Shared Parental Leave Calculator

Up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay. Those are the 52 weeks of maternity leave and 39 weeks of maternity pay, less the two weeks immediately after the birth that the mother must take and can never share. Whatever she has already used comes off the shareable balance, so the earlier she curtails, the more there is to divide. You can take it in up to three separate blocks each, and you can both be off at the same time if you want.

Often, yes — and for two reasons that catch people out.

First, maternity pay gives 90% of earnings with no upper limit for its first six weeks. Shared parental pay has no equivalent: it is the lower of £194.32 or 90% of earnings for every single paid week. Curtailing maternity leave inside those first six weeks throws away money that cannot be recovered by any other route.

Second, and usually bigger: if the partner taking the shared leave earns more, you are swapping a larger salary for the same flat £194.32. The leave is more evenly split, but the household is worse off. The calculator above puts a figure on both effects.

Very possibly not, and they are within their rights. Employers who enhance maternity pay are not legally required to enhance shared parental pay to match — the Court of Appeal settled that in 2019. So a scheme paying eight weeks at full pay for maternity might pay nothing above the statutory £194.32 for shared parental leave. If either of you has an occupational maternity scheme, read both policies before curtailing anything, because that difference is usually the largest number in the decision.

The parent taking the leave needs 26 weeks’ continuous employment with the same employer by the end of the 15th week before the due date, and must still be employed there when the leave starts. For the pay, they also need average weekly earnings of at least £129.

The other parent has to pass the employment and earnings test: worked at least 26 of the 66 weeks before the due week — they do not have to be consecutive — and earned at least £390 in total across any 13 of those weeks. That test is deliberately looser, so self-employed partners often pass it.

Two steps, in order. The mother curtails her maternity leave by giving her employer binding notice of the date it will end. Then each parent gives their own employer at least eight weeks’ notice of the shared parental leave they intend to take, along with a declaration about the other parent. Miss the notice period and the employer can refuse the dates. Curtailment is generally irrevocable once the leave has started, which is the main reason to run the numbers first.

Yes. Shared parental leave does not have to be sequential — you can overlap entirely, alternate, or split it into blocks. Bear in mind that overlapping uses the shared pot twice as fast: two people off for ten weeks uses twenty weeks of the entitlement. It is also worth remembering that the partner’s two weeks of statutory paternity leave sit outside this and are not deducted from the shared total.

The rate is the same after the first six weeks: the lower of £194.32 or 90% of average weekly earnings. The differences are the first six weeks, which maternity pay uniquely pays at 90% uncapped; the length, 39 paid weeks of maternity against 37 shareable; and who pays what on top, since occupational enhancement schemes frequently cover one and not the other. Both are treated as earnings, so income tax and National Insurance come off both.

Yes. Like maternity pay, ShPP counts as earnings, so income tax, National Insurance and pension contributions come off it. And as with maternity leave, a mid-year drop in income usually means too much tax has already been deducted under PAYE, so the parent on leave often sees a refund come back through payroll automatically. Our maternity pay calculator shows that effect in more detail.

Sometimes. Only 37 of the 50 shareable weeks are paid, so the tail is unpaid whichever way you arrange it. If one of you has a much lower salary, it is usually cheaper for that person to take the unpaid stretch. It is also worth comparing against ordinary parental leave — a separate right to 18 weeks of unpaid leave per child up to age 18 — which does not touch your shared parental entitlement at all.

All free and independent:

• GOV.UK: Shared Parental Leave and Pay — the official rules, eligibility and notice forms.
• Maternity Action — a specialist charity with a free advice line covering both parents.
• Acas — guidance for employees and employers, useful if a request is refused.

If an employer refuses a properly-notified request, or treats someone badly for asking, take advice quickly — employment tribunal time limits are short.