I posted this on the Pregnancy board already but thought there might be advice here too.
Our first baby's due at the beginning of March and I'd like to go for shared parental leave for me and DP. He is employed full-time by the NHS, but I'm a writer registered as self-employed sole trader. I never get paid a wage, but instead an advance on my work by publishers, out of which lump sum I 'pay' myself the same monthly amount as my partner gets from his salaried job. I pay NI contributions and tax.
If I can sell another book before the baby comes (this is the plan), I won't need maternity leave; I'll have the money anyway and can give all the shared leave to my partner instead so he could be home with us.
I'm slightly at sea in terms of who I need to tell about my initial maternity leave, and whether my earnings are well-enough documented to claim parental leave, eg I can't prove that I've worked at least 26 weeks this year because my job doesn't work that way. Are my NI contributions enough evidence?
I also don't know if it's a bit cheeky to allocate all the parental leave to my partner when I'd really be home all the time anyway. It would be great to start writing again quick-ish, but I want to be realistic about how likely that really is with a new baby. I might well not do any work at all.