & Customs at: www.hmrc.gov.uk/forms/sc3.pdf.