Shared Parental Leave (SPL) is one of the most misunderstood family leave regimes. It is not an extra entitlement on top of maternity leave, and it is not a top-up to the birth parent's pay. It is a mechanism that lets the birth parent or main adopter end their maternity or adoption leave early and convert the unused balance into a pool that can be shared with their partner.
What SPL is
SPL is up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP), drawn from whatever maternity or adoption leave and pay the birth parent or main adopter does not use. Both parents can take SPL at the same time, or in alternating blocks, in the first year after birth or placement.
What SPL is not
- It is not a separate entitlement. Every week of SPL is a week of maternity or adoption leave that has been given up.
- It is not a pay enhancement. ShPP is paid at the same statutory weekly rate as Statutory Maternity Pay after the first 6 weeks - there is no 90% earnings band.
- It does not extend the 52-week leave window. The total available to the family is still 52 weeks.
- It is not available during the first 2 weeks after birth. Compulsory maternity leave (4 weeks for factory workers) cannot be curtailed.
The curtailment-and-conversion mechanic
SPL exists in three steps: curtailment, notification, and booking.
- Curtailment. The birth parent or main adopter gives a binding written notice ending their maternity or adoption leave on a future Saturday at least one day after the compulsory leave period ends. Once given, the notice locks in. It can only be withdrawn before the planned end date, and before the parent has returned to work, on three narrow grounds: neither parent turns out to be eligible, the partner has died, or a notice given before the birth is withdrawn less than 6 weeks after the birth.
- Notification. Each parent who wants SPL gives their employer a Notice of Entitlement and Intention (NoE) at least 8 weeks before their first period of leave. The NoE sets out totals and a non-binding indication of when leave will be taken.
- Booking. Each parent then gives Period-of-Leave Notices (PLNs) at least 8 weeks before each block of leave starts.
Eligibility for both parents
SPL has a two-sided eligibility test. The parent taking SPL needs the standard employee test: 26 weeks' continuous service by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth or matching week, and continued employment when the leave starts. The partner needs an employment-and-earnings test: 26 weeks of employment (employed or self-employed) in the 66 weeks before the expected week of childbirth, with earnings of at least £390 in total across any 13 of those 66 weeks.
Only employees can take SPL. A worker who is not an employee may still qualify for ShPP, which also needs average weekly earnings of at least the lower earnings limit.
The partner test is independent of the partner's current employment. A partner who has just left a job, or who is self-employed, can still meet it if the past 66-week record qualifies.
The notice architecture and the 3-notice cap
Each parent may give a maximum of three PLNs across their entire SPL. Variations to a previously booked block, and cancellations, count toward the cap. A combined NoE-and-PLN counts as a single notice. Once the cap is exhausted, no further changes are possible unless the employer agrees.
You may refuse a discontinuous block (two or more separate periods in one PLN), or propose alternative dates, within 14 days of receiving the notice. If you do not respond, the notice defaults to a single continuous block starting on the first date requested. A continuous block cannot be refused.
Pay, recovery and the interaction with Statutory Maternity Pay
ShPP is paid at the standard statutory weekly rate or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower - the same rate as Statutory Maternity Pay weeks 7 to 39. There is no equivalent of the SMP first-6-weeks 90% band: that is part of maternity pay and is lost if the birth parent curtails before week 7. Employers reclaim ShPP via the Employer Payment Summary at the standard recovery rate, or the higher Small Employers' Relief rate if the previous tax year's Class 1 NICs were below the relief threshold.
Interaction with paternity leave: the 6 April 2026 change
Until April 2026, an employee who took any SPL was barred from taking statutory paternity leave for the same child. The Employment Rights Act 2025 removes this bar with effect from 6 April 2026, allowing an employee to take statutory paternity leave even after taking SPL, provided the paternity leave is taken in the 52-week window. This unblocks a common planning trap: parents who took a short SPL block to cover the birth period can now still take the statutory 2-week paternity leave separately.
Redundancy protection and detriment
Section 99 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 makes dismissal automatically unfair if the reason or principal reason is connected with SPL. The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023 extends the priority right to suitable alternative employment in a redundancy to cover up to 18 months from birth or placement for parents who have taken at least 6 consecutive weeks of SPL.
SPLIT days
Shared Parental Leave In Touch (SPLIT) days let each parent work up to 20 days during SPL without ending the leave. SPLIT days are by mutual agreement and are paid at a rate the parties agree. They are in addition to the 10 Keeping in Touch (KIT) days available during maternity or adoption leave.
Handling a request as the employer
A request is only valid when each notice arrives complete and in time. Work through these in order whenever an employee tells you they want SPL, even if their partner works elsewhere.
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Check your employee's eligibility
Your employee needs 26 weeks' continuous service with you by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth, or by the matching week for adoption, and must still work for you until the week before SPL starts. Their partner must meet the employment-and-earnings test. The partner test is the one most often missed. If your employee does not qualify you can refuse SPL or ShPP, and you must give your reason for refusing ShPP.
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Keep the curtailment notice on file
If the birth parent or main adopter works for you, their binding notice ending maternity or adoption leave is what releases the weeks for SPL. The first 2 weeks of maternity leave after the birth, or 4 weeks for factory work, cannot be curtailed.
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Check the Notice of Entitlement is complete
It must arrive at least 8 weeks before the first period of SPL. It gives both parents' names, the maternity or adoption leave dates, the total SPL available, the expected week of birth, how much leave each parent plans to take and a non-binding indication of when. It must come with a declaration signed by the employee and one signed by the partner, giving the partner's name, address and National Insurance number and consenting to the split.
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Ask for evidence within 14 days if you need it
Within 14 days of receiving the Notice of Entitlement you can ask for a copy of the birth certificate and the name and address of the partner's employer. Your employee has 14 days to reply, and can send a signed declaration of the date and place of birth if the birth is not yet registered, or a declaration that the partner has no employer.
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Respond to each booking notice
Each period of leave notice must arrive at least 8 weeks before the leave starts. Grant a continuous block as requested. For a discontinuous block, agree, refuse or propose other dates within 14 days, or it defaults to one continuous block from the first date requested.
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Count booking notices against the cap
Each parent can give you up to 3 notices, and variations count towards the cap. You can agree to more.
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Pay ShPP and reclaim it
Pay ShPP at the statutory weekly rate or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower. Reclaim it through the Employer Payment Summary, at the higher rate if you qualify for Small Employers' Relief.
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Agree any SPLIT days
Each parent can work up to 20 SPLIT days during SPL if you both agree. Record each one, because any part of a day worked counts as a full day.
Shared Parental Leave and Pay - eligibility and how to apply (opens in a new tab)
Legal basis
Primary legislation and key regulations