How does shared parental leave work?
Shared parental leave (SPL) helps employees balance their work lives with their new family responsibilities. Learn more about SPL, how it works and what employees must do to claim it.
Published: 2 April 2025 | by Brightmine | Reviewed by Laura Merrylees, Senior Legal Editor at Brightmine
The arrival of a new child is a joyous moment, but for many working parents, the burden of meeting both the needs of a new baby or adopted child and fulfilling their workplace obligations can be difficult and stressful. This is especially true during the first year of their child’s arrival.
Shared Parental Leave (SPL) is a statutory right that’s designed to alleviate this problem. Created to offer employees greater flexibility, SPL enables working parents to take leave together or separately, promoting a better work-life balance and supporting gender equality in childcare.
SPL is an important law. Employers must ensure they fully understand and meet their legal obligations to reduce compliance risk. Failure to comply with SPL regulations can result in grievances, tribunal claims, and could bring reputational damage.
Read on to learn more about shared parental leave, how it works and what employees must do to claim it.
What is shared parental leave?
Shared Parental Leave (SPL) is a statutory entitlement that allows eligible parents to share up to 50 weeks of leave from work and 37 weeks of pay following the birth or adoption of a child. Introduced to promote greater flexibility for working parents and improve gender equality in caregiving, SPL enables parents to divide childcare responsibilities in a way that suits their needs. Both parents can take leave simultaneously or in alternating blocks, helping them to manage their work and childcare obligations more effectively.
Employees may be able to claim shared parental leave if:
- They’re having a baby
- Using a surrogate to have a baby
- Adopting a child
- Fostering a child who they’re planning to adopt
SPL at a glance
- Eligibility: Parents must meet employment and earnings criteria. This means for the mother or primary adopter to access SPL, they must satisfy an individual eligibility test and their partner must satisfy a joint eligibility test. For employees to be eligible to take SPL, the mother or primary adopter must have first returned to work or have curtailed their maternity leave or adoption leave.
- Claiming: Each parent claims SPL from their own employer.
- Leave entitlement: Up to 50 weeks of leave can be shared between parents, taken separately or together.
- Starting and time limit: Employees can only start shared parental leave or shared parental pay (ShPP) once the child has been born or placed with their family for adoption. All SPL must be taken before the child’s first birthday, or by the first anniversary of the adoption placement date.
- Statutory shared parental pay: Up to 37 weeks of pay is available, currently set at £184.03 per week (or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower). This amount increases to £187.18 beginning June 4, 2025.
- Notice requirements: Parents must provide at least 8 weeks’ notice before taking SPL.
- Flexible arrangements: SPL can be taken in up to three separate blocks per parent or continuously.
- Employer obligations: Employers must handle requests fairly, ensure compliance, and cannot refuse SPL if the employee is eligible.
Who is eligible for shared parental leave?
To be eligible for SPL, both parents must meet specific criteria:
- Employment status: The parent who is taking leave must be an employee (not self-employed).
- Maternity/adoption leave curtailment: The mother or primary adopter must end, or give notice to end, their maternity or adoption leave early to create SPL entitlement.
- Continuous employment: The parent taking SPL must have worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before their baby is due or their adoption match date. They must also still be working for the same employer a week before the start of each block of leave they take.
- Earnings threshold: For the 2025/2026 tax year, the parent must earn at least £125 per week (before tax) on average.
- Partner’s work and earnings: The other parent must also meet a minimum employment and earnings test, even if they are self-employed.
Both parents must provide notice and meet these requirements to qualify.
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How many weeks of shared parental leave do employees get?
Eligible employees can share up to 50 weeks of shared parental leave, but how much they actually get depends on how much maternity or adoption leave the birth parent or primary adopter has already taken.
SPL in practice
The birth parent or primary adopter is entitled to up to 52 weeks of statutory maternity or adoption leave but must take at least 2 weeks leave after birth or adoption. The remaining leave (up to 50 weeks) can be converted into SPL and shared between both parents.
Example: Converting maternity leave to shared parental leave
If a birth parent ends maternity leave after 30 weeks, they or their partner can take up to 22 weeks of SPL.
This entitlement remains the same regardless of:
- Having multiple babies (e.g., twins)
- Adopting more than one child in the same placement
Calculating shared parental leave entitlement
An employee’s SPL entitlement is governed by the amount of leave or adoption leave they or their partner have already taken. This impacts how many weeks they can take off and how much shared parental pay (ShPP) they receive.
Example: Shared parental leave entitlement
Employee A takes 20 weeks’ maternity leave. Their partner is entitled to take a maximum of 32 weeks shared parental leave (52-20 = 32).
Their partner may also receive shared parental pay.
Note that if Employee A takes their full 39 week Maternity Allowance period, their partner will not be eligible for any ShPP.
Using shared parental leave
Using shared parental leave can be straightforward, as long as employees and employers follow the rules governing this benefit:
How do employees request shared parental leave?
Employees can request SPL and ShPP using their employer’s forms or use templates from other sources.
The notices that parents need to give are made up of three elements:
- A maternity leave curtailment notice (from the mother)
- A notice of entitlement and intention
- A period of leave notice
Important note: Employees can change their mind about how much SPL or ShPP they plan to take and when they want to take it. However, they must give notice of any changes at least 8 weeks before the start of any leave.
Does shared parental leave have to be continuous?
No. Employees can take leave in either continuous or discontinuous blocks, depending on their needs and employer agreement.
- Continuous leave: A single, unbroken period of leave (e.g., 12 weeks in a row)
- Discontinuous leave: Leave taken in separate blocks with periods of work in between (e.g., 4 weeks off, 4 weeks at work, then another 4 weeks off)
Save time. Download and customise our shared parental leave and pay model documents
Access our entire library of customisable model documents in the Brightmine HR & Compliance Centre, which includes:
Letters explaining shared parental leave
Curtailment of leave forms for birth and adoption
Model notices of entitlement and intention to take shared parental leave
Responses to requests to take shared parental leave
Employees can take up to three separate leave blocks each unless the employer allows more flexibility.
Can an employer refuse shared parental leave?
An employer cannot refuse a request for shared parental leave if the employee is eligible and has given correct notice.
However, how the leave is taken can impact whether an employer can reject a request:
- Continuous leave: Employers cannot refuse a request for a single, uninterrupted period of SPL.
- Discontinuous leave: Employers can refuse a request for SPL taken in separate blocks (e.g., alternating weeks of work and leave). If refused, the employee can either take the total requested leave as a continuous block or withdraw the request.
Shared parental leave example
Emma and James are having a baby. Emma is eligible for maternity leave but decides to take only 20 weeks instead of the full 52. This means the remaining 32 weeks of leave can be taken as shared parental leave. Both parents give their employers at least 8 weeks’ notice of their need for SPL.
Emma and James decide to split the leave:
- Emma takes the first 20 weeks of maternity leave, then returns to work.
- James takes 12 weeks of SPL immediately after Emma’s maternity leave ends.
- Later, Emma takes another 10 weeks of SPL, while James returns to work.
- They still have 10 weeks SPL left, which James takes in two separate blocks before their baby’s first birthday.
This flexible approach allows both parents to bond with their child while balancing their careers. Because they followed the correct procedures and gave notice, their employers approved the leave, ensuring compliance with SPL regulations.
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Brightmine
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