Parenthood Policy
Overview

Statutory Maternity Leave is up to 52 weeks: 26 weeks of Ordinary Maternity Leave followed by 26 weeks of Additional Maternity Leave. An employee qualifies for the leave if they have employee status and give the correct notice; length of service, hours and pay do not determine entitlement to the leave itself.

Sources: GOV.UK Leave · GOV.UK Eligibility

If eligible, SMP can be paid for up to 39 weeks. The first 6 weeks are paid at 90% of average weekly earnings. The remaining 33 weeks are paid at £194.32 per week for 2026/27 or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.

For 2026/27, the employee normally needs average weekly earnings of at least £129 and at least 26 weeks' continuous employment into the qualifying week, alongside notice and proof requirements.

Sources: 2026/27 Rates · GOV.UK Eligibility

Eligible employees can choose to take 1 or 2 weeks of paternity leave. If they take 2 weeks, the weeks can be taken together or separately in one-week blocks, and the leave must normally finish within 52 weeks of the birth. From 6 April 2026, the leave itself is available from the first day of employment.

Statutory Paternity Pay has a separate test: the employee generally needs 26 weeks' continuous employment by the qualifying week and average earnings of at least £129 a week. If eligible, Statutory Paternity Pay is paid for the 1 or 2 weeks of Paternity Leave taken, at £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.

Unlike maternity leave, there is no automatic longer unpaid period attached to statutory paternity leave. An employer can choose to offer a more generous contractual scheme, for example additional weeks at full or partial pay, or extra unpaid partner leave. Where PiA shows more than the statutory entitlement in the employer comparison, that additional time reflects the employer's own policy rather than an extension of statutory paternity leave.

Sources: GOV.UK Leave · GOV.UK Eligibility · GOV.UK Pay

Shared Parental Leave (SPL) is created when maternity leave and pay are ended early and the unused entitlement is made available to share. Eligible parents can share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) in the child's first year. Leave can be taken at the same time, at different times, or in separate blocks.

The eligibility rules depend on which parent is taking the leave and whether one or both parents want SPL / ShPP. In the common birth-parent-and-partner scenario:

• The parent taking SPL generally needs to be an employee, have at least 26 weeks' continuous employment with the same employer by the end of the 15th week before the due date, and remain employed until the week before their SPL starts.
• To receive ShPP, the parent taking the pay must also meet the statutory earnings test, currently an average of at least £129 a week.
• The other parent normally needs to have worked for at least 26 of the 66 weeks before the due week and earned at least £390 across any 13 of those weeks.

If both parents want to take SPL and ShPP, each must meet the relevant continuity and earnings rules. Employer-enhanced Shared Parental Pay can also have additional qualifying conditions, so the employer policy should always be checked separately.

Sources: GOV.UK Overview · GOV.UK Eligibility

KIT days: up to 10 agreed work days during maternity leave. SPLIT days: up to 20 agreed work days per eligible parent during Shared Parental Leave. They are optional for both the employee and employer. Even a small amount of work can count as a whole day.

Pay for the work should be agreed in advance. The law does not create a universal "full salary" rate for a KIT or SPLIT day, and statutory-pay rules still apply.

Sources: Employee Rights On Leave · SPLIT Days

You do not have to tell your employer as soon as you find out. If you are entitled to maternity leave, you normally need to tell them no later than the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth, including the due date and when you want maternity leave to start.

Telling them earlier can matter in practice because pregnancy-specific health-and-safety duties and the redundancy protected period depend on the employer knowing about the pregnancy.

Sources: Acas · GOV.UK Notice

No. A pregnant applicant does not have to tell an employer they are pregnant when applying for a job. If the employer knows, they must not reject or disadvantage the applicant because of the pregnancy.

Acas advises employers that they should never ask applicants whether they are pregnant or planning to have children.

Sources: Acas Pregnancy At Work · Recruitment Discrimination

Probation does not remove statutory maternity leave. Maternity leave is available to employees regardless of length of service. Since April 2026, statutory paternity leave is also a day-one employee right. Pay is different: SMP, SPP and Shared Parental Pay have separate service and earnings tests.

An employer can still manage genuine performance or conduct issues during probation, but pregnancy or maternity cannot lawfully be the reason for unfavourable treatment, dismissal or a failed probation decision.

Sources: Maternity Eligibility · Paternity Eligibility · Acas Discrimination Examples

Yes. Pregnant employees have a statutory right to reasonable time off during working hours for antenatal care, and that time is paid at the normal rate. From the second appointment onwards, an employer can ask for evidence of the pregnancy and appointment.

A qualifying partner can take unpaid time off to accompany the pregnant person to up to 2 appointments, capped at 6.5 hours per appointment.

Sources: Employment Rights Act · GOV.UK Partner Appointments

Once an employer has been told in writing about a pregnancy, they must carry out an individual health-and-safety risk assessment and reduce or remove identified risks. That can involve changes to working conditions or hours, suitable alternative work, or in some circumstances suspension on full pay if a safe solution is not possible.

Pregnancy-related sickness should be recorded separately from ordinary sickness absence and should not be used for normal absence trigger points. If pregnancy-related sickness occurs in the 4 weeks before the due week, maternity leave can start automatically.

Sources: Health & Safety · Pregnancy-Related Sickness

Pregnancy or maternity leave does not make someone immune from a genuine redundancy process, but it is unlawful to dismiss or select someone because they are pregnant or taking maternity leave. Pregnant employees and some new parents also have special redundancy protection: if a suitable alternative vacancy exists, the employer must offer it to them as a priority.

For pregnancy and maternity, the protected period starts when the employee tells the employer they are pregnant and generally ends 18 months from the baby's birth. Paternity leave on its own is not included in this special redundancy-priority regime.

Source: Acas Redundancy Protection

After up to 26 weeks of maternity leave, the employee normally has the right to return to the same job on the same conditions. After more than 26 weeks, they still have the right to return to the same job unless there is a genuine reason that is not reasonably practicable. In that case, any alternative role must be suitable and on terms that are no less favourable.

Source: Acas Return To Work

Employment terms are generally protected during statutory parental leave. Holiday continues to accrue, and employees are normally entitled to pay rises and improvements in terms and conditions awarded during the leave. Pension contributions usually stop during unpaid periods unless the contract or pension scheme says otherwise.

Bonus and commission arrangements can be more fact-specific because they depend on what the scheme rewards and when entitlement arises. They should be checked against the scheme rules rather than assumed to stop or continue automatically.

Source: GOV.UK Employee Rights On Leave

Statutory Maternity Leave can run for up to 52 weeks, but SMP is normally payable for a maximum of 39 weeks if eligible. If an employee originally planned to return earlier, they can usually stay on maternity leave longer within the 52-week entitlement by giving at least 8 weeks' notice of the changed return date.

After the 52-week maternity entitlement ends, further time away is not automatically "more maternity leave". Depending on eligibility and notice, options can include accrued annual leave, day-one Unpaid Parental Leave, a flexible-working arrangement, or extra contractual leave agreed by the employer.

Sources: GOV.UK Maternity Leave · Unpaid Parental Leave

A phased return is an agreed arrangement that lets someone build back up to their normal working pattern gradually. For example, they might start with reduced hours or days, a lighter workload, or temporarily adjusted responsibilities before returning to their usual role.

There is no universal statutory right to a phased return specifically because someone has taken maternity, paternity or Shared Parental Leave. Some employers offer one as an enhanced parental benefit, while in other cases it may be agreed individually, combined with annual leave, or supported through a flexible-working request. How any reduced hours are paid depends on the arrangement and the employer's policy.

Where an employer submission shows a specific duration, for example 4 Weeks, this means the employer has said its phased-return arrangement normally runs for that period. The exact hours, pay and structure can still vary and should be confirmed with the employer.

Sources: Acas Phased Returns · GOV.UK Flexible Working

Yes. All employees can make a statutory flexible-working request from day one. That can cover hours, start/finish times, working days or location. An employer must discuss the request before refusing it and make a decision within 2 months unless an extension is agreed.

The right is a right to request, not an automatic right to the exact arrangement. The employer can refuse only for recognised business reasons and must handle the request reasonably.

Sources: GOV.UK · Acas

An employee can take a reasonable amount of time off to deal with an emergency involving a dependant, including an unexpected breakdown in childcare arrangements. There is no fixed statutory amount and it is not automatically paid, although an employer can choose to pay it.

For longer or planned childcare needs, other options may include annual leave, Unpaid Parental Leave or flexible working.

Source: GOV.UK Time Off For Dependants

Employees are entitled to up to 18 weeks per child, generally until the child's 18th birthday. From 6 April 2026 it is a day-one right. The usual statutory limit is 4 weeks per child in a year unless the employer agrees otherwise, and it is normally taken in whole weeks.

Sources: GOV.UK Entitlement · 2026 Change

For qualifying neonatal care, an employee can receive one week of leave for each 7 full and continuous days the baby spends in neonatal care, up to 12 weeks. The leave is a day-one employee right and sits in addition to other parental leave entitlements. Statutory Neonatal Care Pay has separate eligibility rules.

Source: GOV.UK Neonatal Care Pay And Leave

External benchmarking can help put individual employer policies into context. A 2025 Resume.io analysis of 500 UK companies found that 74% offered enhanced maternity support, 58% offered enhanced paternity support and 36% offered enhanced Shared Parental Leave. The same analysis reported an average qualifying period of 44 weeks before enhanced benefits became available.

This is external benchmarking rather than PiA data, and company policies can change, so it should be treated as context rather than a live market census.

Source: Resume.io UK Parental Support Index