Shared Parental Leave and Pay

Shared parental leave (SPL) gives parents the option to split the 52 weeks of maternity / adoption leave flexibly between themselves during the child’s first year

Things to note:

• The mother / primary adopter must take 2 weeks of compulsory leave following the birth of the child

  • • This means there is a maximum of 50 weeks (52- 2 weeks compulsory leave) available as SPL

• Fathers and partners should make sure they use their 2 weeks of new parental leave and pay before using SPL otherwise they will lose it

  • • This 2 weeks of new parental leave is not included in the SPL allowance

• All leave and pay must be used within the first year after your child is born

• Shared parental leave must be taken in blocks of full weeks (not odd days or 5.2 weeks for example)

There are many options of how you can choose to take the 50 weeks of SPL:

• Both parents can take SPL at the same time, so they are both off work together

• Parents can also choose to take their SPL at separate times

• Periods of SPL don’t need to follow directly on from the end of maternity/adoption leave or a previous SPL block, you can have a break in between

You can choose whether to take your SPL as one continuous block of leave or as several separate (“discontinuous”) blocks of leave:

• An employer cannot refuse a request for a single, continuous block of leave

• If you would like to take your SPL in discontinuous blocks separated by periods of work

  • Each parent can take a maximum of 3 separate blocks (this is your statutory right, your employer may agree more)

  • An employer can refuse your request for a discontinuous period of leave therefore it’s best to discuss your wishes early with your employer

    • If you can’t agree on a pattern of discontinuous leave, the total combined weeks of leave can be taken in a single continuous block of leave

You can make a maximum of 3 requests to book or edit a period of SPL (refused requests aren’t counted in this number)

A mother or primary adopter may also choose to end maternity / adoption leave and take SPL as it provides more flexibility.

Advantages:

• You can take it in blocks and return to work in between, whereas maternity leave cannot be paused and restarted

• You are entitled to 20 SPLIT days vs 10 KIT days

This following link explains several different scenarios of how SPL can be split both in terms of time and pay.

It also explains how this might be affected by who each member of the couple works for (NHS, other public sector or private sector)

Please see your local trust policy and section 15 of the NHS T&C Handbook here for further information and guidance

Sharped parental pay is made up of several components depending on your eligibility.

Occupational shared parental pay – NHS scheme

• Eligibility depends on length of NHS service, pay depends on your earnings

• Resident doctors are now entitled to enhanced pay for shared parental leave

  • This means that those on shared parental leave will be able to access the same pay as an employee on maternity or adoption leave

Statutory shared parental pay (ShPP) – Government scheme

• Eligibility depends on both length of service with one employer and continuity of employment

The eligibility for the different components of shared parental pay is outlined below

• To be eligible for the SPL and pay each parent must meet their respective eligibility requirements (ie first 2 greyed out rows fulfilled)

• If you want to share the SPL and pay between you, you must both meet the requirements in the first row

• Both parents must share responsibility for the child at birth

You can use the gov eligibility checker here to see whether you are eligible to get SPL and ShPP

If you have 12 months of continuous NHS service, your pay will likely look like this: 

Whether you rotate between trusts or not as part of a training programme will not affect your parental pay

• Moving between training posts (and therefore employers) won't break the 26-week of continuous service of employment needed to be eligible for statutory leave and pay. The receiving trust will arrange this payment

• The receiving trust will arrange your occupational payments even if you have rotated after the 11th week before your EWC if you are rotating due to training posts

For information on how moving between hospitals and the impact of rotational training programmes on your leave and pay, click here

• You must give at least 8 weeks notice of your intention to take SPL.

• You can do this by filling out a SPL application form found here (or one provided by your trust) and submitting this to your manager / HR

In order to use shared parental leave:

• The mother must give at least 8 weeks notice to end maternity / adoption leave

• Both parents must give at least 8 weeks notice before the start of any intended period of shared parental leave

• If you want to take several blocks of leave, you must give 8 weeks notice of each period of leave

• If your plans change, 8 weeks notice is required from the start of the previously planned or changed date of SPL, whichever is earlier

  • Flexibility should be given in the case of early or late births

A partner can also start a period of shared parental leave while the mother is still on maternity leave provided she has given a binding notice to end her entitlement to maternity leave.

• This means if the mother is eligible for ML but not SPL and ShPP but her partner is eligible for SPL and ShPP, the mother can continue on maternity leave and her partner can use SPL and ShPP.

• This would be the case if the mother is eligible to receive a maternity allowance but doesn’t meet the criteria to receive SMP

You accrue annual leave and bank holidays during shared parental leave.

This is paid at your full rate of pay before parental leave.

Discuss with your employer about when this should be taken. Usually any accrued annual leave is taken immediately following parental leave, before your return to work.

Share parental in touch days (SPLiT days) are paid days of work that you can take during your parental leave without bringing it to an end.

You are entitled to 20 SPLiT days each during your SPL

They can be used for “any work that enables a trainee to keep in touch with the workplace”

Examples include (but aren't limited to):

• Clinical work

  • • For example some trainees may chose to use KiT/SPLiT days to allow a phased return to work for example working 2 days a week in the lead up to returning to work

• Local or regional teaching

• Courses for example specialty-specific training courses, generic life support courses, return-to-work courses

• Conferences

• Hospital induction, e-learning

Click here to take you to the "Keeping in Touch" page to find out more

SPL and pay scenarios by NHS employers

• • This is a brilliant resource that shows various scenarios of how occupational shared parental leave and pay works across a number of situations including:

    • How the leave can be shared

    • How the statutory element of pay works

    • How the occupational element of pay works

    • How it works if your partner works for a public company outside the NHS or a private company

NHS Handbook – Section 15

Gov.uk - shared parental leave and pay

BMA

ACAS - SPL application forms