[Updated for 6th April 2026]
The two separate entitlements noted under this heading have similar names e.g. Parental Leave and Shared Parental Leave but the conditions are quite different.
Parental Leave & Pay ~/
Qualifying Conditions
Parent must have one year’s continuous service and meet the age and time conditions:
- If the child is disabled or in receipt of disability living allowance, the leave must be taken by the child’s 18th birthday;
- If the child is adopted, leave is to be taken by whichever comes first of either the child’s 18th birthday or the 5th anniversary of the adoption;
- In other instances, leave must be taken before the child’s 5th birthday.
Leave Entitlement
- 18 weeks unpaid leave for each child but only part of that may be taken in a year;
- Maximum of 4 weeks leave can be taken in a year and must be taken in blocks of one or more weeks i.e. not as single days unless the employer agrees to that;
- If desired, leave could be taken immediately after maternity leave.
Pay re Statutory Parental Leave
There is no statutory entitlement to be paid when taking statutory parental leave.
Shared Parental Leave & Pay ~/
Shared leave will only be possible if the mother gives up part of her entitlement to 52 weeks maternity leave so that her spouse or partner may take some of those weeks to care for the child.
Employees will also be permitted to take paternity leave after a period of shared parental leave
Note that the provisions for parents adopting a child differ.
How Much Leave and Pay may be Shared?
Shared parental leave or pay can only be used after the baby is born. The number of weeks for sharing will be reduced by:
2 weeks mandatory maternity leave which must be taken by the mother following the birth of her child (4 weeks mandatory leave for a factory worker);
Any maternity leave taken before the child is born has to be deducted. For example, if 12 weeks maternity leave is taken before the birth, that will leave a maximum of 38 weeks maternity leave to share (52 – 2 mandatory – 12 before birth = 38 weeks).
TIP – find out how much shared parental leave and pay to which you may be entitled by using the Government provided calculator. It also shows when you need to give notice to take such leave.
Conditions for Shared Parental Leave and Pay
The Mother will be eligible for shared parental leave to care for her child if she:
- has at least 26 weeks’ continuous employment by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth and she remains in continuous employment with that employer until the week before any period of shared parental leave that she takes;
- has the main responsibility for the care of the child at the date of the birth (apart from the responsibility of the child’s father or her partner)
- is entitled to statutory maternity leave in respect of the child but sacrifices part of that entitlement i.e. shortens her statutory maternity leave by giving the relevant notice, or she returns to work before the end of the maternity leave period and
- has complied with the relevant notice and evidence of birth requirements.
The Husband or Partner must meet different conditions: also apply to the other person sharing the period of leave/pay.
There are many points and condition to observe about such leave and pay – the full conditions can be seen at the Government website pages
Leave
- Maximum of 52 weeks
- The first two weeks are compulsory leave for the mother.
- Up to 37 weeks (i.e. 39 weeks less the compulsory 2 weeks leave for the mother) may be shared.
Pay re Shared Parental Leave ~/
Whichever is the lower of £194.32 (£184.03) a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings for up to 39 weeks but note that:
– The rate of payment will be reduced for any weeks in which the child’s mother or adopter has been in receipt of any of the following: Statutory Maternity Pay or Maternity Allowance or Statutory Adoption Pay.
Such payments will reduce the entitlement to pay period to less than 39 weeks.