Glossary · UK
What is Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP)?
A weekly government-set payment that eligible parents can split between them instead of one parent taking the full year of statutory maternity or adoption pay alone.
Full Definition
Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) lets eligible parents split up to 37 weeks of pay (out of a maximum 50 weeks of Shared Parental Leave) between them, instead of the birth mother or adopter using the full 39 weeks of Statutory Maternity Pay or Statutory Adoption Pay by themselves. ShPP is paid at the same flat statutory rate as the final weeks of Statutory Maternity Pay -- the lower of £187.18 per week (2026/27) or 90% of average weekly earnings -- for however many weeks the parents choose to share, and can be taken in any pattern the parents agree with their employers (continuous blocks or split periods), including overlapping so both parents are off together for part of the time. To qualify, both parents generally need to meet continuity-of-employment and minimum-earnings tests, and the mother or adopter must have ended their own maternity/adoption leave and pay early to release the remaining weeks into the shared pool. Employers can offer enhanced (contractual) shared parental pay above the statutory minimum, though far fewer do so than for maternity pay, which is one reason uptake of Shared Parental Leave has remained relatively low since its introduction in 2015.