Born in Marehay, Ripley, Derbyshire, Paling was the son of George Paling, a coalminer, from Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. At the age of 14 he started work in the local colliery before winning a scholarship to the Central Labour College in London. At the college he studied economics, industrial history and sociology.
Paling was born in Marehay, Derbyshire, into a family of coal miners. By age 14, he started working locally before earning a scholarship to study at the Central Labour College in London, where he explored economics, industrial studies, and social sciences.