Key elements of Shared Parental Leave

Shared Parental Leave (SPL) can:

• start on any day of the week;

• only be taken in complete weeks (that is, if it starts on a Tuesday it will finish on the following Monday);

• be taken using three separate notices to book leave (although an employer can choose to accept more). This means that normally, leave can be divided into a maximum of three separate chunks of time. The scheme describes leave as either “continuous” or “discontinuous” (that is, split up into chunks of time);

• be taken by the partner while the mother is still on statutory maternity or adoption leave if the mother decides to cut short her leave entitlement to allocate some of it to her partner. In other words, both parents can be off work together; and

• be for a maximum of 50 weeks in total (that is, the length of the maternity or adoption leave period, less the compulsory two weeks’ leave).

Charities Working Families and Maternity Action have worked with legal experts to develop SPLASH, a useful web portal with guidance on the SPL regime, available at: www.sharedparentalleave.org.uk.