Shared parental leave

Shared parental leave (SPL) lets parents share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay in the first year after a birth or adoption. It works by the mother or primary adopter ending their maternity or adoption leave early and turning the weeks that are left into leave the couple can divide between them. Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) is £194.32 a week for 2026/27, or 90 per cent of average weekly earnings if that is lower.

Where the 50 and 37 come from

Maternity leave is 52 weeks and Statutory Maternity Pay runs for 39 weeks. A short period right after the birth must be taken as maternity leave and cannot be shared, which is why the shared pot is 50 weeks of leave, not 52. The pay pot is 37 weeks, because the first 2 weeks of SMP are paid during that compulsory period.

In practice, what you can share is whatever is left once the mother stops maternity leave. Say the mother goes back to work after 12 weeks. That leaves 40 weeks of leave and 27 weeks of pay (39 minus 12) for the couple to use as SPL. They might split it as 20 weeks each, or have one parent take all of it, or overlap for a few weeks.

The same applies to adoption: the primary adopter ends adoption leave early to create the shared pot.

The pay

ShPP is paid at the lower of £194.32 a week or 90 per cent of average weekly earnings. There is no 6-week higher rate as there is with SMP. If the mother would have been in her first 6 weeks of SMP at 90 per cent of a higher salary, converting those weeks to ShPP can reduce the household’s income, so it often makes sense to use up the higher-rate weeks as maternity pay before switching.

Several public sector employers offer occupational shared parental pay on top of ShPP, mirroring their maternity schemes. The NHS Agenda for Change handbook does this, and so do many councils and academy trusts. The condition to return to work afterwards normally applies too. Check both parents’ employers’ policies, because the more generous one may decide who takes which weeks. Our guide to NHS maternity pay explains how the NHS scheme is structured.

Who qualifies

Both parents have to pass tests, but different ones.

The parent taking SPL must be an employee who has worked continuously for the same employer for a set period before the due week and is still employed when the leave starts. To get ShPP, they also need to earn at least the lower earnings limit (£129 a week).

The other parent must pass a separate employment and earnings test. They do not have to be an employee. They need to have worked for a minimum number of weeks in the period before the due date and earned above a small threshold. A self-employed partner can count.

The mother or adopter must also be entitled to maternity or adoption leave, or SMP, adoption pay or Maternity Allowance. Gov.uk has an online planner and full eligibility rules.

How to book it

The process runs on written notices:

1. The mother or adopter gives notice to end maternity or adoption leave early (called curtailment). She can do this before or after the birth.
2. Each parent gives their own employer notice that they are entitled to SPL and how much they intend to take.
3. Each parent books their actual weeks with a period of leave notice.

Each booking can be for one continuous block or a discontinuous pattern, such as alternating weeks. Your employer must agree to a continuous block if you are eligible. A discontinuous pattern can be refused, which public sector employers sometimes do for rota-based roles. The number of bookings each parent can make is limited, so plan the pattern before you start. Gov.uk sets out the notice periods.

Leave must be taken in whole weeks and must end before the child’s first birthday or the first anniversary of the adoption placement.

How it fits with other leave

Paternity leave of one or two weeks is separate and can be taken as well. Since April 2024 its timing is more flexible, so the order you take things in matters less than it used to. Unpaid parental leave and annual leave are also separate.

Each parent can work a limited number of paid “shared parental leave in touch” days without ending their leave, by agreement with the employer. You build up holiday during SPL, and you have the same protection from detriment and dismissal as on maternity leave. If an employer refuses leave you have properly booked, raise it with HR in writing, and ACAS can advise if that does not settle it.