Shared Parental Leave
Shared Parental Leave
Shared parental leave enables mothers to commit to ending their maternity leave and maternity pay and share the untaken balance of leave and pay as shared parental leave with their partner. As a mother, you can also return to work early from maternity leave and opt in to shared parental leave and pay at a later date.
Shared parental leave and parental leave are different. Please see parental leave for further details.
If you and your partner work for different companies, you must both submit relevant notification to each Company as per each procedure.
You and your partner may be able to get shared parental leave if you’re having a baby or adopting a child.
You can share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay between you.
You need to share the pay and leave in the first year after your child is born or is placed with you (adoption).
You can use shared parental leave in blocks separated by periods of work, or take it all in one go. You can also choose to be off work together or to stagger the leave and pay.
To be eligible, both parents must:
share responsibility for the child at birth
meet work and pay criteria – these are different depending on which parent wants to use the shared parental leave and pay
You are not eligible if you started sharing responsibility for the child after it was born.
If both parents want to share shared parental leave and pay, you and your partner must:
have been employed continuously by the same employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the due date
stay with the Company while you take shared parental leave
earn a minimum average amount per week as per the Gov website
If you are the partner and want to take shared parental leave and pay,
The mother must:
have been working for at least 26 weeks (they do not need to be in a row) during the 66 weeks before the week the baby’s due
have earned at least the maternity allowance threshold in total across any 13 of the 66 weeks
You must:
have been employed continuously by the Company for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the due date
stay with the Company while you take SPL
earn a minimum average amount per week as per the Gov website
If you are the mother and want to take shared parental leave and pay,
Your partner must:
have been working for at least 26 weeks (they do not need to be in a row) during the 66 weeks before the week the baby’s due
have earned a minimum amount as per the Gov website in total in 13 of the 66 weeks (add up the highest paying weeks, they do not need to be in a row)
You must:
have been employed continuously by the Company for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the due date
stay with the Company while you take SPL
earn a minimum average amount per week as per the Gov website
To be eligible, both adoptive parents must:
share responsibility for the child at birth
meet work and pay criteria – these are different depending on which one of you wants to use the shared parental leave and pay
If both parents want to share shared parental leave and pay, you and your partner must:
have been employed continuously by the same employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the week you were matched with the child
stay with the Company while you take shared parental leave
earn a minimum average amount per week as per the Gov website
If only one of the parents want to take shared parental leave and pay, the parent who wants to take the leave and pay must:
have been employed continuously by the same employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the week you were matched with the child
stay with the Company while you take shared parental leave
earn a minimum average amount per week as per the Gov website
The other parent must:
have been working for at least 26 weeks (they do not need to be in a row) during the 66 weeks before the week the child was placed with you
have earned a minimum amount as per the Gov website in total in 13 of the 66 weeks (add up the highest paying weeks, they do not need to be in a row)
You can only start shared parental leave or pay once the child has been born or placed for adoption.
For SPL to start, the mother or the person getting adoption leave, must either:
return to work, which ends any maternity or adoption leave
give their employer ‘binding notice’ of the date when they plan to end their leave (you cannot normally change the date you give in binding notice)
You can start SPL while your partner is still on maternity or adoption leave as long as they’ve given binding notice to end it.
You can give binding notice and say when you plan to take your SPL at the same time.
For statutory shared parental pay to start, the mother or the person getting adoption pay, must give their employer binding notice of the date when they plan to end any maternity or adoption pay.
If they get Maternity Allowance, they must give notice to Jobcentre Plus instead.
You cannot restart maternity pay, Maternity Allowance or adoption pay once it’s ended.
The mother or adopter may be able to change their decision to end maternity or adoption leave early if both:
the planned end date has not passed
they have not already returned to work
One of the following must also apply:
you find out during the 8-week notice period that neither of you is eligible for SPL or Statutory shared parental pay
the mother or adopter’s partner has died
the mother tells her employer less than 6 weeks after the birth (and she gave notice before the birth)
If you’re eligible and you or your partner end maternity or adoption leave and pay (or Maternity Allowance) early, then you can:
take the rest of the 52 weeks of maternity or adoption leave as Shared Parental Leave (SPL)
take the rest of the 39 weeks of maternity or adoption pay (or Maternity Allowance) as Statutory Shared Parental Pay
Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) is paid at a rate set by the Government or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
This is the same as Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) except that during the first 6 weeks SMP is paid at 90% of whatever you earn (with no maximum).
Whilst you are on SPL, you will remain on your normal terms and conditions of employment, except your salary.
To get Shared Parental Leave (SPL) or Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) you must:
follow the rules for starting SPL and ShPP
give your employer at least 8 weeks’ written notice of your leave dates
The forms you will need are:
You can change your mind later about how much SPL or ShPP you plan to take and when you want to take it. You must give notice of any changes at least 8 weeks before the start of any leave.
Your partner must apply to their own employer if they also want SPL or ShPP.
The Company can ask you for more information within 14 days of you applying for SPL or ShPP. We can ask for:
a copy of the birth certificate
a declaration of the place and date of birth (if the birth has not been registered yet)
the name and address of your partner’s employer or a declaration that your partner has no employer
If you're adopting, the Company can ask for the:
name and address of the adoption agency
date you were matched with the child
date the child will be start to live with you
name and address of your partner’s employer or a declaration that your partner has no employer
You must give this information within 14 days of being asked for it.
You can book up to 3 separate blocks of Shared Parental Leave (SPL) instead of taking it all in one go, even if you are not sharing the leave with your partner.
If your partner is also eligible for SPL, you can take up to 3 blocks of leave each. You can take leave at different times or both at the same time.
You must tell your employer about your plans for leave when you apply for SPL. You can change these plans later but you must give your employer at least 8 weeks’ notice before you want to begin a block of leave.
If the Company agrees, you can split blocks into shorter periods of at least a week.
You and your partner can each work up to 20 days while you’re taking SPL. These are called ‘Shared Parental Leave in touch’ (or SPLIT) days.
These days are in addition to the 10 ‘keeping in touch’ (or KIT) days available to those on maternity or adoption leave.
KIT and SPLIT days are optional - both you and your employer must agree to them.
If you take SPL, you will return to the same position you held before commencing leave on the same terms and conditions, if the period of leave, when added to any other period of statutory parental leave, statutory maternity leave or statutory paternity leave taken in relation to the same child, is 26 weeks or less.
If you are returning to work and the period of leave taken is more than 26 weeks, you will return to the same position you held before commencing leave unless this is not reasonably practicable. In this case, you will return to a position that is suitable and appropriate for you.
A mother cannot return to work before the end of the compulsory 2 weeks of maternity leave following the birth (4 weeks if she works in a factory). If you’re adopting, the person claiming adoption pay must take at least 2 weeks of adoption leave.