Shared parental leave - need advise

[amywhattodo]

Please help, I can’t grasp it and I’m hoping one of you guys can advise me who is well versed in this. Maybe I can provide all the details to you and you can advise if I’m eligible.
im 22 weeks pregnant
I have been self-employed with my own business and paying myself through that (approx
£350 per month) for the past 1.5 years .
Only 1 month ago, I have started working on a PAYE job.
My partner is in full time employed same PAYE employer for 2 years .

I need my partner to be with the baby as I am not entitled to maternity pay and will probably need to get back into work shortly after the baby is born.

What is the eligibility for shared parental leave here? He only gets 2 weeks paternity pay/leave.
but given the information above, is he eligible for 6 months pay?

Really appreciate it

Thank you.

I can’t promise to be correct but we are in a similar-ish situation (I’m self employed, husband is employed). In terms of time off, he’s legally entitled to take 50 weeks off (you have to take two weeks of the 52 total). However the pay is very dependent on his employer. My husband gets enhanced pay through his employer which is fortunate for us…but this is an extra. If he isn’t eligible for anything like that he would get Maternity Allowance weekly rates for I think 37 weeks and that’s it. You need to check with his employer what the deal is for them.

You should qualify for Maternity Allowance during your maternity leave period. You can create shared leave for your partner by curtailing your maternity allowance period/maternity leave I.e. you go back to work early. You can share up to 50 weeks leave and 37 weeks of pay.

What your partner gets for shared parental pay will depend on his employer.

@dementedpixie
thanks alot- is this enhanced paternity pay for shared parental pay or something else the employer would give ?

It will depend what is in his contract. See what they offer as “occupational pay” as opposed to “statutory pay”. (It may be called something else but that’s the standard.)

As PP said though, you are eligible for maternity allowance which you can apply for directly via Department of Work & Pensions. It’s paid at the same rate as statutory maternity pay.

@Juke1 thank you! Is his enhanced pay equivalent to his normal earnings at work?
Is this part of parental paid leave?

Thanks so much for this! Is occupational pay the same as what he would get as his earnings at work?

Thanks so much for this! Is occupational pay the same as what he would get as his earnings at work? @ReeseWitherfork

Enhanced pay is dependant on his contract with his employer. At my employer they only offer slightly over statutory for men, whereas at my husbands they offer 6 months full pay so it differs massively. He needs to look at his employers policy or speak to HR

And no it’s different to paternity leave/ pay. It’s shared parental leave/ pay.

So if I’m entitled to maternity allowance would that mean he may be eligible for enhanced paternity pay? Or does it not matter about my maternity allowance? @Bootsandcat

Why do you think he would get enhanced paternity pay? What he gets depends on his employer. They may only offer basic shared parental pay which is £156.66 per week. It's unrelated to whether you get maternity allowance although you'd need to cut short your maternity allowance pay period to let him take shared leave/pay.

What you're looking at is shared parental leave and pay.

maternityaction.org.uk/advice/shared-parental-leave-and-pay/

You’re entitled to maternity allowance, which in most cases is the same amount of money as SMP for the same length of time, except for not getting the 90% pay for the first 6 weeks it is it goes straight to the hourly rate. You’re also still entitled to the same 52 weeks off. So please do take the maternity leave you need to take.
What pay your husband would get using shared leave would be set by his employer and I’ve not known any be equal to full pay for any more than a couple of weeks.
But I don’t think you’re entitled to use shared parental leave. This is from the government website.

If both parents want to share the SPL and ShPP
Both parents must meet the same eligibility criteria to get SPL and ShPP. You 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 the same employer until you start your SPL

You haven’t been employed for enough time. You’d probably be better off just taking 9 months leave yourself, getting maternity allowance, and then going back to work,

Just seen how little you were earning before, so your maternity allowance may be less. You’ll have to look into your circumstances.

You can also get universal credit while on maternity leave if you meet the income threshold, which would of course depend on what your partner is paid as well

Her partner could take shared parental leave if he qualifies even if OP doesn't qualify for it. She stays on maternity leave/maternity allowance but has to cut it short to free up time/pay for him to take.

It's complicated but the maternity action link I gave explains it better

Enhanced paternity pay is very much dependent on the employer and it’s not very common.

@dementedpixie that’s true he can take some at the same time, but if he only gets basic pay and so does she, that’s unlikely to be a sensible option

Although yes, the easiest, least complicated scenario would be that OP takes her maternity leave and gers her maternity allowance and her partner takes their 2 weeks paternity leave.

Both you and your husband are entitled by law to 52 weeks off combined. So if one takes 20 weeks off, the other gets 32 weeks off in a year. If you're not entitled to ststatory maternity pay, you will receive maternity allowance which is the equivalent. This is over 37 weeks and again can be split by you and your husband depending who is off. It will be the same amount.

With regards then to enhanced pay by your husbands employer, it is entirely down to what is stated in his contract. As PP's have said before, some companies will offer pay, and some won't. You need to read his contract and employee handbook / check with his HR if not clear. Although he will be entitled to time off, if it's the pay aspect you're unsure about it comes down to the individual place of work .

The government website has an eligibility checker here

Shared Parental Leave and Shared Parental Pay are different. I am currently on mat leave but I will be going back at 7 months and “giving” my husband 4 months of my entitlement to leave. The amount he is paid during that time is set by his employer and different to what I would be paid if I was off in that time. Neither of us are e self employed however so can’t confirm what would be available in your situation.

@dementedpixie really appreciate it, do you know if there is an advise line / someone I can talk to specifically about my circumstances?
i don’t know who I would contact

@amywhattodo the maternity action website I linked to gives free advice I think.

Your partner will need to ask for the company shared parental leave policy. Most companies don't have it set in their contract but in a policy. Or sometimes it will be avaliable on the intranet. You need to check he is entitled to it

@dementedpixie if if been self employed
For those 26 weeks does that mean I’m not entitled for Parental leave but that shouldn’t effect my partner who has been with the same employer ? I believe he is entitled to 6 months pay, that’s why I need to know whether my circumstances would effect him?

OP read the eligibility criteria here. I don’t think you’re entitled to shared parental leave because you won’t have been working for your employer for 26 weeks by the 15th week before you’re due

www.gov.uk/shared-parental-leave-and-pay/eligibility-for-birth-parents

@BuffaloCauliflower still unclear as I have been working for myself in my own company for atleast 26 weeks (as an employee as I did all the work on my own) and paying myself through my company