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Original poster

Shared parental leave for a teacher

39 replies

Baabasheep · 04/05/2023 07:49

I keep seeing this on the FB group but I honestly don’t understand it and can’t work out if I’m being stupid.

I am due in July, planning to start maternity leave from the end of June. Is it possible for me to be paid in full over the summer by saying DH will be accessing six weeks of parental leave, then go back to maternity pay in September? Or have I misunderstood?

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MrsElijahMikaelson1 · 04/05/2023 07:56

Your maternity pay starts as soon as you go on maternity leave. You can’t stay on full pay and your DH take paternity as well at the same time.

MrsElijahMikaelson1 · 04/05/2023 07:57

Because obviously you will be post partum and you will have started your mat leave

Original poster
Baabasheep · 04/05/2023 08:00

Not the paternity leave sorry. Shared parental leave. So I think (and I may have misunderstood) the idea is I ‘go back to work’ for the summer holidays (of course I’m not) and then resume leave in September.

It seems to be the in thing at the moment but I probably have misunderstood.

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Original poster
Baabasheep · 04/05/2023 08:01

Thanks @sparklelikeadiamond

So does DH need to be on leave for those six weeks?

OP posts:
VariationsonaTheme · 04/05/2023 08:01

Theoretically yes, you can. However it’ll depend when you actually give birth since you have to take at least the first two weeks off afterwards I think. But you should be able to do it for some of the summer.

Original poster
Baabasheep · 04/05/2023 08:03

Thank you, this is very helpful.

So the main question is does DH have to ‘stop work’ and be paid basic income as he earns more than I do? So it wouldn’t be worth doing if this is the case.

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NoSquirrels · 04/05/2023 08:05

Does his work offer any shared parental leave package, in addition to 2 weeks paternity?

I think whether this is useful depends on when in July you give birth, and what your own school’s maternity/parental leave package is.

TooOldForThisNonsense · 04/05/2023 08:07

Baabasheep · 04/05/2023 07:49

I keep seeing this on the FB group but I honestly don’t understand it and can’t work out if I’m being stupid.

I am due in July, planning to start maternity leave from the end of June. Is it possible for me to be paid in full over the summer by saying DH will be accessing six weeks of parental leave, then go back to maternity pay in September? Or have I misunderstood?

Yes you should be able to, you must take 2 weeks compulsory maternity leave though after the birth. If you curtail your maternity leave after that (and be on holiday instead of ML) then he should be able to take ShPL and then you can go onto ShPL after the holidays

toomuchlaundry · 04/05/2023 08:08

If you are both working then doesn’t that end maternity/shared leave, one of you has to be actually on leave

TooOldForThisNonsense · 04/05/2023 08:09

Baabasheep · 04/05/2023 08:03

Thank you, this is very helpful.

So the main question is does DH have to ‘stop work’ and be paid basic income as he earns more than I do? So it wouldn’t be worth doing if this is the case.

Yes he actually needs to take leave so it would be at the statutory rate unless his work pays more.

Original poster
Baabasheep · 04/05/2023 08:10

Right, so probably not worth doing for us! Thanks. It is helpful to know - I’ll find out what his work policy is but I am not sure any women actually work there, so not sure what their maternity package is! I know in theory it can be shared but in reality not sure how many do.

I am due July 17th but will have an elective section so probably some time the week before.

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Fandabedodgy · 04/05/2023 08:14

No it doesn't work like that.

Your mat leave starts when baby arrives.

You just take a minimum of 2 weeks May leave.

If you go back to work then your mat leave ends.

Your partner can then do shared paternity leave for up to 50 weeks.

But you can't swap back once you've returned.

If you really want to do shared leave work out how long you want to do on maternity leave eg 6-9 months and then when you go back to work partner dies the remainder eg 3-6 months.

Original poster
Baabasheep · 04/05/2023 08:16

@Fandabedodgy i probably won’t be doing this but just for the benefit of other women who may read this I’m not sure that info is right. The link the PP shared says “Shared Parental Leave can be taken in up to three separate blocks [1], with breaks in between in which you return to work and are paid in full”.

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VariationsonaTheme · 04/05/2023 08:17

Fandabedodgy · 04/05/2023 08:14

No it doesn't work like that.

Your mat leave starts when baby arrives.

You just take a minimum of 2 weeks May leave.

If you go back to work then your mat leave ends.

Your partner can then do shared paternity leave for up to 50 weeks.

But you can't swap back once you've returned.

If you really want to do shared leave work out how long you want to do on maternity leave eg 6-9 months and then when you go back to work partner dies the remainder eg 3-6 months.

It does work like that. You can each take three ‘blocks’ of shared leave. Lots of teachers do exactly as the OP planned, to get paid in full over the holiday periods.

toomuchlaundry · 04/05/2023 08:22

You can do it in blocks but the partner needs to be on leave

Original poster
Baabasheep · 04/05/2023 08:24

You’ve all been really helpful, thank you. It probably wouldn’t work for us as DHs salary dropping would lose us more money than mine dropping. But hopefully it may be helpful for others. Baby is due at the wrong time - typical!

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Fandabedodgy · 04/05/2023 08:29

Maternity leave and pay ends when you return to work.

Yes shared statuary parental leave can be taken in blocks but only pad at statutory rates.

Whywhwhy · 04/05/2023 08:40

The partner does not need to take any leave at all. I am a teacher and going back to "work" for the holidays to get full pay ( 6 weeks summer + 2 weeks half term + christmas in 3 blocks). My partner earns significantly more and has a good amount of annual leave so will not be taking any of the shared parental leave. We will therefore both be working during the holidays.
Doing it this way also means that I can go back slightly later - on my sons 1st birthday rather than a year after I went on mat leave.
I can't recommend the https://www.teachersspl.co.uk website enough. As I've been the first in my school to use it, I've been teaching then how it works!

Maternity Leave | Teacher Shared Parental Leave

https://www.teachersspl.co.uk

Original poster
Baabasheep · 04/05/2023 08:41

So it sounds as if it could be possible … I didn’t even think of extending it at the other end, that would save a lot in nursery costs too if I only had to ‘go back’ in July 2024.

OP posts:
TooOldForThisNonsense · 04/05/2023 08:45

Whywhwhy · 04/05/2023 08:40

The partner does not need to take any leave at all. I am a teacher and going back to "work" for the holidays to get full pay ( 6 weeks summer + 2 weeks half term + christmas in 3 blocks). My partner earns significantly more and has a good amount of annual leave so will not be taking any of the shared parental leave. We will therefore both be working during the holidays.
Doing it this way also means that I can go back slightly later - on my sons 1st birthday rather than a year after I went on mat leave.
I can't recommend the https://www.teachersspl.co.uk website enough. As I've been the first in my school to use it, I've been teaching then how it works!

Yes OP this would work, curtail the maternity leave and go onto ShPL instead and book the leave periods around the holidays. All it is doing is jiggling about the holiday entitlement you’re entitled to anyway :)

Original poster
Baabasheep · 04/05/2023 08:47

I am so grateful … right, so DH definitely doesn’t need to take any leave, that’s right? So effectively we are both ‘working’ from (to keep it easy) 1 august - 31 august, paid in full for this time, then I go back on maternity leave - and pay - from 1 September?

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Whywhwhy · 04/05/2023 08:58

First bit is correct. You can't go back on maternity leave after you have curtailed it (which you will do at start of summer hols) - you go onto shared parental leave when you return. This is only paid at statutory rate, unless your school has any special arrangements to pay more.
So if you do this you will lose any enhanced pay eg my school pays 50% +smp for a certain number of weeks.
So for my dates (mat leave started mid march) it works well, as I am down to smp by start of summer hols. You won't be so you'll need to do the calculations to see if it's worth it. Even if you don't do it over summer, you could do it at half term / Christmas to get some extra.
On the website there is a spreadsheet you can use to work it out, plus a video explaining how to do it. To apply you will need to use the forms on the ACAS website and give to school at least 8 weeks before you are due to start shared parental leave.

TooOldForThisNonsense · 04/05/2023 09:00

Baabasheep · 04/05/2023 08:47

I am so grateful … right, so DH definitely doesn’t need to take any leave, that’s right? So effectively we are both ‘working’ from (to keep it easy) 1 august - 31 august, paid in full for this time, then I go back on maternity leave - and pay - from 1 September?

You will need to go on shared parental leave, not maternity leave. You can’t restart maternity leave once it is brought to an end.

toomuchlaundry · 04/05/2023 09:06

Does your DH actually want to take leave?