Shared Parental Leave and Pay: employer guide

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Starting Shared Parental Leave

For Shared Parental Leave (SPL) to start, the mother or adopter must do one of the following:

  • end their maternity or adoption leave by returning to work
  • give you 바카라 사이트˜binding notice바카라 사이트™ (a decision that cannot normally be changed) of the date when they바카라 사이트™ll end their maternity or adoption leave
  • end maternity pay or Maternity Allowance (if they바카라 사이트™re not entitled to maternity leave, for example they바카라 사이트™re an agency worker or self-employed)

A mother must take a minimum of 2 weeks바카라 사이트™ maternity leave following the birth (4 if she works in a factory).

The adoptive parent getting Statutory Adoption Pay must take at least 2 weeks바카라 사이트™ adoption leave. They can take it from the day of the placement, or up to 14 days before the placement starts.

The mother must give you notice (at least 8 weeks) to end her maternity pay, or tell Jobcentre Plus to end her Maternity Allowance. Adopters must give you notice to end adoption pay.

SPL can start for the partner while the mother or adopter is still on maternity or adoption leave if she바카라 사이트™s given binding notice to end her leave (or pay if she바카라 사이트™s not entitled to leave).

Example

A mother and her partner are both eligible for SPL.

The mother goes on maternity leave 10 weeks before her baby is born. She decides that she바카라 사이트™ll take 16 weeks of maternity leave and gives you notice.

Since the mother has given binding notice, her partner can start SPL as soon as the baby has been born (as long as they바카라 사이트™ve given at least 8 weeks바카라 사이트™ notice).

What the employee must do

The employee must give you written notice if they want to start SPL or Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP). They can do this using .

After receiving this notice, you can ask for:

  • a copy of the child바카라 사이트™s birth certificate
  • the name and address of their partner바카라 사이트™s employer

You have 14 days to ask for this information. Your employee then has a further 14 days to provide it.

Notice period

An employee must give at least 8 weeks바카라 사이트™ notice of any leave they wish to take. If the child is born more than 8 weeks early, this notice period can be shorter.

Your employee has a statutory right to a maximum of 3 separate blocks of leave, although you can allow more if you wish.

Cancelling the decision to end maternity or adoption leave

The mother or adopter may be able to change their decision to end maternity or adoption leave early if both:

  • the planned end date has not passed
  • they have not already returned to work

One of the following must also apply:

  • it바카라 사이트™s discovered during the 8-week notice period that neither partner is eligible for either SPL or ShPP
  • the employee바카라 사이트™s partner has died
  • it바카라 사이트™s less than 6 weeks after the birth (and the mother gave notice before the birth)

Shared parental leave in touch (SPLIT) days

Your employee can work up to 20 days during SPL without bringing it to an end. These are called 바카라 사이트˜shared parental leave in touch바카라 사이트™ (or SPLIT) days.

These days are in addition to the 10 바카라 사이트˜keeping in touch바카라 사이트™ (or KIT) days already available to those on maternity or adoption leave.

Keeping in touch days are optional - both you and your employee must agree to them.