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Shared Parental Leave & Pay planner

Plan maternity, paternity and shared parental leave together - who's off when, paid or unpaid, week by week and month by month, with KIT days and child benefit. UK, 2024/25-2026/27.

How to use this planner

Follow the steps below to plan your Shared Parental Leave and find out your pay. Only your earnings and leave blocks are essential, the rest fine-tune the numbers. Everything is gross (before tax and National Insurance).

  1. Choose Weeks or Dates at the top. Weeks: week 0 = the birth, week -2 = 2 weeks before birth and week 2 = 2 weeks after birth. For Dates, add a due date to see calendar months.
  2. Enter each parent's gross earnings (per week or per month) and the tax year. Under Payroll timing you can set whether each parent's salary is paid level monthly or by the week, whether your employer averages statutory pay, and your pay cut-off and payday.
  3. Set your leave - who's off, the type (maternity, paternity, shared, unpaid parental or holiday), the start and length. Rows sort themselves by date, and the "Covers" column shows each block's span. Maternity can start up to 11 weeks before the birth (a negative week). Each parent can split their shared leave into up to 3 separate blocks (one continuous block is an automatic right; separate blocks need employer agreement).
  4. Add enhanced (occupational) pay per parent if an employer pays more than the minimum. Tiers like "6 weeks at 100%, then 12 weeks at 50%". Each week pays the higher of your tier or the statutory amount.
  5. Add child benefit. Add how many children (including the new baby), which week it starts, and, if the higher earner is over £60,000, their income so the High Income Charge is applied.
  6. Add KIT / SPLIT days you plan to work (up to 10 KIT on maternity, 20 SPLIT on shared leave). This is added into your pay calculation.
  7. Set each parent's holiday in days - your annual entitlement and any days already banked before the birth. It shows how much you accrue while off (to add at the end or for a phased return). Add a Holiday block to place it.

Then unlock the results for £1 to see your timeline (coloured by pay type, with zoom), week-by-week and month-by-month tables, a chart, and totals for each parent and the household. Tick "include full pay when back at work" anywhere to fold in each parent's normal salary for the weeks they're not on leave, and use the chart's start/length boxes to set the range.

Track by:

Weeks are relative to the birth (week 0). Switch to Dates and add a due date to see calendar months.

1. Your earnings

Use gross pay. Gross is your pay before deductions (tax, National Insurance, pension, student loan) - the bigger figure on your payslip. Net is what actually lands in your bank account. Statutory pay is worked out from your gross earnings.

Statutory weekly rate this year: . To qualify, each parent must earn at least the Lower Earnings Limit ().

Payroll timing - how pay maps to months

A monthly salary is usually the same each month; statutory pay is legally weekly, so its months vary unless your employer averages it. The cut-off and payday shift which month each week's pay shows in - these only apply in Dates mode.

2. Leave blocks

Week 0 = the birth. Negative weeks are before the birth (maternity can start up to 11 weeks early). Rows sort themselves by week, so add blocks in any order - the "Covers" column shows each block's span.

WhoTypeStartWeeksCoversPay

3. Enhanced (occupational) pay - optional

Many employers pay more than the statutory minimum. This is usually for a set period of time. Add tiers as "weeks at % of full pay", e.g. 6 weeks at 100%, then 12 weeks at 50%.

Mum
Partner

4. Child benefit - optional

Child benefit is £ a week for your family once the baby's added. Existing children are counted from the start. You claim after the birth and it can be backdated up to 3 months - to claim from birth, leave the start week at 0. To claim later and backdate it, set the week and tick Backdated to see the catch-up paid as a lump that week. If the higher earner is over £60,000 some is clawed back through the High Income Charge (all of it by £80,000); leave the income box at 0 to estimate it from the earnings above.

5. KIT / SPLIT days - optional

Keeping in Touch (KIT) days let mum work up to 10 days on maternity leave; SPLIT days let each parent work up to 20 days on shared leave - without losing statutory pay. Enter the number of days (they count toward your 10/20 limit); a day paid at your day rate (weekly pay ÷ 5). If you only work part of a day, add the hours and you're paid for those instead (weekly pay ÷ your usual hours).

6. Holiday (annual leave) - optional

Mum

Partner

You accrue holiday the whole time you're on leave, but you can't take it during maternity or parental leave. Banked days (accrued before going on leave) can be used before you go on leave or afterwards. Days accrued while you're off are usually added at the end for extra paid time or for a staggered return (e.g. return to work 4 days a week, holiday covering the 5th). Add a Holiday block in section 2 to place them. Based on a 5-day week; holiday is paid at full pay. Statutory minimum is 28 days (5.6 weeks), often more if your employer adds bank holidays.

Unlock your full plan for just £1

See your timeline, the week-by-week and month-by-month tables, the income chart and your totals. One-off £1 via Ko-fi - no sign-up, no card details touch Fawnly.

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Your timeline

Zoom 1.0× scroll sideways when zoomed →
Enhanced full pay Enhanced part pay Maternity (SMP) Shared pay (ShPP) Paternity Holiday Unpaid parental Unpaid

The numbers

Total household income
Mum's pay
Partner's pay
Child benefit

Figures are gross statutory pay plus any enhanced pay, KIT days and child benefit. Income tax and National Insurance still come off enhanced/full pay; most statutory-only weeks fall below the tax threshold. This is general information, not financial or legal advice - check GOV.UK for the current rules.

Pay breakdown

"Joint" is Mum + Partner + child benefit. Months are approximate 4.3-week periods measured from your first leave week.

Income chart

All figures are gross (before tax and NI). With "include full pay" ticked, each parent's normal salary is added for weeks they're not on leave - so you see full pay before the birth, the dip during leave, and the return to work.

Shared Parental Leave: your questions answered

What is Shared Parental Leave?

Shared Parental Leave (SPL) lets eligible parents share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of statutory pay in the baby's first year. The mother ends her maternity leave and pay early, enabling the remaining weeks to be split between both parents. This can be taken together, in turns or in separate blocks.

How much is Shared Parental Pay (ShPP)?

£194.32 a week for 2026/27 (£187.18 for 2025/26), or 90% of your average weekly earnings if that's lower. It is the same rate as statutory maternity pay after the first 6 weeks.

How many weeks of shared parental pay can we get?

There are 39 weeks of statutory pay in total. Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) is whatever is left after maternity leave. It is compulsory for the mum to take the first 2 weeks after birth, so a maximum of 37 weeks can be paid as ShPP.

Can the mother take shared parental leave herself?

Yes. The mother can end her maternity leave early and take the remaining weeks as shared parental leave herself, and/or share them with her partner.

Is shared parental leave on top of maternity leave?

No. To create shared leave and pay, the mother must end her maternity leave and those weeks become a shared pool.

Can we take shared parental leave at the same time?

Yes. You can be off together, or take turns.

Does it have to be taken in one block?

No. Each parent can take their shared leave in up to 3 separate blocks. However, taking it in non-continuous blocks needs your employer's agreement.

Can my partner take paternity leave and shared parental leave?

Yes. Statutory paternity leave (2 weeks) is separate and additional to any shared parental leave.

What is enhanced or occupational pay?

Some employers pay more than the statutory minimum. Check your handbook to find out if you qualify for enhanced pay, and what your employer contributes.

What are KIT and SPLIT days?

Keeping in Touch (KIT) days let a mother work up to 10 days during maternity leave; Shared Parental Leave in Touch (SPLIT) days let each parent work up to 20 days during shared leave. Whether you are paid a full day for, say, 4 hours' work, or only for the hours you work, is up to your employer - but each day counts toward your 10 KIT or 20 SPLIT limit even if you only work part of it.

What is unpaid parental leave?

Separate from shared parental leave, each parent can take up to 18 weeks of unpaid parental leave per child up to their 18th birthday. This is capped at 4 weeks a year and must be taken in whole weeks. From April 2026 it has been available from your first day at a job.

How is holiday worked out?

You keep accruing annual leave the whole time you're on leave, but you can't take it during maternity or parental leave.

Are the figures gross or net?

Gross. This means income tax, National Insurance, student loans and pensions still need to come off the figures.

Why does a month's pay change with the number of weeks in it?

Statutory pay is legally weekly, so a month with five weeks in it comes out higher than one with four.

What does "include full pay when back at work" do?

By default the numbers show only your leave pay. Tick this box to add each parent's normal full salary for the weeks they're not on leave.

Do I have to give up my maternity leave to use SPL?

Yes. To create shared leave and pay, the mother must end (or agree to end) her maternity leave and pay early. The first 2 weeks after the birth are compulsory maternity leave and can't be shared.

How much time off can we have in total?

Up to 52 weeks between you in the baby's first year. Paternity leave, and any holiday and unpaid leave, can be added on top.

Is my information private?

Yes. Everything is worked out entirely in your own browser. Nothing you enter is sent to a server, saved or shared.

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General information, not financial or legal advice. Figures use published GOV.UK statutory rates and standard rules; your employer's policy and personal circumstances can differ. © 2026 Fawnly.