Shared Parental Pay Calculator
Plan how two parents can split Shared Parental Leave and Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) at 2026/27 rates, once the mother or main adopter ends maternity or adoption pay early.
Shared Parental Pay calculator
2026/27: £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower.
An estimate before tax and National Insurance. Your employer works out the exact amounts. Plan your dates with the GOV.UK Shared Parental Leave and Pay planner.
How Shared Parental Pay works
Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) let two parents share time off in the first year after a baby is born or a child is placed with the family. You can share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay. To create them, the mother or main adopter takes less than the full 52 weeks of maternity or adoption leave and less than the 39 weeks of pay, and the rest becomes shared leave and pay.
ShPP is £194.32 a week in 2026/27, or 90% of average weekly earnings if that is lower. The weeks of pay to share are 39 minus the weeks of maternity or adoption pay taken, and the weeks of leave are 52 minus the weeks of leave taken.
For example, if the mother has taken 22 weeks of maternity leave and Statutory Maternity Pay, the couple can share 30 weeks of SPL and 17 weeks of ShPP. Each parent can book up to 3 separate blocks of leave, together or at different times.
How much each parent gets
ShPP is paid at the same rate as the later weeks of Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) and Statutory Adoption Pay: £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. The difference is in the first 6 weeks of maternity or adoption pay, which are paid at 90% of earnings with no maximum. A mother who switches to shared leave within those 6 weeks gives up some of those higher weeks if 90% of her pay is more than £194.32.
| Average weekly earnings | 90% of earnings | Weekly ShPP |
|---|---|---|
| £129.00 | £116.10 | £116.10 |
| £180.00 | £162.00 | £162.00 |
| £215.91 | £194.32 | £194.32 |
| £300.00 | £270.00 | £194.32 |
| £600.00 | £540.00 | £194.32 |
Average weekly earnings are based on pay before tax. For monthly pay, multiply a month's pay by 12 and divide by 52, the same conversion employers use.
Worked example. A mother earning £2,000 a month (about £461.54 a week) takes 12 weeks of SMP: 6 weeks at £415.38 and 6 at £194.32. The 27 weeks of pay left are shared. Her partner, on £2,600 a month, takes 13 weeks of ShPP at £194.32 (£2,526.16) and she takes the other 14 weeks (£2,720.48). Together they get £8,904.84, the same as 39 weeks of SMP on her own, but the time off is split between them.
Who is eligible
For birth parents, both must share responsibility for the child at birth. A parent who wants ShPP must have been employed continuously by the same employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the due date, stay with that employer until the week before the leave starts, and earn on average at least £129 a week. The other parent must have worked for at least 26 of the 66 weeks before the week the baby is due and earned at least £390 in total across any 13 of those weeks. Someone who is a worker rather than an employee might get ShPP but not the leave. The rules for adoptive parents and parents using a surrogate are slightly different.
Timing rules to plan around
Shared leave and pay can only start once the child has been born or placed for adoption. The mother must take at least 2 weeks of maternity leave after the birth, or 4 weeks if she works in a factory, and a person getting adoption pay must take at least 2 weeks of adoption leave. The mother or main adopter gives a binding notice of the date maternity or adoption pay will end, and you must give your employer at least 8 weeks' notice before each block of leave. Each parent can also work up to 20 Shared Parental Leave in touch (SPLIT) days.
For the maternity side on its own, see our Statutory Maternity Pay calculator or the paternity pay calculator. A mother who cannot get SMP may get Maternity Allowance instead (see our Maternity Allowance calculator), and weeks of Maternity Allowance she does not take can still become ShPP for an eligible partner.
Frequently asked questions
How much is Shared Parental Pay in 2026/27?
Statutory Shared Parental Pay is £194.32 a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
How many weeks of Shared Parental Pay can we get?
Up to 37 weeks of pay and 50 weeks of leave between you. The weeks of pay available are 39 minus the weeks of maternity or adoption pay the mother or main adopter has taken.
Who qualifies for Shared Parental Pay?
The parent claiming ShPP usually needs 26 weeks of continuous employment with the same employer by the end of the 15th week before the due date and average earnings of at least £129 a week. The other parent must meet a work and earnings test: 26 weeks of work in the 66 weeks before the due week and £390 earned across any 13 of them.
Do we get more money by sharing?
Only in some cases. ShPP is paid at the same rate as the later weeks of maternity or adoption pay, so if both parents earn at least £215.91 a week the total stays the same. It rises if weeks move to a parent whose 90% rate is higher, and it can fall if the mother switches during the first 6 weeks, when her pay is 90% of earnings with no maximum.
Is this Shared Parental Pay calculator official?
No. It is an estimate before tax and National Insurance. Your employer calculates the actual payments, and GOV.UK has a planner for dates and pay.