Answers · UK 2025/26

How is Shared Parental Leave and pay calculated?

Shared Parental Leave lets eligible parents split up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay between them, after the mother or primary adopter ends their maternity or adoption leave early -- pay is at the standard statutory rate (the lower of 90% of average weekly earnings or the statutory weekly amount), and both parents must separately meet continuity of employment and earnings conditions to qualify.

Last updated: 2 July 2026Last reviewed: 2 July 2026How we verify

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Shared Parental Leave (SPL) allows eligible parents to convert most of the mother's (or primary adopter's) maternity or adoption leave and pay into a flexible pot that can be shared between both parents, rather than the traditional model of one parent taking all the leave. **How the total leave pot is created** Statutory Maternity Leave is 52 weeks in total (39 of which are paid). If the mother chooses to end her maternity leave and pay early, the REMAINING weeks (up to a maximum of 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay) become available as Shared Parental Leave and Shared Parental Pay, which can then be split between both parents in whatever combination they choose, including taking leave at the same time as each other, or in separate blocks at different times. **Eligibility -- both parents must qualify separately** To use Shared Parental Leave, both parents generally need to meet specific eligibility conditions: the mother (or primary adopter) must be eligible for statutory maternity or adoption leave and pay (or Maternity Allowance) in the first place, and the partner intending to take SPL must meet an "employment and earnings test" (broadly, having worked and earned above a minimum threshold for a set period in the relevant reference weeks) -- both the "continuity of employment" test (26 weeks' service with the same employer by a specific date) for the parent actually taking the leave, and the separate earnings test for their partner, need to be satisfied. **Statutory Shared Parental Pay rate** Shared Parental Pay is paid at the standard statutory weekly rate used across the family-related statutory payments (the lower of 90% of average weekly earnings or the standard statutory weekly amount, uprated annually) -- this is generally lower than an employee's normal full pay, similar to how Statutory Maternity Pay drops to this lower rate after the initial higher-rate weeks. **Flexibility in how leave is taken** Unlike standard maternity or paternity leave (which are typically taken in a single continuous block), Shared Parental Leave can be taken in a more flexible pattern -- parents can take it in up to three separate blocks each (though employers can agree to more), and can choose to be off work at the same time as each other for some periods, and at different times for others, giving families significantly more flexibility in how they manage childcare in the child's first year. **The notice and booking process** Using Shared Parental Leave requires formal notice to employers, including a non-binding notice of the parents' overall entitlement and intended leave pattern, followed by specific "period of leave" notices for each block actually being booked -- employers can request a certain amount of notice (generally at least 8 weeks) before each block starts, and there are specific rules about how many times a leave pattern can be varied once notice has been given. **Interaction with Paternity Leave** A parent can still take standard (shorter) Statutory Paternity Leave in addition to their share of Shared Parental Leave, provided the paternity leave is taken first and separately -- but the same parent can't claim both paternity leave and SPL to cover the exact same period, so the interaction between the two needs to be planned carefully if both are being used. **Why uptake has historically been low** Despite the flexibility SPL offers, uptake among eligible parents has historically been relatively low compared with initial expectations when the scheme was introduced -- commonly cited reasons include the complexity of the eligibility rules and notice process, the relatively low flat statutory pay rate (which can be a bigger financial step down for the second parent than continuing to rely on the primary parent's maternity pay, particularly where employers only enhance MATERNITY pay above the statutory rate, not SPL), and limited awareness of the scheme among both employees and employers. **Practical tip** Because Shared Parental Leave eligibility, notice requirements, and pay entitlement are genuinely complex, and because employer-enhanced pay policies for SPL vary significantly (with some employers matching enhanced maternity pay rates for SPL and others only offering the statutory minimum), check both parents' specific employer policies well before the child is due, since planning around SPL generally needs to start months in advance to satisfy the required notice periods.