Shared Parental Leave and Pay: employer guide
Starting Shared Parental Leave
For Shared Parental Leave (SPL) to start, the mother or adopter must do one of the following:
- end their maternity or adoption leave by returning to work
- give you ‘binding notice’ (a decision that cannot normally be changed) of the date when they’ll end their maternity or adoption leave
- end maternity pay or Maternity Allowance (if they’re not entitled to maternity leave, for example they’re an agency worker or self-employed)
A mother must take a minimum of 2 weeks’ maternity leave following the birth (4 if she works in a factory).
The adoptive parent getting Statutory Adoption Pay must take at least 2 weeks’ adoption leave. They can take it from the day of the placement, or up to 14 days before the placement starts.
The mother must give you notice (at least 8 weeks) to end her maternity pay, or tell Jobcentre Plus to end her Maternity Allowance. Adopters must give you notice to end adoption pay.
SPL can start for the partner while the mother or adopter is still on maternity or adoption leave if she’s given binding notice to end her leave (or pay if she’s not entitled to leave).
Example
A mother and her partner are both eligible for SPL.
The mother goes on maternity leave 10 weeks before her baby is born. She decides that she’ll take 16 weeks of maternity leave and gives you notice.
Since the mother has given binding notice, her partner can start SPL as soon as the baby has been born (as long as they’ve given at least 8 weeks’ notice).
What the employee must do
The employee must give you written notice if they want to start SPL or Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP). They can do this using forms created by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas).
After receiving this notice, you can ask for:
- a copy of the child’s birth certificate
- the name and address of their partner’s employer
You have 14 days to ask for this information. Your employee then has a further 14 days to provide it.
Notice period
An employee must give at least 8 weeks’ notice of any leave they wish to take. If the child is born more than 8 weeks early, this notice period can be shorter.
Your employee has a statutory right to a maximum of 3 separate blocks of leave, although you can allow more if you wish.
Cancelling the decision to end maternity or adoption leave
The mother or adopter may be able to change their decision to end maternity or adoption leave early if both:
- the planned end date has not passed
- they have not already returned to work
One of the following must also apply:
- it’s discovered during the 8-week notice period that neither partner is eligible for either SPL or ShPP
- the employee’s partner has died
- it’s less than 6 weeks after the birth (and the mother gave notice before the birth)
Shared parental leave in touch (SPLIT) days
Your employee can work up to 20 days during SPL without bringing it to an end. These are called ‘shared parental leave in touch’ (or SPLIT) days.
These days are in addition to the 10 ‘keeping in touch’ (or KIT) days already available to those on maternity or adoption leave.
Keeping in touch days are optional - both you and your employee must agree to them.