Shared Parental Leave: A Complete Guide for UK Employers

Shared Parental Leave (SPL) lets eligible parents split up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of statutory pay between them after the birth or adoption of a child. It has been law since 2015, but take-up remains low and the rules are notoriously complex. Most employers will deal with SPL infrequently, which makes it easy to get wrong when a request does land on your desk.

This guide covers everything you need to handle SPL correctly: who qualifies, what notices you will receive, how to calculate Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP), and what changed from April 2026 under the Employment Rights Act 2025.

Last updated: April 2026

What Is Shared Parental Leave and How Does It Work?

SPL allows eligible mothers, fathers, and partners to share leave in the first year after their child is born or placed for adoption. The mother (or primary adopter) curtails their maternity or adoption leave early, and the remaining weeks become available as SPL for either or both parents to take.

The basic maths: a mother is entitled to 52 weeks of maternity leave and 39 weeks of Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP). She must take at least two weeks of compulsory maternity leave after birth (four weeks if she works in a factory). Whatever she does not use from the remaining 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay can be converted into SPL and ShPP, to be shared between her and her partner in whatever pattern they agree.

SPL can be taken in continuous blocks or, with your agreement, in discontinuous patterns (for example, alternating weeks between parents). This flexibility is the whole point of the scheme, but it does make it harder to administer than straightforward maternity or paternity leave.

The right to SPL is set out in the Shared Parental Leave Regulations 2014 (SI 2014/3050), with Statutory Shared Parental Pay governed by Part 12ZC of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992.

Who Is Eligible for Shared Parental Leave?

Both parents must meet specific criteria. As the employer, you need to check the eligibility of your employee. Their partner's eligibility is confirmed through a signed declaration, and it is not your responsibility to verify it independently.

Your employee must:

• Be an employee (not a worker) with continuous service of at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (or matching date for adoption)
• Still be employed by you when they take SPL
• Share responsibility for the child with the other parent
• Give proper notice, including a signed declaration from their partner

Their partner must meet the "employment and earnings test":

• Have worked for at least 26 weeks out of the 66 weeks before the expected week of childbirth (these do not need to be consecutive or with the same employer)
• Have earned at least £390 in total across any 13 of those 66 weeks

Workers (as distinct from employees) cannot take SPL, but may qualify for ShPP if they meet the earnings threshold.

Eligibility for Statutory Shared Parental Pay

To qualify for ShPP, your employee must meet the SPL eligibility requirements above and also earn at least £129 per week on average (the lower earnings limit for 2026/27). ShPP for 2026/27 is paid at the lower of:

• £194.32 per week (the statutory flat rate from 6 April 2026), or
• 90% of the employee's average weekly earnings

Unlike SMP, there is no initial six-week period paid at 90% of earnings. ShPP is paid at the flat rate (or 90%, whichever is lower) for the entire duration.

What Notices Will You Receive?

SPL involves a structured notice process. You will typically receive three types of notice, and the rules around each are strict.

1. Curtailment Notice

The mother or primary adopter submits this to their employer (which may or may not be you) to formally end their maternity or adoption leave early. The curtailment notice must specify the date maternity leave will end and must be given at least eight weeks before that date.

This is the trigger. Until the mother curtails her maternity leave, SPL cannot begin for either parent. In practice, the mother can submit this before the baby is born, but it only becomes binding once the child is born.

If the mother has not yet returned to work, she can revoke the curtailment in limited circumstances: if she gave notice before the birth and revokes within six weeks of birth, or if her partner has died.

2. Notice of Entitlement and Intention

Each parent who intends to take SPL must give their own employer a notice of entitlement at least eight weeks before their first period of SPL. This notice must include:

• The mother's name and the partner's name
• The expected week of childbirth (or actual date of birth if it has already happened)
• The start and end dates of the mother's maternity leave
• The total SPL and ShPP available, and how much each parent intends to take
• A signed declaration from the partner confirming they meet the employment and earnings test and consent to the employee taking SPL

This is a non-binding indication of intent. It tells you what is coming but does not formally book any leave. Your employee can change their plans later.

As an employer, you have the right to request a copy of the child's birth certificate and the name and address of the partner's employer within 14 days of receiving this notice. The employee must provide this within 14 days of your request.

3. Period of Leave Notice (Leave Booking Notice)

This is the formal request for specific dates. The employee must give at least eight weeks' notice before the start of each block of leave. Each employee can submit up to three period of leave notices in total (though some of these may be used for variations to previously booked leave).

A period of leave notice can request either:

• Continuous leave: a single unbroken block. You must accept this. You have no right to refuse a continuous block of SPL.
• Discontinuous leave: leave spread across non-consecutive periods (for example, three weeks on, two weeks off, then three weeks on). You can refuse this. If you do refuse, you have a two-week discussion period to try to agree on a pattern. If no agreement is reached, the employee can either withdraw the notice or take the total amount of leave requested as one continuous block, starting on the date specified in the original notice.

The two-week window is important. If you simply ignore a discontinuous leave request and do not respond, the employee is entitled to take the leave as a continuous block by default.

How to Calculate and Administer ShPP

ShPP is recovered from HMRC in the same way as SMP. Most employers can recover 92% of the ShPP they pay out. Small employers (those whose total Class 1 NIC liability was £45,000 or less in the previous tax year) can recover 100% plus an additional 3% compensation.

To calculate ShPP:

1. Confirm the total weeks of SMP/SAP the mother has used (or will use)
2. Subtract from 39 to find the remaining weeks of statutory pay available
3. The parents decide between them how to split the remaining pay weeks
4. Pay ShPP at £194.32/week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower
5. Run ShPP through payroll as normal earnings for tax and NI purposes

You must keep records of all SPL and ShPP for at least three years, including copies of all notices and declarations.

SPLIT Days: Keeping in Touch During SPL

Each parent is entitled to up to 20 Shared Parental Leave In Touch (SPLIT) days. These are separate from the 10 Keeping in Touch (KIT) days available during maternity leave, so a mother who takes some maternity leave and then switches to SPL could potentially work up to 30 days in total across both types of leave without ending her leave.

SPLIT days are entirely voluntary. Neither you nor the employee can insist on them. If you do agree to SPLIT days, the terms of payment must be agreed in advance. There is no statutory rate for SPLIT days. In practice, most employers pay the employee's normal daily rate.

Working a SPLIT day does not bring SPL to an end, regardless of how many hours are worked that day.

What Changed from April 2026

The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduced several changes affecting family leave from 6 April 2026. While these do not change the core mechanics of SPL itself, they significantly affect the landscape around it.

Day one rights for related leave

Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave are now day one rights. Previously, paternity leave required 26 weeks' continuous service, and unpaid parental leave required one year. New employees are now entitled to both from their first day.

This matters for SPL because the partner's access to paternity leave no longer depends on length of service. A father or partner can take paternity leave from day one and then, if they meet the separate SPL eligibility requirements, move on to SPL.

Paternity leave flexibility

From April 2026, paternity leave can be taken before or after a period of SPL. Previously, paternity leave had to be taken before SPL started, which forced parents into awkward sequencing. This restriction has been removed.

Enhanced protection from dismissal

Parents returning from SPL now have enhanced protection from redundancy during their leave and for a period of six months after returning to work. If a genuine redundancy situation arises, you must offer a suitable alternative vacancy where one exists, in priority over other employees. This mirrors the existing protection for employees on maternity leave and was extended to SPL returners under the ERA 2025 changes.

Statutory pay rate increase

ShPP increased to £194.32 per week from 6 April 2026 (up from £187.18 in 2025/26). The lower earnings limit for eligibility remains £129 per week.

Common Employer Mistakes with SPL

SPL trips up employers more than almost any other area of family leave. Here are the patterns that lead to problems.

Treating SPL as optional. You cannot refuse a continuous block of SPL from an eligible employee. Some employers treat SPL requests as something they can simply decline. You can only refuse discontinuous patterns.

Forgetting the eight-week deadlines. You have obligations to respond within specific timeframes. If an employee requests discontinuous leave and you do not respond within two weeks, the default position favours the employee.

Confusing SPL with unpaid parental leave. SPL and unpaid parental leave (under the Employment Rights Act 1996, s.76) are completely different entitlements with different eligibility rules, different notice periods, and different pay arrangements. Unpaid parental leave gives each parent 18 weeks per child, taken in blocks of one week, with no statutory pay. SPL is a shared pot of up to 50 weeks with up to 37 weeks of statutory pay. Do not conflate them.

Not updating your maternity policy. Your maternity policy should explain that the employee can curtail maternity leave to trigger SPL. If it does not mention SPL at all, employees may not know the option exists.

Failing to check both sets of criteria. The employee and their partner have different eligibility tests. You only need to verify your own employee's eligibility directly, but you should ensure the partner's signed declaration is complete and covers all required information.

Practical Steps for Employers

1. Review your family leave policy. Make sure it references SPL and explains the process clearly. Include the three notice requirements and the timeline.
2. Create an SPL request template. Having a standard form for the notice of entitlement and the period of leave notice reduces errors and ensures you collect all required information.
3. Train line managers. SPL requests are rare enough that most managers will not have seen one before. Give them a brief guide on what to do when one arrives: check eligibility, request evidence within 14 days, respond to booking notices within two weeks.
4. Update your employment contracts. Ensure your contracts reference the company's SPL policy and point employees to where they can find the full details.
5. Use HMRC's online tools. HMRC provides calculators for working out ShPP entitlement and the amount recoverable. Use them rather than attempting manual calculations.
6. Run a compliance check. If you are unsure whether your policies are up to date with the April 2026 changes, the EmployeeKit Employer Audit reviews your contracts, handbook, and policies against current law for £49, and flags exactly what needs updating.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can an employer refuse shared parental leave? A: You cannot refuse a continuous block of SPL from an eligible employee. It is a statutory right. You can refuse a request for discontinuous leave (leave taken in non-consecutive blocks), but you must engage in a two-week discussion period first. If no agreement is reached, the employee can take the leave as one continuous block instead.

Q: Does shared parental leave have to be taken in full weeks? A: Yes. SPL must be taken in complete weeks. An employee cannot take individual days of SPL (unlike annual leave). However, SPLIT days allow the employee to work individual days during their SPL without ending the leave, which provides some flexibility for both parties.

Q: What happens if the employee's partner works for the same company? A: Both employees can take SPL simultaneously if they both meet the eligibility requirements. You handle each employee's request separately. The total leave and pay they share between them still cannot exceed 50 weeks and 37 weeks respectively. You may want to consider how to manage the operational impact of both being absent at the same time, but you cannot refuse a continuous block of SPL simply because their partner (also your employee) is already on SPL.

Q: Can an employee take SPL if they are not entitled to ShPP? A: Yes. SPL and ShPP have different eligibility criteria. An employee may qualify for the leave but not the pay, for example if they earn below the lower earnings limit of £129 per week. In that case, they can still take unpaid SPL.

Q: How does SPL interact with annual leave? A: Annual leave continues to accrue during SPL, just as it does during maternity leave. Employees are entitled to take any accrued annual leave before or after their SPL. It is good practice to discuss annual leave arrangements when agreeing the SPL plan, to avoid a large bank of untaken leave building up.

Q: Is shared parental leave available to adoptive parents? A: Yes. The rules are broadly the same as for birth parents, with the placement date replacing the birth date in the eligibility calculations. The primary adopter curtails their adoption leave to trigger SPL, and the remaining weeks are shared between the adopter and their partner. The same notice requirements and pay rules apply.