Which UK parental leave route is right for your family?

Five short questions about employment status, partner income, employer enhanced policies, caregiving preference, and timing. We return a recommended leave pattern (SMP-only / SMP+SPP / Shared Parental Leave split) with the reasoning shown — no advice, just structured decision support.

Question 1: What is your employment status?

• Employed 26+ continuous weeks with same employer at time of qualifying week → SMP (default route). 39 paid weeks, 6 at 90% AWE.
• Self-employed paying Class 2 NICs → Maternity Allowance. Same 39 weeks at the flat rate, paid by DWP.
• Recently switched jobs / agency / variable work → Maternity Allowance under the broader "26 of 66 weeks" test.
• Adopting through a UK adoption agency → Statutory Adoption Pay (mirrors SMP for one parent of the couple).

Question 2: How is your household income split?

If the birth parent is the higher earner, the family loses more income during the flat-rate phase of SMP. Shared Parental Leave lets the lower-earning partner take some of the time off — but ShPP has no 90% AWE step, so do the math. If the birth parent is the lower earner, SMP-only is usually the simplest route and Shared Parental Leave offers less marginal benefit.

Question 3: What is your partner's employer policy?

Paternity Leave gives partners 2 weeks at the flat statutory rate (or 90% AWE if lower) — these can now be split into two non-contiguous blocks under the 2024 rules. If your partner's employer offers enhanced paternity (full-pay for the 2 weeks), that's a clear win. For longer partner leave, Shared Parental Leave is the only statutory route — but uptake remains low (around 4-5% of eligible families).

Question 4: How do you want to share caregiving?

Three common patterns: (A) Birth parent takes 12 months, partner takes 2 weeks at birth then 2 weeks later. (B) Birth parent takes 6-9 months, partner takes 3-6 months via SPL, alternating blocks. (C) Both parents on leave simultaneously for the first 4-6 weeks, then birth parent continues alone. Each has different income, pension, and career-continuity implications.

Question 5: When does enhanced employer pay run out?

If your employer offers 13 or 26 weeks at full pay, that period is non-negotiable income. Plan the SPL split for after the enhanced phase, when statutory rates apply equally regardless of who is on leave. Switching to ShPP during the enhanced phase usually costs the family money — your employer pays the top-up; the partner's employer does not (unless their policy mirrors).

Use the interactive calculator to model your specific salary + employer-enhanced-policy scenario. See the side-by-side comparison of all six schemes. Read the full Shared Parental Leave guide.