Shared Parental Leave: how it works and what it does to your pay and pension

The short answer: Shared Parental Leave lets parents split up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay in the baby's first year. In 2026/27, Shared Parental Pay is £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. Each parent passes a different test, and pension contributions usually continue during paid weeks.

You end your maternity leave early. Your partner takes some weeks off instead. Someone calls it "gifting" the weeks.

That is Shared Parental Leave from the inside. What nobody explains is what it did to either pay packet, or to either pension. Plenty of parents hand weeks over and never find out.

Here it is, broken down.

How much leave and pay can you share?

You can share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay between you. GOV.UK: Shared Parental Leave and Pay, What you'll get.

Those weeks are not new. The mother takes less than her 52 weeks of maternity leave, and less than her 39 weeks of maternity pay or Maternity Allowance. What she does not use becomes Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP). GOV.UK: Shared Parental Leave and Pay, What you'll get.

Capital at risk. The value of your pension can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you pay in.

Tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future.

Shared leave is what is left after the mother's weeks, not an extra allowance on top.

She must take at least two weeks off after the birth, or four weeks if she works in a factory. You use the rest in the year after the birth, together or in turns. Acas: Shared parental leave and pay, How shared parental leave works.

Who is eligible for Shared Parental Leave?

Each parent sits a test, and the two differ.

Say your partner wants the leave. Then you, the mother, need to have worked at least 26 of the 66 weeks before the week the baby is due. They need not be in a row. You also need to have earned at least £390 across any 13 of those weeks. GOV.UK: Shared Parental Leave and Pay, Eligibility for birth parents.

Your partner's test is stricter. They need to:

• have worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the due date

• stay with that employer until at least the week before their leave starts

• earn at least £129 a week on average, to get the pay

GOV.UK: Shared Parental Leave and Pay, Eligibility for birth parents. If your partner is only planning a short break, our guide to paternity leave and pay covers what fathers and partners get.

If you want the shared leave yourself, the two tests swap over. To take the leave you must be an employee, not a "worker". If either of you is a worker, you might be able to share the pay but not the leave. GOV.UK: Shared Parental Leave and Pay, Eligibility for birth parents.

Can you share leave if the mother is on Maternity Allowance?

Yes, but usually only one way. Maternity Allowance comes from the government, not an employer. Mothers often get it because they changed jobs, work for themselves, or have not built up a long enough run of service. Our guide to SMP or Maternity Allowance explains who gets which.

The good news first. You can still create shared leave and pay for your partner. You give notice to end your Maternity Allowance early. Acas says ending it early "creates shared parental leave or shared parental pay for the other parent if they are eligible". Acas: Shared parental leave and pay, How shared parental leave works. Your own test is the 26 weeks out of 66, plus the £390. GOV.UK: Shared Parental Leave and Pay, Eligibility for birth parents. You do not need to have qualified for Statutory Maternity Pay.

Now the catch. To take shared leave yourself, you need 26 weeks with the same employer by the end of the 15th week before the due date. That is the very test many mothers on Maternity Allowance fail. So you may be able to hand weeks to your partner and not use any yourself.

If you work for yourself, you cannot take shared leave or pay at all, though your partner still can. Acas: Shared parental leave and pay, Shared parental pay.

How much is Shared Parental Pay?

Shared Parental Pay is £194.32 a week, or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. GOV.UK: Shared Parental Leave and Pay, What you'll get. That is the rate for 2026/27. HMRC: Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027.

It works like Statutory Maternity Pay, bar one thing. SMP starts with six weeks at 90% of your pay, with no cap. Shared pay has no higher opening rate. GOV.UK: Shared Parental Leave and Pay, What you'll get.

The money comes from your partner's employer, not the government. GOV.UK: Shared Parental Leave and Pay, employer guide.

Some employers pay more than the minimum. Acas calls that "enhanced" or "contractual" pay, and says employers should set it out in the written statement of employment particulars and in their policy. Acas: Shared parental leave and pay, Shared parental pay. A generous maternity policy does not mean a generous shared parental policy. Ask both employers for the written policy first.

Example: how the pay moves between two payslips

Here is a made-up example, with round figures you can check.

Priya gets Maternity Allowance at the full rate of £194.32 a week. GOV.UK: Maternity Allowance. Her partner Sam earns £36,000 a year, which is £692.31 a week (£36,000 divided by 52). His employer pays the statutory minimum.

Priya takes 26 weeks, then ends her Maternity Allowance and goes back to work. That leaves 13 weeks of shared pay (39 minus 26) and 26 weeks of shared leave (52 minus 26). Sam takes 13 weeks.

Those weekly figures are Sam's gross pay and the shared pay rate. Over 13 weeks Sam gets £2,526.16 gross, which is 13 times £194.32.

The household still has one person on £194.32 a week. The drop simply moved to another payslip, and the tax moved with it. Maternity Allowance is one of the benefits you do not pay Income Tax on. GOV.UK: Income Tax, tax-free and taxable state benefits. Sam's shared pay reaches him through his employer's payroll, so his payslip decides what comes off. Ask his payroll what that will be.

Do you still get pension contributions on Shared Parental Leave?

Usually yes, while the leave is paid. Two pensions are in play, not one.

During paid leave you and your employer usually both keep paying in. Your own payments are based on what you are actually paid. Your employer's are based on your pay before the leave. MoneyHelper: What happens to my workplace pension during maternity or paternity leave?. So in Sam's 13 weeks his own payment falls, and his employer's should not.

Unpaid weeks differ. Pension contributions usually stop if a period of leave is unpaid, unless your contract says otherwise. GOV.UK: Employee rights when taking maternity and other types of parental leave. Shared leave can run longer than shared pay, so check which weeks are which.

Then there is your own pension. On Maternity Allowance your employer usually keeps paying in for the first 26 weeks. After that the payments usually stop, unless your scheme rules or contract say otherwise. MoneyHelper: What happens to my workplace pension during maternity or paternity leave?. Our guide to your pension during maternity leave has more.

How do you give notice for Shared Parental Leave?

Give your employer at least 8 weeks' written notice of your leave dates. The mother gives a separate notice to end her maternity leave or pay early, and Acas has forms for both. Your employer can ask, within 14 days, for a copy of the birth certificate and your partner's employer details. GOV.UK: Shared Parental Leave and Pay, Applying for leave and pay.

You can change your mind later about how much shared leave or pay you take, and when. Give at least 8 weeks' notice of any change before that leave starts. GOV.UK: Shared Parental Leave and Pay, Applying for leave and pay.

The notice that ends maternity leave is harder to unwind. Acas says you can only cancel it in three cases:

1. you gave it before the birth and cancel within 6 weeks of the birth

2. the other parent dies

3. neither parent qualifies for shared leave, shared pay or Maternity Allowance

Acas: Shared parental leave and pay, Planning leave. Once the mother has gone back to work, she cannot restart maternity leave.

The scheme here covers England, Scotland and Wales. GOV.UK: Shared Parental Leave and Pay, employer guide. Northern Ireland runs its own version, at the same £194.32 a week. nidirect: Shared parental leave and pay.

Still got questions?

Can both parents take Shared Parental Leave at the same time? Yes. You can be off work together, or stagger the leave and pay so one of you is at home at a time. GOV.UK: Shared Parental Leave and Pay.

Can I split Shared Parental Leave into blocks? Yes. You can book up to 3 separate blocks each, and more if your employer agrees. You must give at least 8 weeks' notice before each block starts. GOV.UK: Shared Parental Leave and Pay, Booking blocks of leave.

Can I work during Shared Parental Leave? You can each work up to 20 "Shared Parental Leave in touch" (SPLIT) days. These are on top of the 10 keeping in touch days on maternity leave, and your employer has to agree to them. GOV.UK: Shared Parental Leave and Pay, Booking blocks of leave.

Can my partner take paternity leave as well? Yes. Paternity Leave and Shared Parental Leave can be taken in any order. GOV.UK: Paternity pay and leave.

Does Shared Parental Pay affect Universal Credit? Yes. It counts as earnings, like normal wages. Above any work allowance, every £1 of it lowers your Universal Credit by 55p. DWP: Universal Credit and earnings.

Can self-employed parents get Shared Parental Leave? No. A self-employed parent can't get shared leave or pay. But if they pass the employment and earnings test, their employed partner may be able to. Acas: Shared parental leave and pay, Shared parental pay.