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Shared Parental Leave is a way to split leave between parents in the year after your baby is born. It was introduced in 2015 and gives parents more choice and flexibility than the traditional Maternity and Paternity Leave.
It’s essentially the same leave and statutory pay and Maternity Leave, but either partner can take it.
Is Shared Parental Leave a statutory right?
Shared Parental Leave (SPL) is the same as Maternity Leave and Paternity Leave in that it is a statutory right.
It gives you and your partner a fixed amount of time off that you can share between you.
You may want to both use half of it and be off at the same time. Or, take a block each to prolong how long at least one of you is at home with the baby. Time must be taken off as blocks rather than lots of individual days. You can alternate blocks to reduce how much time each of you is away from work at once.
Eligibility for Shared Parental Leave
To be eligible, both parents must:
- Share responsibility for the child at birth
- Meet work and pay criteria which includes:
- Be employed (as an employee not a worker) and have been continuously employed by the same employer for at least 26 weeks before the 15th week before the baby is due
- You are going to stay with the same employer when the baby is born, at least until you have finished Shared Parental leave
- Earn an average of at least £123 a week each
For adopters, the same criteria applies except that you must both have been employed by the same employer for at least 26 weeks before you were matched with the child, rather than necessarily during pregnancy.
How much Shared Parental Leave (SPL) can I take?
You can take up to 52 weeks of SPL, shared between you.
You can’t take Shared Parental leave at the same time as Maternity, Paternity or Adoption leave. But, you can choose to end those early and take the rest of the time as SPL instead.
How much Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) can I receive?
Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) is 90% of your average weekly earnings or £184.03 a week, whichever is lower.
This pay only covers 39 weeks, so if you take the full 52 weeks leave, 13 weeks of that will be unpaid.
Remember that yours or your partner’s companies may offer a better deal than this – not all employers offer only the bare minimum. It can work out better financially if one of your employers offers much higher pay for Shared Parental leave than the other. Check with your employer or HR to see what pay you could receive if you wish to take Shared Parental Leave.
