Ordinary adoption leave (weeks)

The first half of statutory adoption leave, starting on the placement or up to a fortnight before it.

26weeks

Corroborated Statutory Instrument Great Britain in force since 2003-04-06

Checked against its sources: statute verified 2026-09-21·guidance verified 2026-07-29

Scope: 26 weeks, and it is HALF the story: additional adoption leave adds another 26 (Additional adoption leave (weeks)), and the 52 GOV.UK prints is their sum, published as the derived companion Adoption leave: total weeks and never as a figure any regulation states. Statutory Adoption PAY is 39 weeks and a separate figure again (Statutory Adoption Pay: weeks payable), so the leave outruns the pay by 13 weeks. Only one member of a couple may take adoption leave; the other may qualify for paternity leave instead.

Current sources

Source A · Legislationhttps://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/2788/made (SI 2002/2788 reg 18(1) as made: "Subject to regulations 22 and 24, an employee's ordinary adoption leave period is a period of 26 weeks"; in force 8 December 2002, reg 1, and having effect only in relation to children matched with a person notified on or after 6 April 2003 or placed for adoption on or after that date, reg 3(2))

retrieved 2026-09-11

Source B · Official guidancehttps://www.gov.uk/adoption-pay-leave (under "Leave": "Statutory Adoption Leave is 52 weeks. It's made up of: 26 weeks of Ordinary Adoption Leave 26 weeks of Additional Adoption Leave")

retrieved 2026-07-29

History

Value	From	To	Status	Sources
26	2003-04-06	—	Corroborated	Legislation: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/2788/made (SI 2002/2788 reg 18(1) as made: "Subject to regulations 22 and 24, an employee's ordinary adoption leave period is a period of 26 weeks"; in force 8 December 2002, reg 1, and having effect only in relation to children matched with a person notified on or after 6 April 2003 or placed for adoption on or after that date, reg 3(2)) retrieved 2026-09-11 Official guidance: https://www.gov.uk/adoption-pay-leave (under "Leave": "Statutory Adoption Leave is 52 weeks. It's made up of: 26 weeks of Ordinary Adoption Leave 26 weeks of Additional Adoption Leave") retrieved 2026-07-29

Receipt

Everything above is reproducible and independently checkable — no trust in this site required (how verification works).

Figure ID: employment.leave.adoption.ordinary_weeks
Name in the API: Ordinary adoption leave: weeks
Record fields (source type · unit · jurisdiction · status): si·weeks·GB·corroborated
Record hash (canonical JSON, SHA-256): sha256:d2cf461d157cce21328480b0f78358ace45eaab5dc6f7650758ee4f98a1f003b
Source snapshots (SHA-256): Legislation: sha256:3d0b4e313de959cd8b7bf474bbc92f0963eae64c83fbcbfdc7174a50c4a5cfd3; Official guidance: sha256:5400f6529dafaa67ce485437290490ada90097b68ab21b3cefc5b348ba3783e2
Listed in the signed manifest: release 3.0.0 manifest · record_hashes["employment.leave.adoption.ordinary_weeks"]
Machine-readable record: /v1/figures/employment.leave.adoption.ordinary_weeks · current only: /v1/figures/employment.leave.adoption.ordinary_weeks/current

Compiler's notes

An SI carry (ADR-0014), and a HOST-STATES one: no textual amendment touches regulation 18(1), so the 2002 Regulations state the value by their own words and their as-made text is its own frozen witness. Both documents are hashed into this record and the verdict recomputed at Gate 2. The locator carries the whole leave-period clause because "26 weeks" alone is satisfied by three sibling provisions across this instrument and the Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999 — which is measured, not assumed: locate reports them by id.