Shared Parental Leave (Birth) Information

Frequently used terms

The following definitions apply throughout this document and have the same meanings as in the other policies.

• Expected week of childbirth (EWC): the week, beginning on a Sunday, in which the doctor or midwife expects your child to be born.
• Parent: One of two people who will share the main responsibility for the child’s upbringing (and who may be either the mother, the father, or the mother’s partner if not the father).
• Partner: your spouse, civil partner or someone living with you in an enduring family relationship, but not your sibling, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew.
• Qualifying Week: the fifteenth week before the EWC.

What is shared parental leave?

• Shared parental leave (SPL) gives the employee and his or her partner more flexibility in how to share the care of their child in the first year after birth, than if they were simply taking maternity or paternity leave. If they are both eligible, they will be able to choose how to split the available leave between them and can decide to be off work at the same time or at different times. They may be able to take leave in more than one block.

Entitlement to SPL

• Employees are entitled to SPL in relation to the birth of a child if:
  • they are the child’s mother, and share the main responsibility for the care of the child with the child’s father or with their partner;
  • they are the child’s father and share the main responsibility for the care of the child with the child’s mother; or
  • they are the mother’s partner and share the main responsibility for the care of the child with the mother (where the child’s father does not share the main responsibility with the mother).

• The following conditions must also be met:
  • the employee must have at least 26 weeks continuous employment with the employer by the end of the Qualifying Week, and still be employed by the employer in the week before the leave is to be taken;
  • the other parent must have worked (in an employed or self-employed capacity) in at least 26 of the 66 weeks before the EWC and had average weekly earnings of at least £30 during 13 of those weeks; and
  • the employee and the other parent must give the necessary statutory notices and declarations as set out below, including notice to end any maternity leave, statutory maternity pay (SMP) or maternity allowance (MA) periods.

• The total amount of SPL available is 52 weeks, less the weeks spent by the child’s mother on maternity leave (or the weeks in which the mother has been in receipt of SMP or MA if she is not entitled to maternity leave).
• If the employee is the mother, she cannot start SPL until after the compulsory maternity leave period, which lasts until two weeks after birth.
• If the employee is the child’s father or the mother’s partner, he/she should consider using their two weeks’ paternity leave before taking SPL because, once they start SPL they will lose any untaken paternity leave entitlement. SPL entitlement is additional to paternity leave entitlement.

Opting in to shared parental leave and pay

• Not less than eight weeks before the date the employee intends their SPL to start, they must give their employer a written opt-in notice giving:
  • their name and the name of the other parent;
  • if the employee is the child’s mother, the start and end dates of her maternity leave;
  • if the employee is the child’s father or the mother’s partner, the start and end dates of the mother’s maternity leave, or if she is not entitled to maternity leave, the start and end dates of any SMP or MA period;
  • the total SPL available, which is 52 weeks minus the number of weeks’ maternity leave, SMP or MA period taken or to be taken;
  • how many weeks of the available SPL will be allocated to them and how many to the other parent (this allocation can be changed by giving the employer a further written notice, and employees do not have to use their full allocation);
  • if they are claiming statutory shared parental pay (ShPP), the total ShPP available, which is 39 weeks minus the number of weeks of the SMP or MA period taken or to be taken);
  • how many weeks of available ShPP will be allocated to the employee and how much to the other parent (this allocation can be changed by giving the employer a further written notice, and employees do not have to use their full allocation);
  • an indication of the pattern of leave the employee is thinking of taking, including suggested start and end dates for each period of leave (see below for information on taking leave). This indication will not be binding at this stage, but it is helpful for the employer to give them as much information as possible about future intentions; and
  • declarations by the employee and the other parent that they both meet the statutory conditions to enable them to take SPL and ShPP.

Ending the maternity leave period

• If the employee is the child’s mother and she wants to opt into the SPL scheme, she must give her employer at least eight weeks’ written notice to end her maternity leave (this is called a curtailment notice) before she can take SPL. The notice must state the date on which her maternity leave will end. She can give the notice before or after she gives birth, but she cannot, by law, end her maternity leave until at least two weeks after birth (the two weeks following birth is the compulsory maternity leave period).
• The employee must also give her employer, at the same time as the curtailment notice, a notice to opt into the SPL scheme (see below) or a written declaration that the other parent has given their employer an opt-in notice and that she has given the necessary declarations in that notice.
• The other parent may be eligible to take SPL from their employer before her maternity leave ends, provided she has given the curtailment notice.
• The curtailment notice is binding and cannot usually be revoked. The employee can only revoke a curtailment notice if maternity leave has not yet ended and one of the following applies:
  • if the employee realises that neither she nor the other parent are in fact eligible for SPL or ShPP, in which case she can revoke the curtailment notice in writing up to eight weeks after it was given;
  • if the employee gave the curtailment notice before giving birth, she can revoke it in writing up to six weeks after birth; or
  • if the other parent has died.
• Once an employee has revoked a curtailment notice she will be unable to opt back into the SPL scheme, unless specific circumstances apply.

Ending your partner’s maternity leave or pay

• If the employee is not the mother, but the mother is still on maternity leave or claiming SMP or MA, the employee will only be able to take SPL once the mother has either:
  • returned to work;
  • given her employer a curtailment notice to end her maternity leave;
  • given her employer a curtailment notice to end her SMP (if she is entitled to SMP but not maternity leave); or
  • given the benefits office a curtailment notice to end her MA (if she is not entitled to maternity leave or SMP).

Evidence of entitlement

• The employee must also provide to the employer on request:
  • A copy of the birth certificate (or if one has not yet been obtained, a signed declaration of the child’s date and place of birth); and
  • The name and address of the other parent’s employer (or a declaration that they have no employer).

Booking SPL dates

• Having opted into the SPL system, the employee must book the leave by giving the employer a “period of leave notice”. This may be given at the same time as the opt-in notice or later, provided it is at least eight weeks before the start of SPL.
• The period of leave notice can either give the dates on which the employee wants to take leave or, if the child has not been born yet, it can state the number of days after birth that the employee wants the leave to start and end. This may be particularly useful if the employee intends to take paternity leave starting on the date of birth and wishes to take SPL straight afterwards.
• Leave must be taken in blocks of at least one week.
• If the period of leave notice gives a single continuous block of SPL the employee will be entitled to take the leave set out in the notice.
• If the employee’s period of leave notice requests split periods of SPL, with periods of work in between, employers may consider the request as set out below.
• The employee can give up to three period of leave notices. This may enable them to take up to three separate blocks of SPL (although if they give a notice to vary or cancel a period of leave this will in most cases count as a further period of leave notice; see below) .

Procedure for requesting split periods of SPL

• In general, a period of leave notice should set out a single continuous block of leave. Some employers may be willing to consider a period of leave notice where the SPL is split into shorter periods with periods of work in between. It is best for the employee to discuss this with their employer in good time before sending in the request in the period of leave notice. This will give the employer more time to consider the request and hopefully agree a pattern of leave with the employee from the start.
• If employees want to request split periods of SPL, they must set out the requested pattern of leave in their period of leave notice. Employers may either agree to the request or start a two-week discussion period. At the end of that period, employers should confirm any agreed arrangements in writing. If agreement is not reached, the employee will be entitled to take the full amount of requested SPL as one continuous block, starting on the start date given in their notice (for example, if the employee requested three separate periods of four weeks each, they will be combined into one 12-week period of leave). Alternatively, the employee may:
  • choose a new start date (which must be at least eight weeks after the date when the notice was submitted requesting split periods of leave), and tell the employer within five days of the end of the two-week discussion period; or
  • withdraw the notice and tell the employer within two days of the end of the two-week discussion period (in which case it will not be counted as a period of leave notice, and the employee may submit a new one if they choose).

Changing the dates or cancelling SPL

• Employees can cancel a period of leave by notifying the employer in writing at least eight weeks before the start date in the period of leave notice.
• Employees can also change the start date for a period of leave by notifying the employer in writing at least eight weeks before the original start date or the new start date, whichever is earlier.
• Employees can change the end date for a period of leave by notifying the employer in writing at least eight weeks before the original end date or the new end date, whichever is earlier.
• Employees can combine non-continuous periods of leave into a single continuous period of leave. Since this will involve a change to the start date or end date of a period of leave, please see Booking SPL dates section of this information which sets out how much notice is required.
• Employees can request that a continuous period of leave be split into two or more non-continuous periods of leave, with periods of work in between. Since this will involve a change to the start date or end date, see the Procedure for requesting split periods of SPL section of this information which sets out how much notice is required for the request. Employers do not have to grant the request but should consider it as set out in the Procedure for requesting split periods of SPL section of this information.
• A notice to change or cancel a period of leave will count as one of the employee’s three period of leave notices, unless:
  • it is a result of the child being born earlier or later than the EWC;
  • the employee is cancelling a request for non-continuous leave within two days of the end of the two-week discussion period referenced in the Booking SPL dates section of this information.
  • it is at the request of the employer; or
  • the employer and employee both agree otherwise.

Premature birth

• Where the child is born early (before the beginning of the EWC), the employee may be able to start SPL in the eight weeks following birth even though he/she cannot give eight weeks’ notice. The following rules apply:
  • If the employee has given a period of leave notice to start SPL on a set date in the eight weeks following the EWC, but the child is born early, the employee can move the SPL start date forward by the same number of days, provided he/she notifies the employer in writing of the change as soon as possible. (If the period of leave notice already contained a start date which was a set number of days after birth, rather than a set date, then no notice of change is necessary.)
  • If the child is born more than eight weeks early and the employee wants to take SPL in the eight weeks following birth, they should submit their opt-in notice and the period of leave notice as soon as possible.

Shared parental pay

• Employees may be able to claim Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) of up to 39 weeks (less any weeks of SMP or MA claimed by them or their partner) if they have at least 26 weeks’ continuous employment with the employer at the end of the Qualifying Week and their average earnings are not less than the lower earnings limit set by the government each tax year. ShPP is paid by employers at a rate set by the government each year. This should be checked on the government website here as it changes each year.
• Employees should tell the employer in the period of leave notice(s) whether they intend to claim ShPP during their leave (and if applicable, for what period). If it is not in the period of leave notice they can tell the employer in writing, at least eight weeks before they want ShPP to start.

Other terms during shared parental leave

• The employee’s terms and conditions of employment remain in force during SPL, except for the terms relating to pay.
• Annual leave entitlement will continue to accrue at the rate provided under the contract. If the period of SPL will continue into the next holiday year, any holiday entitlement that cannot reasonably be taken before starting the leave can be carried over and must be taken immediately before returning to work or within a set period of returning to work according to the employer’s policy. It is helpful if the employee can discuss holiday plans with the employer in good time before starting SPL.
• If the employee is a member of a pension scheme, the employer must make employer pension contributions during any period of paid SPL, based on the employee’s normal salary, in accordance with the pension scheme rules. Any employee contributions made by the employee will be based on the amount of any shared parental pay which the employee is receiving, unless the employee informs the employer or the Pensions Administrator that they wish to make up any shortfall.

Keeping in touch

• Employers may make reasonable contact with employees from time to time during the SPL although they should try to keep this to a minimum. This may include contacting the employee to discuss arrangements for their return to work.
• Employees may ask or be asked to work (including attending training) on up to 20 “keeping-in-touch” days (KIT days) during their SPL without bringing the SPL to an end. This is in addition to any KIT days that the employee may have taken during maternity leave. KIT days are not compulsory and must be discussed and agreed with the employer.
• The employees will be paid at their normal basic rate of pay for time spent working on a KIT day and this will be inclusive of any shared parental pay entitlement. Alternatively, they may agree with the employer to receive the equivalent paid time off in lieu.

Returning to work

• If employees want to end a period of SPL early, they must give the employer eight weeks’ written notice of the new return date. If employees have already given the employer three period of leave notices, they will not be able to end the SPL early without the employer’s agreement.
• If employees want to extend their SPL, assuming they still have unused SPL entitlement remaining, they must give the employer a written period of leave notice at least eight weeks before the date on which they were due to return to work. If the employees have already given the employer three period of leave notices they will not be able to extend the SPL without the employer’s agreement. The employees may instead be able to request annual leave or ordinary parental leave (see the Parental Leave Information), subject to the employer’s business needs.
• Employees are normally entitled to return to work in the position they held before starting SPL, and on the same terms of employment. However, if it is not reasonably practicable for the employer to enable them to return to the same position, the employer may give them another suitable and appropriate job on terms and conditions that are not less favourable, but only in the following circumstances:
  • if the SPL and any maternity or paternity leave which the employee has taken adds up to more than 26 weeks in total (whether or not this is taken consecutively); or
  • if the employee took SPL consecutively with more than four weeks of ordinary parental leave.
• If employees want to change their hours or other working arrangements on return from SPL they should make a request in line with the statutory requirements in the Flexible Working Information. It is helpful if such requests are made as early as possible.
• If employees decide they do not want to return to work they should give notice of resignation in accordance with their contract.