When a couple in the UK has a baby or adopts a child, the default assumption is often that mum takes maternity leave and dad (or the second parent) takes two weeks of paternity leave and that is that. But since 2015, UK law has offered a more flexible option: Shared Parental Leave. It lets eligible parents split the bulk of the first year of leave between them, in blocks, rather than one parent shouldering it all while the other returns to a desk within a fortnight. This guide explains who qualifies, how much you get paid, and how to actually set it up with your employer.

Shared Parental Leave UK: Eligibility, Pay and How to Apply

What Shared Parental Leave Actually Is

Shared Parental Leave (SPL) allows eligible parents to share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay in the 12 months following the birth or adoption of a child. The numbers come from the standard maternity or adoption entitlement of 52 weeks of leave and 39 weeks of pay, minus the 2 weeks of compulsory maternity leave that the mother (or adopter) must take immediately after the birth and cannot transfer to anyone else. Everything beyond those 2 compulsory weeks can, in principle, be converted into a shared pot that both parents draw from.

This is a genuinely different mechanism from simply taking maternity leave and paternity leave back to back. Ordinary paternity leave is a fixed 1 or 2 week block taken around the birth — see our guide to paternity leave in the UK for how that works on its own. SPL, by contrast, is not a fixed block at all: it is a flexible allowance that can be taken by either parent, at different times, in a way that ordinary maternity or paternity leave cannot.

Crucially, SPL does not exist independently — it is created by the birth mother or adopter choosing to end (curtail) their maternity or adoption leave and pay early, and releasing the untaken balance into the shared pot. If you have not yet looked at how statutory maternity pay works in the first place, our guide to maternity pay in the UK is worth reading first, since SPL eligibility and the amount available both depend directly on how much maternity leave and pay has already been used.

Who Is Eligible for Shared Parental Leave

Eligibility for SPL has two separate tests, and both need to be satisfied for a couple to use it. First, the parent who wants to take the SPL themselves must be an employee (not a worker or self-employed contractor) and must pass a continuity-of-employment test: they need to have worked for their current employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the baby is due (or the week they are matched with an adopted child), and they must still be employed by that employer at the point they actually take the leave.

Second, the other parent — the one who is not taking the SPL at that particular time but whose employment history unlocks it — must meet an employment and earnings test. This generally means they must have worked (as an employee or as self-employed) for at least 26 of the 66 weeks before the due date, and have earned above a minimum threshold in at least 13 of those weeks. This test exists so that SPL cannot be claimed purely on one parent's work record with no economic contribution at all from the other.

Both parents must also share responsibility for the child at the time of the birth or placement for adoption, and only employees of the same employer as the one whose leave they are drawing down against can take SPL from that entitlement — each parent takes their share of SPL and ShPP from their own employer, based on their own employment status, even though the total pot is shared between them. Because the rules involve two separate people's employment histories, it is worth both partners checking their own position against the current GOV.UK eligibility checker before assuming they qualify, rather than relying solely on this summary.

Statutory Shared Parental Pay: How Much You Get

Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) is paid at the same flat weekly rate as the lower rate of statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay. For the 2025/26 tax year that rate is £187.18 per week, or 90% of the employee's average weekly earnings if that figure is lower than the flat rate. Up to 37 weeks of ShPP are available across the pot, again because the first 2 weeks of the mother's or adopter's leave are compulsory and unpaid-transferable, leaving 37 of the possible 39 weeks of statutory pay to be shared.

These figures are set by the government and reviewed every April, so always confirm the current weekly rate directly on GOV.UK before budgeting around it — the number in this guide will go stale as soon as the next uprating happens. It is also worth noting that ShPP is paid gross, subject to the same tax and National Insurance deductions as ordinary salary, and some employers choose to enhance it beyond the statutory minimum as part of their own family-leave policy, so always check your specific employer's handbook rather than assuming the statutory floor is all that is on offer.

Because pay and leave are shared from the same underlying entitlement, every week either parent takes as SPL and ShPP reduces the remaining balance available to the other. Couples often find it useful to actually map out a week-by-week plan of who takes what and when before submitting any notices, particularly if one partner earns significantly more and enhanced contractual pay only applies to one of them.

How to Give Notice and Set It Up With Your Employer

Starting SPL is an administrative process, not just a conversation. The mother or adopter first needs to formally curtail their maternity or adoption leave and pay, which means giving their employer a binding notice that states the date their maternity or adoption leave and statutory pay will end early. This notice can be given before or after the birth, but it locks in the date from which the shared pot becomes available.

Both parents then need to give their own employer a notice of entitlement and intention, setting out how much SPL and ShPP they expect to take in total, and (where known) an outline plan of the pattern of leave. This must be done at least 8 weeks before the first period of SPL is due to start, and each employer is entitled to ask for supporting evidence, such as a declaration from the other parent confirming their agreement to the arrangement and their own eligibility.

SPL can be booked in up to 3 separate blocks with each employer notified separately (so up to 3 blocks each, for each parent), and the blocks can run consecutively, with gaps in between, or overlap so that both parents are off work together for a period. Employers can refuse a request for discontinuous blocks of leave (though they cannot refuse the total amount of leave itself), so it is often more straightforward in practice for couples to agree on continuous blocks with their respective employers, or to raise the plan for discontinuous leave early enough to negotiate rather than requesting it at short notice.

Keeping In Touch, Returning to Work and Life After SPL

Just as with maternity leave, employees on SPL are entitled to a number of Shared Parental Leave In Touch (SPLIT) days — typically up to 20 days that can be worked without bringing the whole period of leave to an end, useful for keeping skills current, attending training, or easing back into a team before a full return. Using SPLIT days is optional and must be agreed with the employer; there is no obligation to use them.

SPL and ShPP also continue to accrue statutory holiday entitlement in the same way that maternity leave does, so time on SPL does not eat into the annual leave a parent builds up during the year — our guide to holiday entitlement in the UK explains how statutory leave accrues and what happens to it if a return-to-work date shifts. When the time comes to actually go back, many parents also want a different working pattern than they had before — reduced hours, compressed days, or a hybrid arrangement — and the right way to formally ask for that is a statutory flexible working request, covered in detail in our guide to flexible working requests in the UK.

It is worth remembering that SPL, ShPP eligibility, notice periods and pay rates are governed by employment law that is reviewed and updated periodically, and individual employer policies can be more generous than the statutory minimum. This guide is intended as general information to help you understand the shape of the system, not as a substitute for checking your specific entitlement on GOV.UK or getting advice from ACAS or a solicitor if your situation is unusual, for example around redundancy, self-employment, or a partner working overseas.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much Shared Parental Leave can we take between us?

Up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay can be shared between eligible parents, once the mother or adopter has taken the 2 weeks of compulsory leave that cannot be transferred. The exact split is up to the couple to agree and notify to their respective employers.

Can both parents be off work on Shared Parental Leave at the same time?

Yes. Unlike ordinary maternity leave, SPL can be taken by both parents simultaneously for some or all of a period, taken consecutively, or split into separate blocks with each parent returning to work in between. It is a genuinely flexible pot rather than a fixed sequence.

What is the current rate of Statutory Shared Parental Pay?

For 2025/26 the rate is £187.18 per week, or 90% of average weekly earnings if that is lower. This flat rate is reviewed every April, so always confirm the current figure on GOV.UK before relying on it for budgeting.

Do we both need to work for the same employer to take Shared Parental Leave?

No. Each parent takes SPL and ShPP from their own employer based on their own employment status and notice, even though the total pot of leave and pay is shared between the couple. The other parent only needs to meet the separate employment-and-earnings test, not necessarily be an employee of the same company.

How much notice do we need to give our employers?

At least 8 weeks’ notice is required before the first period of SPL starts, alongside the mother or adopter’s binding notice to curtail their maternity or adoption leave and pay. Employers can request supporting evidence such as the other parent’s declaration of eligibility.

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