Terminology explained
Qualifying child
Eligible employees can only claim Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay in respect of a child under the age of 18 who dies on or after the 6 April 2020. A child under the age of 18 includes babies who are stillborn after the 24th week of pregnancy.
Relevant week
The ‘relevant week’ is the week, ending on a Saturday, immediately before the one in which the child died or was stillborn.
Before you begin
Information you need to work out your employees’ Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay:
- the written declaration signed by your employee — form SPBP3 — or your own version if received
- the date of the child’s death or stillbirth
- the date your employee started, or wishes to start their Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay
- your employees’ gross pay and the dates you paid them
- the date your employee started working for you
You also need confirmation that your employees’ gross earnings:
- are liable to employer’s Class 1 National Insurance contributions
- would be liable but for their age or level of earnings
Calculate average weekly earnings
Average weekly earnings must include all earnings on which Class 1 National Insurance contributions liability is due, or would be due if they were high enough. Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay entitlement depends on your employees’ average weekly earnings in a ‘relevant period’.
For the tax year 2022 to 2023 their average weekly earnings in the relevant period must be £123 or more. To work out the employees’ average weekly earnings, divide all the earnings paid in that relevant period by the number of days, weeks, or months in that period.
The relevant period
This is usually the 8-week period leading up to the relevant week. This will be the week immediately before the week in which the child died.
The end of the relevant period is the last normal payday on, or before, the Saturday of the relevant week.
The start of the relevant period is the day after the last normal payday falling at least 8 weeks before the end of the relevant period.
Example for an employee who’s weekly paid where their child dies on 13 April 2022:
| Relevant week | Payday | Last payday at least 8 weeks before the end of the relevant period | Last payday on or before the Saturday of the Relevant Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 April 2022 to 9 April 2022 | Friday | 12 February 2022 | 8 April 2022 |
The relevant period is 13 February 2022 to 8 April 2022.
Add up all the earnings paid between 13 February 2022 to 8 April 2022 and divide by 8 (the number of weeks in the relevant period).
Do not round the figure up or down to whole pence.
Example for an employee who’s monthly paid and their child dies on 13 April 2022:
| Relevant Week | Payday | Last payday at least 8 weeks before the end of the relevant period | Last payday on or before the Saturday of the Relevant Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 April 2022 to 9 April 2022 | Last working day of the month | 31 January 2022 | 31 March 2022 |
The relevant period is 1 February 2022 to 31 March 2022.
Add up all the earnings paid between 1 February 2022 and 31 March 2022:
- divide by 2 (the number of months in the relevant period)
- multiply by 12 (number of months in the year)
- divide by 52 (number of weeks in the year)
Do not round the figure up or down to whole pence.
Weekly paid employees without a whole number of weeks in the relevant period
This may happen if you bring forward your employees’ normal payday because of bank holidays, such as Easter or Christmas. Divide the earnings by the number of weeks wages actually paid, not the number of weeks in the relevant period.
Employees paid multiples of a week
This may happen if you pay your employee fortnightly or 4 weekly. Divide the earnings by the number of whole weeks in the relevant period.
Monthly paid employees without a whole number of months in the relevant period
Work out the number of rounded months as follows:
- count the number of whole months
- count the numbers of odd days
Round up or down as follows:
- February — 14 days or less round down, 15 days or more round up
- any month except February — 15 days or less round down, 16 days or more round up
Divide the earnings by this number of rounded months.
Employees not paid in a regular pay pattern
Divide the earnings by the number of days in the relevant period and multiply by 7.
Mistimed payments
This only applies to regular payments of earnings paid other than on their normal date. This can be due to a bank holiday.
A mistimed payment:
- occurs when the date of the actual payment of earnings is made earlier or later than the normal contractual payday, such as an annual holiday
- should not be confused with a payroll error, where a mistake is made in the payroll resulting in a shortfall of pay when working out the average weekly earnings in the relevant period
Divide the total earnings in the relevant period by the number of weeks wages actually paid.
Overpayment or underpayment of earnings made during the relevant period
Always work out average weekly earnings on all earnings actually paid within the relevant period.
Where over or under payments of wages occur within the relevant period, include the overpaid or underpaid amount in the calculation to decide if Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay is due.
Salary sacrifice
If an employee has entered a salary sacrifice with you, their average weekly earnings are worked out using the amount of earnings actually paid to them, after the sacrifice during the relevant period.
Contractual benefits
When calculating average weekly earnings for Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay, base your calculation on earnings which are subject to Class 1 National Insurance contributions. Any benefits which are exempt from Class 1 National Insurance contributions (such as some childcare vouchers) will not be included in the calculation.
Earnings in the relevant period affected by a backdated pay rise
If your employee receives a backdated pay rise which increases the amount of earnings already paid in the relevant period, you need to recalculate their average earnings.
You should do this if the employee was either:
- not entitled to Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay
- entitled to Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay at less than the standard rate
You must recalculate their average weekly earnings to check if they’re:
- now entitled, and pay any Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay due
- entitled to an increase, and pay any extra Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay due
Calculate Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay
Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay is a weekly payment. It lasts for 1 or 2 complete weeks.
Eligible employees can choose to take 2 consecutive weeks or 2 separate blocks of one week each. They are able to claim Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay in respect of a week that they were absent from work.
Eligible employees must take their Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay within 56 weeks of their child’s death or stillbirth.
You must pay your employee the lower weekly rate of:
- £156.66 from 13 April 2022
- 90% of their average weekly earnings
The Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay period starts the day after the last day your employee worked before starting their Parental Bereavement Leave.
Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay weeks start with the first day of the pay period — so a period which starts on a Wednesday, will have pay weeks within the pay period running from Wednesday to the following Tuesday.
Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay paid part-weekly
Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay can be paid as part weeks to help employers align the payments to their employees’ normal pay period. You can split the weekly rate into 2, and if you do, the calculation is done on the basis of dividing the weekly rate by 7. For example, if the pay period covers the end of one month and the beginning of the next (2 days in April and 5 days in May) then pay two-sevenths in one month and five-sevenths the next month.
Help and advice
You can get advice from HMRC Employer helpline.
