Shared Parental Leave can give families more flexibility about how to use their leave after a baby arrives, but it doesn't increase the total leave available and may reduce your total pay. This 3-minute guide explains how SPL works, who qualifies, how flexible it really is, and the trade-offs to consider before you commit.
What is Shared Parental Leave?
Shared Parental Leave (SPL) lets parents share some of the leave entitlement that would otherwise sit exlusively with the birth parent as maternity leave. It can be useful if new parents want more time off together, a longer period of leave for the birth partner or if the birth parent wants to return to work earlier.
How much leave and pay can be shared?
The maximum that can be shared is 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay. The birth parent must usually take at least 2 weeks of the 52 weeks of maternity leave available after birth, and Statutory Maternity Pay is available for up to 39 weeks — which is why the shareable amounts stop short of the full 52 weeks of leave and 39 weeks of pay. Shared Parental Leave and Pay must be used within the first year after the child is born.
Who qualifies for Shared Parental Leave?
Eligibility can be more complicated than maternity or paternity leave because both parents' work and earnings records matter. Both parents must share responsibility for the child at birth and meet work and pay tests.
If both parents want to share SPL and ShPP
Each parent must usually meet all of the following:
- 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 that employer until at least the week before SPL starts
- Earn at least £129 a week on average to qualify for ShPP
If only one parent wants to take SPL
There are also "employment and earnings" tests where only one parent takes SPL. For example, the mother's partner may be able to take SPL if the mother has worked or been registered as self-employed for at least 26 of the 66 weeks before the baby is due and earned at least £390 in total across any 13 of those weeks, while the partner meets the employee and continuity tests themselves.
What is Shared Parental Pay?
Pay is often the sticking point. Statutory Shared Parental Pay is paid at the same statutory rate as the flat rate of maternity leave, currently £194.32 per week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. Unlike the first 6 weeks of Statutory Maternity Pay, there is no uncapped 90% earnings period for ShPP — so swapping maternity pay for shared parental pay can mean a drop in income, especially in those early weeks.
How flexible is Shared Parental Leave?
Shared Parental Leave can be taken in one block or split into separate blocks. Each parent can usually submit up to three notices to book SPL, and an employer must accept a valid notice for a single continuous block of leave. This means a parent can usually book up to three separate continuous blocks, provided each block is requested correctly. A notice can request discontinuous leave, meaning separate blocks of leave within the same request. However, an employer does not have to agree to a discontinuous pattern. If they refuse, the requested leave may default to a single continuous block unless the notice is withdrawn. Parents can take SPL at different times, or both be off work at the same time.
A notice can request discontinuous leave, meaning separate blocks of leave within the same request. However, an employer does not have to agree to a discontinuous pattern. If they refuse, the requested leave may default to a single continuous block unless the notice is withdrawn.
Parents can take SPL at different times, or both be off work at the same time.
Is SPL the right choice for your family?
The big planning decision is whether SPL actually improves your family's position. It may help if the second parent has better enhanced pay, if the birth parent wants to return to work earlier, or if both parents want overlap at home. But it may be less attractive if it means swapping enhanced maternity pay for the lower statutory shared parental pay rate.
Before choosing SPL, it's worth checking three things:
- How much maternity leave and pay would need to be curtailed to free up SPL and ShPP
- Whether either employer enhances Shared Parental Pay above the statutory rate
- Whether your preferred pattern of leave requires employer agreement
Put it into practice
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