The HMRC Software Developers Support Team (SDST) have notified software developers on a difference in this year Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) uprating order to prior practice and original expectations.
Under a notice issued to developers ‘Payroll 2026-27: Correction to uprating dates for certain Statutory Parental Pay entitlements’, the SDST have provided the following:
Dear Developer,
We are writing to advise of a correction to the uprating dates previously communicated for some Statutory Parental Pay entitlements.
There was an error in the dates previously provided. The new rates for Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP), Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP), Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP), Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (SPBP) and Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (SNCP) will apply from 6 April 2026 for the 2026-27 tax year. The rate for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) will increase on 5 April 2026, as previously advised.
HMRC and the Department for Business & Trade (DBT) recognise that this error has been identified close to the new tax year and that payroll products for tax year 2026-27 have already been released. As the issue impacts only a small number of customers and does not result in any detriment to the customer, HMRC will take a pragmatic approach and will not pursue any unintentional errors where the alternative date has been applied in the 2026-27 tax year.
Kind regards…
So what is different?
In all prior tax years, the parental based statutory payment rates have always changed on the first Sunday of April annually., whereas Statutory Sick Pay rates uplift on 6th April no matter which day of the week that is.
Of course, in 2025, the 6th April was a Sunday so all the statutory payments aligned.
As has been tradition, following the Autumn Budget 2025, it was anticipated and announced that the statutory payment rates for parental payments would be increased on Sunday 5th April 2026.
Whose error is this?
The notification from HMRC SDST may imply that the error was theirs in announcing the wrong date, PAYadvice would suggest that the error is the DWPs within the uprating order forgetting that parental payments increase from the first Sunday. They have replicated last years order but only changed the date from 6th to 5th for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP). We would suggest this was a DWP oversight which was presented to the relevant DWP minister for notification to Parliament. The discrepancy only came to light once presented and in force.
Software developers would be expecting sufficient notification of this type of intended change well in advance if the tradition is changing.
So what should now happen?
The change is likely to have been too late for many software products, although some will allow for the dates to be appropriately adjusted.
If the wrong amount has been paid, then an employer may want to make the relevant adjustment of minus £7.14, but equally they could leave things alone and it is indicated that HMRC will not pursue unintentional error.
After all, the traditional uplift point would have been 5th April this year, that is the date originally indicated, it was only when the uprating order was laid in parliament that any difference was identified by someone noticing it was wrong, but then, arrogantly confirmed as being right! Or that is now the law!
PAYadvice 2026/2027 resource updated to reflect
The PAYadvice.UK tax year 2026/2027 resources have been updated to reflect this latest change within version 26.8.
PAYadvice.UK 14/4/2026