1. Purpose and scope

1.1 This procedure sets out guidance for employees who may be entitled to shared parental leave and pay. This should be read in conjunction with the shared parental leave policy.

2. Eligibility - leave

2.1 To qualify for SPL, you must meet the following criteria:

• share care of the child with your co-parent
• you or your co-parent must be eligible for maternity pay or leave or maternity allowance or adoption pay or leave.
• you have been employed continuously with RoS (or wider Civil Service) for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the due date (or by the date you are matched with your adopted child)
• continue to be employed by RoS (or Civil Service) while you take SPL
• provide the correct notice including a declaration that your co-parent meets the employment and income requirements

2.2 Your partner's eligibility:

During the 66 weeks before the baby is due your co-parent must be:

• employed in the UK
• have been working for at least 26 weeks (This does not need to be 26 continuous weeks) )
• have earned at least £30 a week on average in 13 of the 66 weeks
• they can be employed, self-employed or an agency worker.

3. Eligibility - pay

Statutory shared parental pay

3.1 You will also qualify for statutory ShPP if one of the following applies:

• you qualify for statutory maternity pay or statutory adoption pay
• you qualify for statutory paternity / co-parent pay and have a co-parent who qualifies for statutory maternity pay, maternity allowance, or statutory adoption pay.

Occupational shared parental pay

• 3.2 You will also qualify for occupational shared parental pay if you have at least one year’s continuous service with RoS (or Civil Service). Occupational ShPP tops up your statutory ShPP so that you receive full pay.

4. Your entitlement

4.1 If you're eligible and you or your co-parent end maternity or adoption leave and pay (or maternity allowance) early, then you can take:

Leave

4.2 Up to 52 weeks of leave is available for the birthing parent. The co-parent can take up to 50 weeks leave.

4.3 The birthing parent must take a minimum of 2 weeks' maternity leave following the birth (4 if they works in a factory).

Pay

4.4 If you are the birthing parent you may take up to 52 weeks occupational ShPP or if you are the co-parent you may take up to 50 weeks (48 weeks if the birth parent works in a factory) occupational ShPP providing that you meet the qualifying criteria.

4.5 Where you satisfy the eligibility criteria for this benefit, you will be required to confirm in writing that you agree to repay any occupational shared parental pay received (less any statutory ShPP), should you decide not to return to work and complete the equivalent of one month’s paid service following your shared parental leave, consecutive unpaid special leave, or consecutive career break. You will be asked to confirm this by signing a "statement of Intention and undertaking to repay salary".

4.6 Should you only qualify for statutory ShPP this is paid at a set rate per week or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is lower and is only payable for a maximum of 39 weeks.

5. Starting your leave

5.1 You or your co-parent can only start shared parental leave (SPL) once the child has been born or adopted. The birthing parent or parent receiving adoption pay and leave must have either:

• ended any maternity or adoption leave by returning to work
• given 'binding notice' (a decision that cannot normally be changed) to their employer of the date when they plan to end any maternity or adoption leave
• ended maternity pay or maternity allowance (if they're not entitled to maternity leave, e.g. they're an agency worker or self-employed)

5.2 The birthing parent or parent receiving adoption leave and pay must give notice to their employer (at least 8 weeks) to end maternity or adoption pay, or to Jobcentre Plus to end maternity allowance.

5.3 You can start SPL while your co-parent is still on maternity or adoption leave as long as they've given binding notice to end it.

5.4 A birthing parent cannot return to work before the end of the compulsory 2 weeks of maternity leave following the birth (4 weeks if they works in a factory).

What you must do

5.5 You must give RoS written notice of your entitlement to SPL and ShPP, including:

• your partner's name
• start and end dates for maternity or adoption leave and pay
• the total amount of SPL and ShPP available and how much you and your partner intend to take
• confirmation that you are sharing childcare responsibility with your partner

5.6 You must also include a signed declaration from your partner stating:

• their name, address and national Insurance number
• that they satisfy the qualifying requirements for SPL and ShPP
• that they agree to you taking SPL and ShPP

5.7 After receiving this notice, RoS has 14 days to ask for (if required):

• a copy of the child's birth certificate
• the name and address of your co-parent's employer
• You must provide this information within 14 days.

Notice period

5.8 You must give at least 8 weeks' notice of any leave you wish to take. If your child is born more than 8 weeks early, this notice period can be shorter. You have the right to book a maximum of 3 separate blocks of leave.

Cancelling the decision to end maternity or adoption leave

5.9 The birthing parent or parent receiving adoption leave and pay may be able to change their decision to end maternity or adoption leave early if both:

• the planned end date has not passed
• they have not already returned to work

5.7.2 One of the following must also apply:

• you find out during the 8-week notice period that neither of you is eligible for SPL or ShPP
• the birthing parent tells their employer less than 6 weeks after the birth (and they gave notice before the birth)

5.7.3 As the birthing parent or parent receiving adoption leave and pay, you can also cancel your decision to end your maternity or adoption leave early, in the circumstances that your co-parent has died.

6. Blocks of leave

6.1 You can book up to 3 separate blocks of SPL instead of taking it all in one go, even if you are not sharing the leave with your partner. There are two types of blocks of leave you can apply for. These are known as continuous leave and discontinuous leave.

6.2 Continuous leave is a period of leave within one notice that has no breaks. For example, you could submit a notice from February to June. This type of leave must be accepted by your line manager.

6.3 Discontinuous leave is a period of leave in one notice that has a number of leave and return to work dates. For example, you may request month on month off. This type of leave must be negotiated with your line manager who has the right to refuse this request.

6.4 If your co-parent is eligible for SPL, you can take leave at different times - or both at the same time.

6.5 You must give your line manager at least 8 weeks' notice before you want to begin a block of leave.

7. SPLIT days

7.1 You can work up to 20 days during shared parental leave. These are called 'shared parental leave in touch' (or SPLIT) days.

7.2 These days are in addition to the 10 'keeping in touch' (or KIT) days already available to those on maternity or adoption leave.

7.3 Keeping in touch days are optional - both you and your line manager must agree to them.

Pay during SPLIT days

7.4. If you carry out work while in receipt of occupational shared parental pay you won't get a further payment (you're already receiving full pay.)

7.5 If you carry out work while in receipt of statutory shared parental pay or nil pay, you will get a top-up for that day (so that you receive your full pay).

7.6 We count any day that you work during shared parental leave as a whole SPLIT day, up to the 20-day maximum. For example, we will consider you to have used up a whole SPLIT day even if you only come to work for a one-hour training session.

7.7 You must let the HR team know about any days that you attend work as part of a SPLIT arrangement.

8. Pension information

8.1 Periods of paid shared parental leave reckon for pension purposes. Periods of unpaid shared parental leave qualify but do not reckon for pension purposes.

8.3 If you are paying 'added years' or 'added pension' contributions you should contact the pension provider MyCSP for advice about the impact on your benefits.

9. Annual leave

9.1 Subject to line management approval, annual leave may be taken immediately before or after a period of shared parental leave.

9.2 Periods of shared parental leave do not affect your annual leave entitlement. You will accrue annual leave as normal whilst on shared parental leave.

10. Approval and review

10.1 This policy will be reviewed and approved by the Strategic People Authority annually, unless earlier review is appropriate.