To get shared parental leave, there must be 2 parents sharing responsibility for a child. This could be the parent who gives birth or the primary adopter, and their partner.
A partner must be one of the following:
- the child's father
- married to, the civil partner or partner of the birth parent at the date of the child's birth
- married to, the civil partner or partner of the primary adopter at the date of the child's placement for adoption
This includes same sex partners.
Anyone taking shared parental leave must:
- share responsibility with the other parent from the day of the child's birth or adoption placement
- have the legal status of employee
- pass the 'continuity of employment test' and the other parent must pass the 'employment and earnings test'
They then have to give their employer notice of shared parental leave entitlement.
Continuity of employment test
A parent who is to take shared parental leave must:
- have worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before their baby is due or their adoption match date
- still be working for the same employer a week before the start of each block of leave they take
Employment and earnings test
The other parent must have:
- worked for at least 26 in the 66 weeks before the expected birth date or adoption match date – it does not have to be for the same employer
- earned an average of at least £30 a week in any 13 weeks of those 66 weeks (that's £390 in total)
- the legal status of employee, worker or self-employed
Example of who can take shared parental leave
Sam and Ali are adopting a child and want to use shared parental leave.
Sam has been in the same job for 2 years. They pass the continuity of employment test and the employment and earnings test.
Ali does not pass the continuity of employment test so cannot take shared parental leave. But because Ali passes the employment and earnings test, Sam can take shared parental leave.
Workers who are not eligible for shared parental leave
Workers, including contract and zero-hours workers, are not entitled to shared parental leave. They might still be eligible for shared parental pay.
Agency workers
Someone who works through an agency might have the legal status of an employee or a worker.
An agency worker who is not entitled to shared parental leave might want to take time off after a birth or adoption. In this case the agency and employer should make an arrangement with them.
This could be paid holiday, unpaid leave or special leave.
They might still be eligible for shared parental pay.
If a parent stops having responsibility for the child
If an employee taking shared parental leave stops sharing responsibility for the child, they must tell their employer straight away.
Their entitlement to shared parental leave or shared parental pay will end. Their employer might need them to return to work.
If an employee cannot return to work immediately
If an employee stops being responsible for the child, they might not be able to return to work immediately. For example, if their employer has already arranged cover.
The employee might need to to take some or all of the planned leave if they tell the employer about the change:
- less than 8 weeks before the leave was due to start
- while the employee is already on leave
In these cases, the shared parental leave must end on either of the following dates (whichever is earliest):
- the date the employer can reasonably let the employee return
- no later than 8 weeks after the employer was told
The shared parental leave must not continue beyond the date they originally planned to end the leave.
Any leave the employer requires the employee to take in this situation still counts as shared parental leave.
Check your eligibility
Check if you're eligible for shared parental leave on GOV.UK