Shared Parental Leave

The purpose of this bulletin is to give you an understanding of the new Shared Parental Leave (SPL) which will be available for parents of babies due on or after 5 April 2015. SPL gives working mothers the option to end their maternity / adoption pay and maternity / adoption leave early (at any point from 2 weeks after the birth/placement or 4 weeks if they work in a factory) and to share the untaken leave and pay with their partner, if they are also eligible.

Employees can take SPL in up to three separate blocks and Parents can choose how much of the SPL each of them will take but they must give at least 8 weeks’ notice of any leave they wish to take. SPL and Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) must be taken between the baby’s birth and first birthday (or within one year of adoption).

Eligibility

Shared Parental Leave

To qualify for SPL, the child’s mother (or adoptive parent) must be eligible for either:·

maternity leave or pay·

maternity allowance·

adoption leave or pay

Your employee must also:·

have worked for you continuously for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the due date (or date they are matched with their adopted child)·

still be employed by you while they take SPL· give you the correct notice including a declaration that their partner meets the employment and income requirements which allow your employee to get SPL

Statutory Shared Parental Pay

Your employee can get ShPP if one of the following applies:·

they qualify for statutory maternity pay·

they qualify for statutory paternity pay and have a partner who qualifies for statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance or statutory adoption pay ShPP is paid at the rate of whichever is the lower of:·

£138.18 a week (£139.58 from 6 April 2015)· 90 per cent of the employee’s average weekly earningsOver the coming weeks you will receive a draft Shared Parental Leave Policy and Procedure which will give a more detailed insight into the procedures involved in relation to these requests.

If you have any specific queries regarding this bulletin please do not hesitate to contact one of our team on 028 2564 4110.

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