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You can start Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) if you're eligible and you or your partner ends your maternity or adoption leave early - eligibility, entitlement, starting SPL and splitting blocks of leave

• How it works

  You and your partner may be able to get Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and…

• Eligibility for birth parents

  To be eligible for Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and Statutory Shared…

• Eligibility for adopters or parents using a surrogate

  To be eligible for Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and Statutory Shared…

• What you'll get

  You can share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay between…

• When you can start

  You can only start Shared Parental Leave (SPL) or Shared Parental Pay…

• Booking blocks of leave

  You can book up to 3 separate blocks of Shared Parental Leave (SPL)…

• Applying for leave and pay

  To get Shared Parental Leave (SPL) or Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) you must:…

Your employee can take Shared Parental Leave (SPL) if they're eligible and they or their partner ends their maternity or adoption leave early - eligibility, entitlement, starting SPL, splitting blocks of leave and record keeping

• Overview

  Employees may be able to get Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and Statutory…

• Eligibility

  Sometimes only one parent in a couple will be eligible to get Shared…

• Entitlement

  If an employee is eligible and they or their partner end maternity or…

• Starting Shared Parental Leave

  For Shared Parental Leave (SPL) to start, the mother or adopter must do…

• Blocks of leave

  An employee taking Shared Parental Leave (SPL) can split their leave into…

• Record keeping

  You must keep records for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), including: the…

• Help with statutory pay

  For financial help with statutory pay, you can: reclaim payments (usually…

Plan how and when you and your partner take Shared Parental Leave. Find out how much Statutory Shared Parental Pay you would get and when to give notice.

Guidance for employees and employers: employment rights when on maternity, paternity, adoption, neonatal care or parental bereavement leave - keeping in touch days, annual leave, returning to work, redundancy.

Your Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) and Leave - what you get, how to claim, maternity rights and extra help

• Updated: 22 October 2024

If you are a civil servant considering taking shared parental leave, this guidance will give you a better understanding of the options available to you.

• Updated: 22 October 2024

The Shared Parental Leave (SPL) evaluation report assesses whether the implementation of Shared Parental Leave achieved its original objectives.

• Updated: 4 July 2023

This is a technical guide for employers to consider when implementing policies on shared parental leave and pay.

• Updated: 27 April 2020

• Updated: 10 September 2025