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Planning leave

4. Planning leave

Planning early helps everyone. Parents and employers should talk as soon as they can.

It is important to think about:

  • when time off will be needed
  • upcoming work demands
  • childcare plans
  • how work will be covered

From 6 April 2026, paternity leave can be taken after shared parental leave.

To work out how and when you can take shared parental leave, use the shared parental leave and pay planning tool on GOV.UK.

Ending maternity or adoption leave

For either parent to get shared parental leave, the birth parent or primary adopter must either:

  • end their maternity or adoption leave and return to work
  • give their employer notice to end their maternity or adoption leave early

A parent might not be eligible for maternity or adoption leave. But they might still be entitled to maternity pay, adoption pay or maternity allowance. In this case they can end the pay early. This gives the other parent entitlement to shared parental leave, if they're eligible.

The end date for leave or pay can be in the future. This allows a parent to take shared parental leave while their partner is still either:

  • on maternity or adoption leave
  • receiving maternity pay, adoption pay or maternity allowance

Cancelling a notice to end maternity or adoption leave

A parent can only cancel a notice to end maternity or adoption leave if:

  • they gave the notice before the birth, then cancelled the notice within 6 weeks of the birth or adoption placement
  • the other parent dies
  • neither parent qualifies for shared parental leave, shared parental pay or maternity allowance

The birth parent or primary adopter cannot restart maternity or adoption leave once they've returned to work.

Telling the employer about shared parental leave

To use shared parental leave, parents must send a 'notice of entitlement'. They must do this at least 8 weeks before their leave starts. They can give notice to book their first period of leave at the same time, but they do not have to.

 The notice of entitlement must set out:

  • how much maternity or adoption leave or pay, or maternity allowance, has been used
  • how much maternity or adoption leave entitlement is left
  • how much shared parental leave each parent plans to take
  • the dates requested
  • signatures from both parents

The other parent must give a signed declaration confirming:

  • they share responsibility for the child at the time of the birth or adoption placement
  • they agree to the shared parental leave and pay arrangements
  • they meet the employment and earnings test

Employers should confirm they have received this notice.

Booking shared parental leave

Parents must give their employer 8 weeks of notice when booking shared parental leave. They can do this at the same time as sending a notice of entitlement, but they do not have to.

They must include the start and end dates of leave when they give notice. Leave must be in blocks of whole weeks but can start on any day.

They must give notice in writing. For example in a letter or email.

Each parent can give up to 3 notices to:

  • book one block of leave – this is called continuous leave
  • book separate blocks of leave with work in between – this is called discontinuous leave
  • change the dates of booked leave – find out more about changing leave

Employers may allow more than 3 notices, but do not have to.

Continuous leave

Continuous leave is one block of leave. Employers cannot refuse continuous leave.

Example of taking continuous leave

Alex and their partner Jo decide to take 20 weeks of shared parental leave each.

Jo gives their employer 1 notice to take all 20 weeks of their leave in 1 block.

Alex wants to take 3 blocks of shared parental leave over the year. To make sure they get the dates they want, they give their employer 3 continuous leave notices.

They give 1 notice to take 10 weeks of leave from 1 January to 11 March. And then a second notice to take 5 weeks from 1 May to 4 June. They give their third notice to take 5 weeks from 1 August to 4 September.

This makes clear to the employer that Alex's notices are for continuous leave and cannot be refused.

Discontinuous leave

Discontinuous leave is taken in separate blocks with work in between. Employers can refuse this if it does not suit the organisation. They should discuss another pattern with the employee.

If the employer does not agree a leave pattern within 14 days, the employee can:

  • withdraw the request
  • take the leave as one continuous block

If the employee withdraws the notice within 15 days, it does not count towards the 3 notices.

Example of discontinuous leave

Bo has 20 weeks of shared parental leave. They want to take discontinuous leave to fit around important work projects.

They give their employer 1 notice to take discontinuous leave. They request to alternate taking 2 weeks off, 2 weeks at work until they've used the 20 weeks' entitlement.

The employer agrees to this arrangement as it keeps Bo up to date with the projects.

Booking leave before the baby is born

A parent might want to book shared parental leave based on a number of weeks after a baby is born. This is because it's not always possible to know the exact date of the birth.

For example, they might ask to take 4 weeks of shared parental leave when the baby is 8 weeks old.

Holiday and shared parental leave

Holiday entitlement builds up as usual during shared parental leave. Employers and employees should discuss holiday plans early. 

Some parents might choose to take holiday between shared parental leave blocks.

The employee should try to take their holiday entitlement within their holiday year. If it's not possible, the employer might allow some holiday to be carried over.

Templates for parents and employers

Use our template forms and letters: