UK Shared Parental Pay Calculator 2026/27

Worked scenarios (2026/27)

• Low AWE (90% rule), 20 weeks
  £3,240
  Weekly £162 - net £3,240
• Mid AWE (£500/wk), 20 weeks
  £3,886
  Weekly £194 - net £2,798
• High AWE (£1000/wk), 37 weeks max
  £7,190
  Weekly £194 - net £5,177
• High AWE, 10-week split block
  £1,943
  Weekly £194 - net £1,399
• Below LEL (£100/wk), 20 weeks
  £0
  Weekly £0 - net £0
• Top earner, 37 weeks
  £7,190
  Weekly £194 - net £5,177

How Shared Parental Leave (SPL) works

Shared Parental Leave was introduced on 5 April 2015 as a way for working parents to share the time off work in the year after a child is born or placed for adoption. Before SPL, only the mother (or primary adopter) could take the bulk of statutory leave - the partner was limited to two weeks of paternity leave. SPL changed that: any two qualifying parents can pool up to 50 weeks of leave between them, with up to 37 of those weeks paid at the statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) rate.

The basic mechanics are simple in principle:

1. The mother (or primary adopter) starts on Statutory Maternity Leave (SML) or Statutory Adoption Leave (SAL) as usual. The first two weeks after the birth are compulsory maternity leave and cannot be shared.
2. The mother formally curtails her SML by issuing a curtailment notice. This tells her employer when her maternity leave will end - any remaining weeks (up to 50) become available for sharing.
3. Either parent can then take Shared Parental Leave in blocks of at least one week, with at least 8 weeks of written notice for each block. The leave does not have to be continuous and both parents can be on SPL at the same time.

How much ShPP do you get in 2026/27?

The Statutory Shared Parental Pay rate for the 2026/27 tax year is £194.32 a week or 90% of the claimant’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. The £194.32 rate is the same statutory floor that applies to:

• Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) from week 7 onwards.
• Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) for both weeks.
• Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) from week 7 onwards.

ShPP is always capped at the statutory rate - unlike SMP and SAP, there is no “90% AWE uncapped” first 6 weeks. That means a high-earning mother who switches from SMP weeks 1–6 (90% AWE, no cap) to ShPP loses the uncapped band: any week she or her partner converts from SMP to ShPP drops to the £194.32 ceiling. This is one of the most common financial planning surprises with SPL and is worth modelling carefully before issuing a curtailment notice.

The pay rate is uprated each April in line with the September CPI inflation figure. Historical statutory weekly rates:

• 2023/24: £172.48
• 2024/25: £184.03
• 2025/26: £187.18
• 2026/27: £194.32

For partial weeks (e.g. a Wednesday-to-Tuesday split block), employers pay ShPP for each calendar week the employee is on SPL - the same mechanism HMRC uses for SMP.

How many weeks of ShPP are available?

• Up to 50 weeks of SPL is available across both parents combined.
• Up to 37 weeks of ShPP is available across both parents combined.
• The pool is reduced by any weeks of SML / SAP / SMP that the mother has already taken (or chosen not to convert). The first 2 weeks of compulsory maternity leave never enter the SPL pool.

That means a mother who takes the full 39-week SMP entitlement and then curtails for the remaining 13 weeks of (unpaid) SML has 13 weeks of SPL and 0 weeks of ShPP left to share. To preserve ShPP weeks for the partner, the mother needs to curtail before exhausting SMP - typically at the end of the 6-week 90%-AWE band, or after a shorter SMP period.

Eligibility for SPL and ShPP

Both parents need to qualify, and the tests are different for each:

The “mother” (birth parent / primary adopter) must:

• Have at least 26 weeks of continuous employment with their employer by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (“the qualifying week”), or by the week they were matched for adoption.
• Be entitled to either SML / SAL or Statutory Maternity Pay / SAP.
• Issue a curtailment notice to formally end maternity / adoption leave before its statutory end.

The “partner” must:

• Be the biological father, the mother’s spouse / civil partner / long-term partner, or the secondary adopter.
• Have done the “employment and earnings test”: worked for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before the EWC, and earned at least an average of £30 a week in any 13 of those weeks.

To claim ShPP (paid as opposed to unpaid SPL) the claimant additionally needs:

• 26 weeks of continuous employment by the qualifying week.
• Average weekly earnings at or above the Lower Earnings Limit (£123 in 2026/27, the same threshold as SSP / SMP / SPP / SAP).
• To still be employed by the employer at the start of each week of paid SPL.

If the partner is self-employed they can pass the employment-and- earnings test for SPL but cannot themselves claim ShPP (ShPP is an employer payment). Self-employed parents can sometimes claim Maternity Allowance separately.

Notice requirements and block planning

ShPP has more bureaucratic friction than SMP or SPP. For every block of SPL each parent must give their employer:

1. A notice of entitlement and intention (sometimes called a “non-binding” notice) at least 8 weeks before the start of the first block. The notice covers the planned pattern across all blocks for that parent.
2. A period of leave notice for each specific block, also 8 weeks in advance.

The notice is “non-binding” because the employee can vary it twice without losing entitlement. The employer must respond within 2 weeks.

There are two notice patterns:

• Continuous leave: a single uninterrupted block. The employer has no right to refuse.
• Discontinuous leave: multiple blocks (up to 3 per employer). The employer can ask for a single continuous alternative within the first 14 days, but must agree in principle to SPL existing - they cannot block the right to share, only the specific pattern.

Tax and National Insurance on ShPP

ShPP is treated as employment income for PAYE purposes. The employer:

• Pays ShPP through the normal monthly / weekly payroll cycle.
• Withholds Income Tax under the employee’s existing tax code.
• Withholds employee Class 1 National Insurance on ShPP at the same rates as ordinary salary (8% main rate, 2% above the Upper Earnings Limit).
• Pays employer Class 1 secondary NI on top.

The employer can recover 92% of the gross ShPP paid (or 103% if they qualify for Small Employers’ Relief) from HMRC, reducing the PAYE liability shown on the monthly RTI return. From the employee’s perspective the deduction calculation is identical to a salaried week

• the only difference is the cash amount paid.

Our calculator estimates the PAYE deductions by comparing two scenarios: the parent’s working-weeks salary alone, vs the same working-weeks salary plus the gross ShPP block. The difference is the tax + NI attributable to ShPP under the marginal-rate logic that HMRC’s CWG2 employer guide assumes.

How to claim ShPP from your employer

The process for each parent:

1. Confirm eligibility - check 26 weeks of service by the qualifying week and average weekly earnings above £123.
2. Mother issues a curtailment notice at least 8 weeks before she wants her maternity leave to end. This is irrevocable except under narrow circumstances (e.g. her partner dies before SPL starts).
3. Both parents issue a notice of entitlement to their employers covering the planned pattern of SPL blocks. The notice has to include a declaration that the other parent has consented to the sharing.
4. Issue period-of-leave notices for each block, 8 weeks in advance.
5. Receive ShPP via payroll - the employer pays at the lower of £194.32 or 90% AWE each week of SPL until the 37-week pool is exhausted or the leave block ends.

What this calculator does

Enter the parent’s average weekly earnings, how many ShPP weeks they plan to claim, and (optionally) the same parent’s annual salary used to estimate PAYE deductions. The calculator shows:

• The statutory ShPP weekly rate (the lower of £194.32 or 90% AWE).
• Total gross ShPP across the claimed weeks.
• Estimated Income Tax and Class 1 NI on the ShPP block.
• Net ShPP after tax + NI.
• The SPL weeks remaining in the 50-week pool after this claim.
• Gross income drop vs working the same weeks at the parent’s AWE.

The calculator does not model the partner’s separate ShPP claim, the mother’s overlapping SMP weeks, or enhanced employer shared parental pay schemes (occupational top-ups). For complex split-block planning across both parents, use the calculator twice - once for each parent

• and add the results.

What we don’t cover

• Maternity Allowance for self-employed mothers (separate benefit via JobCentre Plus, paid for 39 weeks).
• Enhanced employer schemes topping ShPP up to full pay.
• Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (a separate £194.32 rate for bereaved parents - see the gov.uk Bereavement Leave guide).
• Neonatal Care Leave and Pay (a separate statutory entitlement introduced 6 April 2025 for parents of babies in neonatal care).

Related guides

• Maternity Pay Calculator - 39 weeks of SMP (6 weeks at 90% AWE + 33 weeks at the statutory rate).
• Statutory Paternity Pay Calculator
  • 2 weeks at the same £194.32 / 90% AWE rate.
• Statutory Adoption Pay Calculator
  • 39 weeks for the primary adopter, same mechanics as SMP.
• PAYE Explained - how statutory pay flows through payroll alongside Income Tax and Class 1 NI.
• Statutory Pay Rates 2026/27
  • the full table of uprated statutory weekly rates.

Frequently asked questions

What is Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) in 2026/27?

ShPP is paid at £194.32 a week from 6 April 2026, or 90% of the claimant's average weekly earnings - whichever is lower. Up to 37 weeks of ShPP can be shared between both parents under Shared Parental Leave. ShPP is paid by the employer through the normal payroll and is taxable like salary.

How many weeks of Shared Parental Leave and Pay are available?

Up to 50 weeks of Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and up to 37 weeks of Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) are available between both parents. The mother (or primary adopter) must take the first 2 weeks of compulsory maternity / adoption leave - those weeks do not enter the SPL pool. To unlock SPL the mother formally "curtails" her maternity leave so the unused weeks become shareable.

Who is eligible for ShPP?

To claim ShPP you must be an employee with at least 26 weeks of continuous employment by the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth ("the qualifying week"), still employed at the start of each week of SPL, and earning at least the £123 weekly Lower Earnings Limit on average. Your partner must also meet an employment + earnings test to release the leave for sharing.

Can both parents take Shared Parental Leave at the same time?

Yes - both parents can be on SPL simultaneously, or in non-overlapping blocks of at least one week. Leave can be taken in up to three separate blocks per employer (a "discontinuous" pattern), which requires the employer's agreement. A single continuous block is a statutory right.

How much notice do I have to give my employer?

You must give your employer at least 8 weeks of written notice of any block of Shared Parental Leave and ShPP - including the planned start and end dates of each block, plus a curtailment notice from the mother / primary adopter ending her maternity / adoption leave. The notice is non-binding and can be varied twice.

Is Shared Parental Pay taxable?

Yes - ShPP is paid through PAYE and is subject to Income Tax and Class 1 employee National Insurance like any other earnings. Most claimants pay little or no tax on ShPP because their annual income drops during leave, but higher earners taking partial SPL alongside a working spell in the same tax year see the usual marginal-rate deductions.

Can my employer pay more than statutory ShPP?

Yes - some employers offer enhanced Shared Parental Pay (sometimes mirroring enhanced maternity pay). Enhanced ShPP is contractual rather than statutory; the £194.32 weekly rate is the floor an eligible employee can rely on for up to 37 weeks shared between both parents.