An eligible employee in Northern Ireland can take up to 52 weeks of Statutory Adoption Leave after a qualifying adoption placement or surrogacy arrangement. Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) is a separate employer payment: it generally requires 26 weeks’ continuous service by the matching week and average earnings of at least £129 a week. The rules for leave notice, SAP notice and the evidence an employer may ask for are separate steps.
Leave and SAP are separate tests
Notify your employer within seven days of matching
SAP can last up to 39 weeks
Northern Ireland scope and the leave right
For the separate appointment limits and pay treatment before placement, see the UK adoption appointments guide.
This guide is for an employee whose job is in Northern Ireland. The Great Britain Adoption Leave guide covers England, Scotland and Wales; use the NI process here rather than carrying its notice calendar over to an NI employer.
If you qualify, Statutory Adoption Leave lasts up to 52 weeks: 26 weeks of Ordinary Adoption Leave followed by 26 weeks of Additional Adoption Leave. For a UK agency adoption or qualifying parental-order parent arrangement, the leave right does not have a minimum service, hours or salary test, but you must meet the applicable employee/relationship conditions and give the right notice. Only one person in a couple can take Adoption Leave for the placement; the other partner may qualify for Northern Ireland Paternity Leave.
The ordinary NI route does not cover private adoptions, adopting a stepchild, or becoming a special guardian. Overseas adoption has a different official-notification and employer-notice sequence; follow the nidirect overseas-adoption process. Do not assume an informal family arrangement qualifies as an agency adoption.
Tell the employer about matching and placement
For an adoption through a UK agency, tell the employer within seven days of being matched with a child. If that is not possible, notify them as soon as possible. Give the expected placement date and the date you want leave to start. An employer may request written notice and documentary proof, normally the agency matching certificate. Keep a copy of the notice and any response.
You can start adoption leave on the date the child starts living with you or up to 14 days before the expected placement. You may change the planned start date by giving at least 28 days’ notice. Your employer should confirm the expected end date within 28 days after receiving the leave notice.
For a qualifying intended parent through surrogacy, the leave route requires employee status and a parental-order application or an intention to apply within six months of birth with an expectation that the court will grant the order. Notify the employer by the 15th week before the expected week of birth. Leave starts on the birth date, or the following day if you work on the birth date. Ask what statutory declaration or birth evidence the employer requires.
Check Statutory Adoption Pay separately
The usual UK-agency SAP route generally requires 26 weeks’ continuous employment with the same employer by the week the agency tells you that you have been matched, plus average weekly earnings of at least £129 before tax over the relevant eight-week period. Overseas-adoption and parental-order routes use different reference events and evidence, so use the matching official nidirect page for that route.
If you qualify, SAP can be paid for up to 39 weeks:
- First six weeks: 90% of average weekly earnings.
- Next 33 weeks: the lower of £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings in 2026/27.
The employer pays SAP through payroll, normally with wages; it is treated as pay for tax and National Insurance. An employer may offer an occupational adoption-pay scheme with better terms. Do not treat 39 weeks of potential SAP as 39 weeks of adoption leave: the leave right can last 52 weeks.
Give the separate SAP notice and evidence
Tell the employer at least 28 days before the date you want SAP to start. If that is not possible, give notice as soon as you can. Provide the adoption-agency documentary evidence, usually the matching certificate. For a parental-order parent, the employer may ask for a statutory declaration and the child’s birth date. Confirm the pay start date and the documents required for your route with payroll.
If the employer decides you do not qualify for SAP, it should give you form SAP1, which explains why it will not pay. The leave right and payment decision are separate: a SAP refusal does not by itself cancel a qualifying Adoption Leave right. Nidirect routes disagreements about an employer’s decision or amount to HMRC.
Plan adoption leave and pay
- 1Confirm whether the arrangement is a UK agency adoption, overseas adoption or qualifying parental-order route; each uses different evidence and dates.
- 2For a UK agency match, notify the employer within seven days and state the expected placement and intended leave dates.
- 3Check the SAP service and earnings tests separately, then give at least 28 days’ notice of the intended SAP start where possible.
- 4Provide the matching certificate or route-specific parental-order evidence and ask the employer to confirm leave and pay dates in writing.
- 5If SAP is refused, request SAP1; if returning before week 52, give eight weeks’ notice and check shared parental or parental leave separately.
Returning to work and other family leave
After up to 26 weeks of Adoption Leave, you normally have the right to return to the same job. After more than 26 weeks, the same job remains the usual right; if that is not reasonably practicable, the employer must offer a suitable job on terms and conditions that are no less favourable. If you want to return before the full 52 weeks, give at least eight weeks’ notice. No return notice is required if you take the full 52 weeks, although telling the employer is helpful.
The Northern Ireland Shared Parental Leave and Pay guide covers the separate process for sharing eligible leave and pay. The Northern Ireland Parental Leave guide covers unpaid child-based leave. These rights have their own service tests and notice dates.