A Shared Parental Leave Notice is the statutory written notice that an employee in England and Wales must give to their employer in order to exercise their right to take Shared Parental Leave (SPL). SPL is a family-friendly entitlement introduced by the Children and Families Act 2014 and brought into force by the Shared Parental Leave Regulations 2014. It allows eligible parents and adopters to share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of Statutory Shared Parental Pay between them in the year following the birth or adoption of a child.

The legal framework for SPL in England and Wales is set out in sections 75E to 75K of the Employment Rights Act 1996, as inserted by the Children and Families Act 2014, and the detailed procedural requirements are contained in the Shared Parental Leave Regulations 2014 (SI 2014/3050). The Maternity and Adoption Leave (Curtailment of Statutory Rights to Leave) Regulations 2014 govern the mechanism by which a mother or primary adopter ends their maternity or adoption leave early to enable SPL to begin.

The total SPL entitlement available to both parents combined is calculated by taking the 52-week statutory maternity or adoption leave entitlement, deducting the weeks of maternity or adoption leave taken by the mother or primary adopter before curtailment, and deducting the compulsory two-week maternity leave period that a mother must take immediately after childbirth. The remaining weeks are available as SPL to be shared in any proportion between the two parents. Similarly, the Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) entitlement is 39 weeks minus the weeks of Statutory Maternity Pay or Maternity Allowance used.

SPL can be taken as a single continuous block or in separate discontinuous blocks, provided the employer agrees to the discontinuous pattern. Both parents may take SPL at the same time or at different times, giving families great flexibility in arranging childcare and parental time during the child's first year of life. This flexibility represents a fundamental shift from the traditional model of maternity leave, in which only the mother could take extended paid leave after a birth, and recognises that fathers, partners, and co-parents play an equally important role in early childcare.

A Shared Parental Leave Notice must comply with the requirements of regulation 8 of the Shared Parental Leave Regulations 2014 and must be submitted to the employer at least eight weeks before the first day of any SPL period. The notice must include specified statutory information about the employee, their partner, the maternity or adoption leave curtailment, the total SPL entitlement, the SPL period requested, and the ShPP weeks claimed. It must also be accompanied by a signed declaration from the partner. An employee may submit up to three SPL period notices in total.

It is important to note that Shared Parental Leave is distinct from Statutory Maternity Leave and Statutory Paternity Leave. Maternity leave remains available as a separate entitlement and must be partly curtailed before SPL can begin. Statutory Paternity Leave (up to two weeks under the Paternity and Adoption Leave Regulations 2002) may also be taken separately, in addition to any Shared Parental Leave. An employee who takes paternity leave is not thereby reducing their SPL entitlement — the two entitlements are independent of each other.

SPL applies equally to birth and adoption, and the Shared Parental Leave Regulations 2014 provide specific rules for inter-country adoptions and for surrogacy arrangements, extending the right to prospective parents in those situations where the mother or primary carer meets the statutory criteria.

A Shared Parental Leave Notice is needed whenever an eligible employee in England and Wales wishes to take one or more periods of Shared Parental Leave following the birth or adoption of a child. The notice is a legal prerequisite — an employee cannot take SPL without first giving their employer the required written notice under regulation 8 of the Shared Parental Leave Regulations 2014. Unlike some other employment rights, the right to SPL is not automatic and does not arise simply by virtue of the birth or adoption: the employee must actively give written notice to trigger the entitlement.

The first situation in which an SPL notice is required is when the mother or primary adopter decides to curtail their maternity or adoption leave early and transfer the remaining leave entitlement to SPL, which may be taken by either parent. In this scenario, the initial notice of entitlement and intention should be submitted, together with the maternity or adoption leave curtailment notice, at least eight weeks before the first period of SPL is to begin. The curtailment notice and the SPL notice must together contain all the prescribed information set out in Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 to the Shared Parental Leave Regulations 2014.

A second SPL notice — a variation notice — is needed whenever an employee wishes to change the dates, duration, or pattern of a previously notified SPL period. This can arise, for example, where the child is born earlier or later than expected, where the employee's or partner's circumstances change, or where the employer and employee have agreed to modify the arrangements. A variation notice counts as one of the employee's three permitted notices and must be given at least eight weeks before the first day of the varied SPL period.

A third SPL notice may be required where an employee wishes to book a second or third block of SPL — for example, where the father or partner takes one block of SPL early in the child's first year and then a further block later in the year. Each new SPL period booking requires a fresh notice of at least eight weeks. Planning ahead is therefore important, as the eight-week notice period limits the degree to which SPL periods can be arranged at short notice.

The SPL notice is also required where both parents wish to take SPL simultaneously, which is permitted under the Regulations. In this case, each parent must give their own employer a separate notice, as the employers are different entities with separate legal obligations. The SPL notice is equally required for surrogacy arrangements and for adoptions, including inter-country adoptions, where the primary adopter has curtailed their adoption leave.

Even where an employer operates its own enhanced shared parental leave policy and offers more generous pay or leave arrangements, the statutory SPL notice requirements of the Shared Parental Leave Regulations 2014 still apply and must be satisfied before any SPL can begin. An employer's policy cannot waive the statutory minimum notice requirements, although it may add further conditions or administrative requirements over and above the statutory minimum. Employees should always check their employer's SPL policy alongside the statutory framework to ensure full compliance with both sets of requirements. Where an employer offers enhanced ShPP — paying above the statutory rate — the employee may still be required to submit the standard statutory notice before the enhanced pay entitlement is triggered.

A Shared Parental Leave Notice that complies with the Shared Parental Leave Regulations 2014 must contain specific prescribed information. Failure to include all required elements may result in the employer treating the notice as invalid, potentially delaying the start of SPL and affecting the employee's rights and pay entitlement.

First, the notice must identify the employee clearly, including their full name, employee number, job title, department, and employer. These details allow the employer to verify the employee's employment record and eligibility for SPL, and to route the notice to the correct HR contact or payroll department.

Second, the notice must include information about the employee's partner — the other parent or person with whom the employee is sharing SPL. The partner's full name and employer must be stated so that the employer can, if required, verify the partner's employment and earnings test and request a declaration from the partner's employer. Under regulation 10 of the Shared Parental Leave Regulations 2014, the employer may request this information within 14 days of receiving the notice.

Third, the notice must state the expected due date or expected placement date, and — if the child has already been born or placed — the actual date of birth or placement. These dates are the starting point for calculating the SPL entitlement window, which runs until the child's first birthday or the first anniversary of the placement date for adoption.

Fourth, the notice must state the start date of the mother's or primary adopter's maternity or adoption leave and the curtailment date — the date on which that leave is being ended early to enable SPL to begin. A curtailment notice under the Maternity and Adoption Leave (Curtailment of Statutory Rights to Leave) Regulations 2014 must be submitted at the same time as or before the SPL notice. The curtailment date must not be earlier than two weeks after the actual date of birth or placement, as the first two weeks of maternity leave are compulsory under section 72 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

Fifth, the notice must set out the total number of SPL weeks available between both parents and the number of weeks of Statutory Shared Parental Pay being claimed in this particular notice. These calculations must be accurate, as errors may result in overpayment of ShPP (which may be reclaimed by HMRC) or underclaiming of ShPP weeks.

Sixth, the notice must specify the SPL period being requested in this notice, including the start date, the end date, the pattern of leave (continuous or discontinuous), and — if discontinuous — a description of the individual blocks with their start and end dates. An employer can refuse a request for discontinuous leave but cannot refuse a continuous block of SPL.

Seventh, the notice must include a declaration by the employee confirming their eligibility and the accuracy of the information provided, as well as a signed declaration by the partner confirming their consent to the SPL and ShPP being claimed. The employee must also confirm that the employer may request, within 14 days of receiving the notice, a copy of the child's birth certificate or matching certificate, the name and address of the partner's employer, and a written declaration from the partner. Compliance with these information requirements is essential to ensure the notice is treated as valid and that SPL and ShPP commence on the dates requested.