Shared Parental Leave (ShPL)

If both parents meet the eligibility criteria, the mother/primary adopter has the option to end their maternity or adoption leave/pay early and to convert any ‘unused’ part of that leave and/or pay into ShPL and ShPP. A mother or primary adopter must take the first two weeks following the birth or placement of the child as compulsory maternity or adoption leave. After that, maternity or adoption leave and pay may be curtailed and eligible parents may split the remainder of the 52 week leave and 39 week pay entitlement, ie up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay, between them.

The minimum amount of ShPL and ShPP that can be taken is one week. ShPL can only be taken in blocks of complete weeks.

Any time spent on maternity or adoption leave by the mother or the primary adopter will reduce the amount of ShPL available by that amount. For example, where the mother curtails her maternity leave after the 20th week, the entitlement to ShPL is reduced by that amount, leaving 32 weeks’ leave for the parents to share and take as ShPL. If the mother or primary adopter does not curtail their maternity or adoption leave until after the 39th week (ie the end of the statutory pay period) then only unpaid ShPL is created, regardless of when it is taken by the partner.

Unlike maternity and adoption leave, time spent on Statutory Paternity Leave will not reduce the amount of ShPL and ShPP available. If the father’s/partner’s mother takes leave through the University of Oxford Additional Paternity/Partner Leave Scheme (OUAPPL), the total amount of leave with full pay that is available through any combination of Statutory Paternity Leave, Shared Parental Leave and OUAPPL is 26 weeks, and the total amount of leave available through combination of the above remains 52 weeks with leave available from the date of birth or placement of the child until 52 weeks after this date.

The ShPL scheme allows parents the opportunity to start and stop their shared leave and to return to work between the periods of leave. Parents are not obliged to take ShPL.

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For the purpose of this guidance: 

• ‘mother’ refers to birth mothers 
• ‘primary adopter’ refers to the designated primary parent in an adopting couple 
• ‘partner’ refers to the child’s father or the mother’s/primary adopter’s partner (who may be of the same sex), this could be a spouse, civil or long-term partner, but who is not a relative, such as a sibling, child or parent 
• ‘parent(s)’ refers to one of two, or both people (who may be same-sex couples) who will share the main formal responsibility for the child’s upbringing (and who may be either the mother, the father, or the mother’s partner if not the father, or adoptive parents) 
• ‘qualifying week’ is the 15th week before the Expected Week of Childbirth (EWC). 

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ShPL cannot begin before the birth or placement for adoption.

But it may begin before the mother or primary adopter has actually ended their maternity/adoption leave provided that they have given their curtailment notice, and the leave has been booked,  in line with the scheme notification timetable.  A curtailment notice is binding and the mother/primary adopter will therefore have committed to end their maternity or adoption leave on a future date, thereby enabling the partner to take Shared Parental Leave whilst they remain on maternity or adoption leave. 

Any leave is subject to satisfying the qualifying and notification conditions for ShPL, as outlined in 'ShPL notifications - birth' or 'ShPL notifications - adoption' sections of this guidance.

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In order to share a period of ShPL and/or pay each parent must qualify for ShPL separately, ie in their own right. 

Mothers/primary adopters are required to take a two-week compulsory maternity or adoption leave period immediately after the child is born or placed. But they may choose to curtail their maternity or adoption leave and pay (or allowance) at any point after these two weeks and convert the remaining balance into ShPL to share with their partner. This means that there is a maximum entitlement of 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay which mothers/primary adopters can choose to share with their partner. Eligible parents can request to book ShPL in one continuous block of leave in up to three discontinuous blocks (ie split into shorter, discontinuous periods, with periods at work in between). Parents have the option of taking the leave together or at separate times, and there can be periods when neither parent is on leave (for example if another family member is caring for the child). All periods of ShPL must be taken in the 52 weeks immediately following the birth or adoption of the child. 

Provided the eligibility criteria are met, and necessary notifications have been given,  requests for ShPL to be taken in one single continuous block are automatically approved (as is the case with maternity leave),. However, if employees wish to take ShPL in discontinuous blocks, they should discuss this with their department informally first, before submitting the request, as it may not always be operationally possible for the department to agree to this. Departments will not unreasonably refuse a request for discontinuous leave, but they may propose an alternative pattern of leave instead. 

See the 'ShPL notifications - birth' or 'ShPL notifications - adoption' sections of this guidance for further notification details. 

Below you can find some examples of how ShPL and ShPP can be taken. 

University employees may have a separate entitlement to up to 10 weeks leave at the rate of full pay through the Oxford University Additional Paternity/Partner Leave scheme (OUAPPL).  Where OUAPPL is being used in combination with Statutory Paternity Leave and Shared Parental Leave, no more than 52 weeks leave and 26 weeks leave at the rate of full pay is available through any combination of these leave schemes.  The availability of statutory paid leave is subject to the statutory scheme rules.

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Example 1 - continuous block of ShPL: both parents are employees of the University 

Mother plans to start maternity leave two weeks before the baby is born and remain on maternity leave for a further 24 weeks following the birth, taking 26 weeks maternity leave at full pay. Mother submits appropriate entitlement and curtailment notifications to end her maternity leave after a total of 26 weeks’ maternity leave, leaving a total of 26 weeks’ ShPL entitlement to be shared by both parents. Of these 13 weeks are available at the rate of statutory ShPP and a further 13 weeks unpaid leave.

Father takes two weeks' Statutory Paternity Leave starting on the day the baby is born.  This is paid at full pay. He then takes 10 week OUAPPL as a continuous block (so that both parents are off work together for 12 weeks). Father returns to work at the end of the 12th week.

At the end of the 26 week maternity period the mother returns to work and the father takes 13 weeks Shared Parental Leave at statutory rate of pay.

The cost of leave is met by each employee’s department: 

The mother is away from work for 26 weeks in one block and her department will pay: 

26 weeks’ maternity leave at full pay.

The father is away from work for 25 weeks in two blocks and his department will pay: 

Two weeks’ Statutory Paternity Leave plus 10 weeks OUAPPL at full pay, plus 13 weeks at statutory rate of pay (offset). 

Example 2 (discontinuous blocks of leave): partner is the employee of the University 

Mother goes on maternity leave two weeks before the baby is born. Following the birth she remains on maternity leave for 24 weeks, taking a total of 26 weeks leave from her employer.  

Partner takes two weeks' Statutory Paternity Leave  at the time of the birth, at full pay and then returns to work.  

Mother returns to work after a total period of 26 weeks of maternity leave. The father then takes 10 weeks of OUAPPL at the rate of full pay and then 13 weeks ShPL Paid at the rate of statutory pay. 

The cost of the relevant proportion of the OUAPPL and ShPL taken by the University employee (the partner) is met by the department. 

The partner’s department will pay: 

Two weeks’ Statutory Paternity Leave  plus 10 weeks OUAPPL at full pay, followed by 13 weeks Shared Parental Leave at statutory rate of pay. 

The mother's employer will pay: 

26 weeks' maternity leave at whatever rate she is eligible to receive.

Further examples can be found in the PDF document on the right-hand side. 

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If the mother has multiple jobs, with more than one employer she must give notice to curtail her maternity leave to each of her employers at the same time in order to create leave under the ShPL provisions. A mother cannot take ShPL if she has only brought forward the date on which her maternity leave period ends with one of her employers (ie it is not possible to take maternity leave and ShPL at the same time). The same provisions apply to a primary adopter.  

Where an employee (whether the mother or the partner) with multiple employers meets the qualifying criteria for ShPL and/or ShPP in their University employment, they can take leave and pay under the ShPL arrangements, as normal (subject to the provisions above concerning curtailing maternity leave in all employment). If they also meet the criteria for ShPL and/or ShPP  from an employment elsewhere, they can take the leave and pay from that employer as well. 

An employee with multiple jobs/employers who qualifies for ShPL and/or ShPP in respect of each employment, is entitled to take ShPL from each of their employers. 

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The arrangements for this scheme are complex. This guidance covers general principles and most common scenarios. In the event of complicated cases, departments should contact the relevant HR Business Partner for advice. 

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