FEATURE Rules for shared parental leave By Alan Pitcaithley, practice management consultant arents will soon be legally their child’s first year. This will have an impact Written notice entitled to share statutory on employers and there are, therefore, precise To use these rights, eligible parents (Table leave following the birth procedures to be followed. 1) must give their employer proper written or adoption of a child. This The mother would normally be able to notice; in fact, three different notices. ‘shared parental leave’ will take up to 52 weeks’ maternity leave. Shared First, the mother must give notice to end apply to eligible parents of parental leave allows a mother to turn her her maternity leave and change over to shared Pbabies due, or children placed for adoption, maternity leave into shared parental leave. parental leave. Second, both parents must give on or after 5 April 2015. It allows employees The actual amount of shared parental leave their employers a notice of entitlement letter to break their absence from work into available depends on how much maternity that sets out their basic eligibility (Table 2). separate blocks and to share some of the leave is taken. Finally, each must provide a notice of leave leave with their spouse or partner. Potentially, Since a mother must take at least two letter that specifies the actual dates that the eligible parents, in the first year of a child’s weeks’ compulsory maternity leave following employee wishes to take as shared parental birth or adoption, will be able to dip in and the birth of their child, there could be up to leave. It should include the start date, end out of their job, taking time off to provide care 50 weeks of shared parental leave available. date and overall amount of leave to be taken, for the child. Any week or weeks of maternity leave taken which must be in full weeks. Each notification by the mother before the birth of the child or fulfils a specific purpose but the employee Greater flexibility after the two weeks of compulsory maternity could combine them all into one letter. The idea is to allow greater flexibility for new leave reduces the shared parental leave Time limits are important. Eight weeks’ parents in setting their work-life balances in available by a corresponding amount. The notice must be given, both by the remaining amount of shared parental mother to switch over from Table 1 Who can share the leave? leave can be used by either the mother maternity leave and by either or her spouse or partner to take time parent before the start of a period A mother must: off work to look after the child. of shared parental leave. It is the mother’s initial ■ Be an employee entitled to choice whether maternity leave or self-employed or not to opt and entitled to maternity allowance for shared ■ Have given notice to end her parental maternity leave and take shared leave, but parental leave. once that choice A partner must: has been ■ Be the mother’s spouse, civil made the partner or partner (who is a person couple must in a long-term relationship with the agree when mother and living with the mother they should and child), or the child’s biological take leave. father (even if they are not in a They may stable relationship with the mother) choose ■ Share the primary parental to take responsibility for the child with the time off at mother at the time of the birth the same time, consecutively or ■ Be an employee, who is entitled to alternately. Whatever their paternity leave. decision, shared parental leave must be taken by the child’s first birthday – any unused leave at that date would be lost. ©AnaBGD/iStockphoto/Thinkstock www.nature.com/BDJTeam BDJ Team 20 © 2015 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved FEATURE Continuity parental leave, working one week on and one A major change introduced by shared parental week off up to the child’s first birthday. This Table 2 Notice of entitlement letter leave is the facility to divide leave into pattern of shared parental leave would require A notice of entitlement letter must separate blocks, where a parent can return to an employer’s agreement but in some job roles include the following: work between blocks and go back on leave could occur under the new arrangements. later on. Each block must, however, be made ■ The date that the child is expected up of full weeks. This could cause difficulties Shared parental pay or their actual date of birth for an employer, so how a practice responds Most mothers taking maternity leave will be ■ The spouse’s or partner’s name to a notice of leave letter will depend on if the entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), employee is asking for a continuous period of which is available for up to 39 weeks. If an ■ The spouse’s or partner’s address leave or a series of separate blocks. employee opts into shared parental leave and National Insurance number If a continuous period of shared parental then the Statutory Maternity Pay remaining ■ Confirmation that the spouse leave is requested, this request must be agreed. becomes available as Shared Parental Pay or partner shares childcare But if the employee asks for two or more (ShPP). This can be claimed by either partner responsibility separate blocks of leave – which would be while on shared parental leave. The eligibility interspersed by periods back in work – this is for each partner is based on the same earnings ■ The amount of shared parental subject to the approval of the employer. criteria for Statutory Maternity Pay and leave available overall for both If you have an objective business or Statutory Paternity Pay. parents operational reason to refuse a request for If both parents qualify for ShPP, they must ■ The dates of any maternity leave leave to be taken in blocks you can. But you decide who will receive it or how it will be that will be, or has been, taken must respond in writing, setting out your divided. Each must inform their respective reason within two weeks. In this situation, the employers of how much ShPP each parent ■ The amount of shared parental employee’s overall amount of requested leave intends to take and when they expect to take leave that the employee intends to defaults to a single period of leave to begin ShPP. They must also include a declaration take on the original start date for their intended from the employee’s partner confirming their ■ The amount of shared parental leave their spouse or partner ‘THE IDEA IS TO ALLOW GREATER FLEXIBILITY FOR intends to take ■ A personal declaration that the NEW PARENTS IN SETTING THEIR WORK- employee meets the eligibility criteria for shared parental leave and that all the information LIFE BALANCES IN THEIR CHILD’S FIRST YEAR. THIS WILL provided is accurate HAVE AN IMPACT ON EMPLOYERS AND THERE ARE, ■ A signed declaration from the employee’s spouse or partner that THEREFORE, PRECISE PROCEDURES TO BE FOLLOWED.’ they meet the eligibility criteria for shared parental leave. first block of leave. You should ensure that agreement to the employee claiming their your employee understands these default amount of ShPP. It is expected that this notice Sharing adoption leave provisions because they can change the start would be given at the same time as a notice of The right to opt into shared parental leave also date by amending their notice of leave or leave letter. applies to employees who are on adoption could withdraw their request altogether. leave. From the end of a compulsory period Being able to refuse a request for shared Another way to SPLIT it of adoption leave, that is two weeks after the parental leave to be taken in separate blocks The concept of Keeping-in-Touch (KIT) placement of the child, the adopter can opt would seem to negate the employee’s new days that apply to maternity leave has been into shared parental leave and share some right but an employee can submit three extended to shared parental leave. This allows of this with their partner or co-adopter. The separate notice of leave letters within the year. an employee to attend work during a period same rules and procedures apply to giving If each one asks for a continuous block of of leave for training purposes or just to stay notice, taking leave and claiming ShPP. leave then, as currently understood, each of up to date with what is happening in their these three blocks of leave would have to be workplace. More details agreed. But this provision has given rise to the Under shared parental leave these are Shared parental leave is a new system and misconception that shared parental leave can known as Shared-Parental-Leave-In-Touch exactly how it will work for businesses, only be taken in three distinct blocks. While (SPLIT) days; up to 20 SPLIT days are employers and employees remains to be seen. this is the default situation where an employee available overall to be shared by the parents. If your principal is a BDA member, the BDA gives you three separate notice of leave letters, The employees should contact their employers Advice Employees maternity and parental leave they could in any of these requests ask for to discuss the date or dates of SPLIT days and pay (see www.bda.org/advice) provides their leave to be split into many more parts. that they wish to work, though there is further information.