Shared parental leave

Overview

To take Shared Parental Leave (ShPL), the mother must notify her employer that she is curtailing her maternity leave and pay. The parents can then share the remaining leave and pay between them. Each can apply for up to three periods of leave during the first year of the baby's life.

Each parent applies to their own employer for each period of leave. You must first declare your entitlement and intention to take leave before confirming that intention with a final notice to take leave.

To make your application you must use the forms provided (see below) and submit your final notification at least 8 weeks before you intend to take leave.

You can provide notice of a curtailment of maternity leave (if applicable), intention to take ShPL and final notification of a block of leave simultaneously, if necessary.

Leave

Periods of leave can be continuous (ie an uninterrupted period of leave) or discontinuous (a mixture of work and leave - for example, you might take ten weeks' leave over a 20 week period, working only every other week).

You are entitled to take continuous periods of leave as long as you meet the notification requirements but you need the agreement of the University to take discontinuous leave. Early notification and discussion is recommended wherever possible.

The compulsory period of Maternity Leave remains in place and therefore as a minimum the mother is required to take 2 weeks Maternity Leave beginning on the day the baby is born however, the remaining 50 weeks may be shared by the mother, father, partner or adopted (as appropriate).

Shared Parental Leave should not be confused with Parental Leave which is unaffected by Shared Parental Leave. Parental Leave is the entitlement to up to 18 weeks unpaid leave.

Pay

Statutory Shared Parental Pay (SShPP) is available for eligible parents to share between them while on ShPL.

The number of weeks' SShPP available to the parents will depend on how much Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) or Maternity Allowance (MA) the mother has received when her maternity leave or pay ends.

A total of 39 weeks' SMP or MA is available to the mother. As there is a compulsory maternity leave period of two weeks, a mother who ends her maternity leave at the earliest opportunity could share up to 37 weeks' SShPP with her partner.

SShPP is paid at the rate of £172.48 a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. This is the same as SMP except that during the first six weeks SMP is paid at 90% of whatever the mother earns (with no maximum).

If both parents work at the University, they may be eligible for Occupational Shared Parental Pay. This offers the same enhancements as Occupational Maternity Pay, with the first 18 weeks being paid at the mother's usual rate of pay.

For more detailed information, please read the policy, procedure and guidance. The arrangements for ShPL can be complex and you may wish to discuss your intentions with your HR Adviser.

Initial application

If you are the mother and wish to apply for Shared Parental Leave in the first instance you will need to curtail your maternity leave and pay using the form below:

Providing your initial notice of entitlement and intention

If you are the mother and your partner does not work for the university then you should also complete the notice of entitlement and intention to inform us of your initial intentions:

Applying for Shared Parental Leave

If you are the mother or partner, use this form to inform your manager of a period of leave notice: