How does Shared Parental Leave work?

How Shared Parental Leave works

Shared Parental Leave (SPL) lets parents split time off in the first year after a birth or adoption. The mother (or main adopter) ends her maternity or adoption leave early, and the weeks she has not used become shared leave that either parent can take.

You can share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP). The number you actually get depends on how much maternity or adoption leave has already been used.

When it can start

• Only once your child is born or placed with you.
• The mother must take the compulsory 2 weeks of maternity leave after the birth (4 weeks if she works in a factory). An adopter must take at least 2 weeks of adoption leave.
• The partner can start SPL while the mother is still on maternity leave, as long as she has given binding notice to end it. This notice is called curtailment.

Who can get it

For birth parents, the parent taking SPL usually needs to:

• be an employee (not just a worker)
• have worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the due date
• stay with that employer until the week before SPL starts
• earn on average at least £129 a week to get ShPP

The other parent must have worked for at least 26 of the 66 weeks before the due week and earned at least £390 in total in any 13 of those weeks.

Workers who are not employees may be able to share ShPP but not the leave. Adopters have similar rules.

How much ShPP pays in 2026/27

ShPP is paid at £194.32 a week, or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.

Worked example

Priya takes 12 weeks of maternity leave and then ends it. That leaves 40 weeks of leave and up to 27 weeks of pay to share. Her partner Tom earns £400 a week, so any ShPP he takes is paid at £194.32 a week.

Booking your leave

• Give your employer at least 8 weeks' written notice before each block of leave.
• You can book up to 3 separate blocks. Your employer can agree to more, or to splitting blocks into shorter periods.
• You can each work up to 20 'SPLIT' days during SPL without ending it.
• Leave must be taken before your child's first birthday, or within a year of adoption.

How to apply

1. Plan the dates with your partner. GOV.UK has a planner tool.
2. The mother or adopter gives notice to end maternity or adoption leave.
3. Each parent gives their own employer written notice of their leave dates. You can use the Acas forms or your employer's forms.
4. Within 14 days your employer can ask for a copy of the birth certificate (or a declaration of the date and place of birth), and your partner's employer's details. You must reply within 14 days.

If you live in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland

The rules are the same in Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland also has Shared Parental Leave and Pay, with the same 50 weeks of leave and the same ShPP rate of £194.32 a week. Check nidirect for the Northern Ireland details.

Related guides

• What is maternity leave?
• How much is Statutory Maternity Pay?
• How much is Statutory Paternity Pay?
• How much unpaid parental leave can I take?
• What is neonatal leave?

Where these figures come from

• Shared Parental Leave and Pay (GOV.UK)
• Eligibility for birth parents (GOV.UK)
• What you'll get (GOV.UK)
• When you can start (GOV.UK)
• Booking blocks of leave (GOV.UK)
• Applying for leave and pay (GOV.UK)
• Shared Parental Leave and Pay (nidirect)