Self-employed dads will get paternity pay for the first time: two weeks at up to £194. Hitchin MP Alistair Strathern says 120 local dads a year could qualify.
Self-employed fathers are to get paternity pay for the first time. The Chancellor has announced that parental pay will be extended to more than 150,000 additional parents a year, “including self-employed dads and partners who have previously missed out”, with two weeks of support currently worth up to £194 a week.
That comes to up to £388.64 per qualifying parent. Alistair Strathern, MP for Hitchin, who has campaigned for longer and better paid paternity leave since he was elected, says around 120 self-employed dads in his constituency could be eligible each year.
Who was left out
Until now, self-employed fathers have been one of the few groups to get no support at all when a baby arrives, even though they pay National Insurance. Mr Strathern’s office puts it plainly: builders, taxi drivers and shopkeepers face “a brutal choice” at the birth of a child, because every day at home is a day without income.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s report “UK paternity leave, limited and unequal”, published on 16 March 2026, estimated that a self-employed father on a median income loses about £1,020 in the month he steps out of work. JRF also estimated that around 70,000 self-employed dads across the UK could benefit each year, with between £6.8 million and £18.9 million reaching families depending on how many claim. Those are JRF’s earlier figures for extending the existing two-week offer, not the government’s own forecast or the confirmed Budget cost.
“They’ve been left out of paternity pay for too long”
Mr Strathern teamed up with the parents’ campaign group The Dad Shift and spoke at its national campaign rally in Parliament, where he set out the unfairness of the system for self-employed dads. He has also held events across the constituency, where local families shared their stories.
He said: “People who work for themselves help keep Hitchin going. They’ve been left out of paternity pay for too long.
“Since I was first elected, I have been pressing the case for change with Ministers in Parliament and at events across the country. I’m delighted the government has listened and is acting to put that right.
“For local self-employed dads, this will help with the bills and is a better chance to be at home with their new baby.”
He said the change was not the end of it. “There is more to do though, and with the government review of parental leave due to conclude soon this isn’t the last word on the matter. Our statutory paternity leave offer as a whole is far shorter and worse paid than other countries. We need to do more to help dads support their partners, bond with their babies, and take their first steps in figuring out what it means to be a father.”
“A bit of room to breathe”
George Gabriel, co-founder of The Dad Shift, said: “Given all the costs expecting families face, this is going to be a lifeline, a bit of room to breathe so self-employed dads and non-birthing parents can spend even a little time supporting their partners and bonding with their babies before heading out the door to pay the bills.”
In the government’s announcement he added: “We hope more will be done through the government’s review of parental leave, but fair shout to the Chancellor for showing he gets it and for showing he respects the role these hard working blokes want to play as fathers.”
Where the Hitchin figure comes from
The estimate of about 120 local dads is The Dad Shift’s own model, made this month. It starts from the House of Commons Library’s count of babies born in the constituency, applies the share of working men in the East of England who are self-employed (ONS Annual Population Survey, April 2022 to March 2026), and scales the result so that all 650 constituencies add up to JRF’s UK figure of 70,000. It is an estimate, not a count of claims, and how many people actually qualify will depend on the final eligibility rules.
What it means for you
- If you are self-employed and expecting a baby, you should become entitled to two weeks of paternity pay, currently worth up to £194 a week.
- The rules are not published yet. The announcement, made ahead of Wednesday’s Budget, gives no start date or eligibility test, so it is too early to plan around a firm date. Check GOV.UK’s paternity pay page for when the scheme opens.
- A wider review of parental leave is under way, which Mr Strathern says is due to conclude soon.
Mr Strathern’s earlier campaigning for dads included a Pints & Ponytails session in Parliament this month. He sends a regular update to constituents, which can be signed up for on his website.
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