Scheme catalog · 2026-27
Browse UK parental leave schemes
Page 1 of 1 · 6 statutory pay and childcare routes from the live leave_types table.
- Schemes
- 6
- pay + childcare
- Longest paid
- 39 wks
- SMP, MA and SAP
- Most KIT days
- 20
- SPL/ShPP
Download the UK statutory parental-pay extract cited on this page: uk-statutory-parental-pay.csv (CC BY 4.0).
Compare the statutory routes
According to HMRC and GOV.UK statutory-payment rules for 2026-27, largest of 3 at 39 paid weeks (MA, SAP, and SMP) is #1 of 5 by paid weeks at KIT-days rank #2 (10 days) ≠ SPL/ShPP #1 of 5 by KIT days (20) at paid-weeks rank #4 (37 weeks). Tax-Free Childcare is excluded (max_weeks=0).
Paid weeks and KIT-day allowance are separate leave_types columns. SPL/ShPP leads KIT days at 20; Tax-Free Childcare is a childcare top-up (max_weeks=0) and is excluded from corpus ranks.
- 39 wks
- Paid-weeks #1largest of 3
- 20
- KIT-days #1SPL/ShPP
- 5
- Leave-duration schemesmax_weeks > 0
Two views of the same catalog
Paid weeks and KIT-day allowance both come from leave_types. Length and flexibility diverge: SMP, MA and SAP lead on paid weeks, while SPL/ShPP leads on KIT days.
Paid weeks by scheme
Statutory pay length in 2026-27. SMP and Adoption Pay run longest at 39 weeks.
SPL/ShPP KIT days vs scheme ceiling
Same leave_types.kit_days_allowed column · not a second dataset
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Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
Employee for 26 continuous weeks ending the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (EWC), earning at least the Lower Earnings Limit on average.
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Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP)
Employee for 26 continuous weeks ending the 15th week before EWC; biological father, mother's partner, or adopting parent.
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Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and Pay (ShPP)
Both parents must meet the work and earnings continuity tests; the birth parent must curtail SMP/MA. Up to 50 weeks of leave + 37 weeks of pay can be split.
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Maternity Allowance (MA)
Self-employed paying Class 2 NICs, or employed but not qualifying for SMP, who have worked at least 26 of the 66 weeks before EWC and earned £30/week+ in any 13 of those weeks.
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Tax-Free Childcare
Each parent aged 21 or over must expect to earn at least £203.36/week over the next 3 months (the 16-hour National Living Wage equivalent), and neither may expect adjusted net income above £100,000. Children are eligible until the September after age 11 (or 16 if disabled).
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Statutory Adoption Leave and Pay (SAP)
Employee for 26 continuous weeks ending the week the child is matched; only one parent in an adopting couple can take SAP.