A new policy has been introduced for eligible employees to participate in shared parental leave. This is available when the expected week of childbirth begins, or the child will be placed for adoption on or after the 5th of April 2015.
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Shared parental leave (SPL) and statutory shared parental pay enables eligible employees who are parents, to take paid and or unpaid leave within the first year of their child’s life provided that the mother has volunteered to end their maternity leave and or pay early. This also applies to those who are adopting in the first year after the child’s placement for adoption provided that the adopter ends their adoption leave and or pay early, they are also eligible for shared parental pay and shared parental leave. |
SPL is optional and eligible employees can opt into the regime and share the balance of the untaken maternity leave and pay with the other parent for a maximum of 50 weeks, and 37 weeks of shared parental pay. If this is not selected the mother or adopter will continue to be entitled to 52 weeks of maternity leave and 39 weeks statutory maternity pay, maternity allowance where eligible.
An employee is entitled to participate in Shared Parental Leave in relation to the birth or adoption of a child; if they are the child’s mother or adopter and share the main responsibility of care for the child, if they are the mothers or adopters partner or are the child’s father and they share the main responsibility of care for the child.
For the purposes of SPL a partner is the mother’s or the adopter’s spouse, civil partner or someone who lives with them and the child in an ‘enduring family relationship’ but who is not a child, parent, grandchild, grandparent, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew.
Eligible Employees for SPL or Statutory Shared Parental Pay must comply with the following:
- They have worked continuously for you for 26 weeks at the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth or the week of adoption.
- They remain in continuous employment until the week before the SPL period.
- If they are the mother or adopter they are entitled to maternity or adoption leave in respect of the child and have ended their entitlement to such leave early.
- If they are the father or partner, and the mother or adopter has ended their maternity leave and or maternity pay early.
- The other parent has worked in an employed or self-employed capacity for at least 26 weeks of the 66 weeks immediately preceding the expected week of childbirth or adoption week, and had average weekly earnings of £30 per week for any 13 of those weeks.
- They have both given a notice of entitlement and a period of leave notice to you and complied with any statutory evidence requirements that you have decided to impose.
If you have employees that may wish to use the new policy, and you need further advice please call our payroll specialists on 0113 2864486.
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