Shared parental leave

1. Tell your manager and Payroll 

If you want to share parental leave with your partner, tell your manager the dates you’re planning to take off as soon as possible, even if you are unsure of the exact dates. You may find our guidance on taking long-term leave useful when planning your leave.

You will also need to complete either a notice of entitlement form (mother or main adopter) (DOC, 99.5KB) or a notice of entitlement form (partner) (DOC, 102.5KB) and upload it to the Assyst portal. This is so Payroll can check and tell you what leave and pay you’re entitled to before you book SPL.  

If anything changes before your shared parental leave dates have been confirmed, you should complete a variation of notice of entitlement and intention form (DOC, 69KB), and upload it to the Assyst portal. 

2. End your maternity or adoption leave agreement 

Once you're able to confirm your intended dates, if you are the birth parent or primary adopter, you must end your maternity or adoption leave. Complete the curtailment notice form (DOC, 74KB) and upload it to the Assyst portal at least 8 weeks before you intend to start SPL.

By ending your maternity/adoption leave, you and your partner can apply for SPL.  

3. Confirm your SPL dates  

Both parents need to confirm their SPL dates with their employer. If you work for us, you’ll need to complete the period of notice leave form (DOC, 73KB) and upload it to the Assyst portal at least 8 weeks before you intend to start SPL.

You can submit all 3 forms (Notice of entitlement, Maternity or adoption leave curtailment notice and Period of notice leave form) at the same time, but they must be sent 8 weeks before the start of the first block of SPL.