Shared Parental Leave and Pay, explained

You can take it in blocks separated by periods of work, or all in one go, and you can be off together or one after the other.

How it works

You and your partner may be able to get Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) if you’re having a baby, using a surrogate, adopting, or fostering a child you plan to adopt.

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 placed with your family.

Where the weeks come from

To get SPL and ShPP, you or your partner has to take less than the 52 weeks of maternity or adoption leave and use the rest as SPL, and take less than the 39 weeks of maternity or adoption pay (or Maternity Allowance) and use the rest as ShPP.

For example, if you’re the mother and you’ve taken 22 weeks of Maternity Leave and Statutory Maternity Pay, you can share 30 weeks of SPL and 17 weeks of ShPP with your partner.

How much you get

If you take Shared Parental Leave you’ll get Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP). ShPP is £194.32 a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.

Who qualifies

If both parents want to share it, you must each have been employed continuously by the same employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the due date, and stay with them until the week before you start your SPL.

To be eligible for ShPP, you must each earn on average at least £129 a week.

If only the mother’s partner takes it, the mother must have worked at least 26 of the 66 weeks before the due week and earned at least £390 in total across any 13 of the 66 weeks.

Common questions

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