ShPP rate and earnings threshold set for April 2026 to April 2027

Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) will be paid at £194.32 a week, or 90% of average earnings if that is lower, for the year from April 2026 to April 2027, according to Maternity Action¹. The earnings test for the same period is average earnings of at least £129 a week¹.

ShPP is the pay element of shared parental leave, which lets a mother end her maternity leave or pay early so that she or her partner can take leave more flexibly during the baby's first year¹. The pay is only available where the mother reduces her maternity leave or pay: a mother can create a maximum of 50 weeks of shared parental leave and up to 37 weeks of ShPP for herself or her partner to take¹. ShPP is paid at the statutory rate only, whereas Statutory Maternity Pay is paid at 90% of average earnings for the first six weeks before moving to the statutory rate¹.

The £129 weekly earnings test applies during a calculation period of eight weeks for weekly-paid employees or two months for monthly-paid employees, ending before the 15th week before the baby is due¹. Maternity Action says this matches the qualifying conditions for Statutory Maternity Pay and Statutory Paternity Pay, so anyone who qualifies for those will also qualify for ShPP provided they are still with the same employer at the start of the week they wish to take it¹.

Shared parental leave itself can only be taken by employees, and the person taking it must have been continuously employed by the same employer for at least 26 weeks up to the end of the qualifying week, the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth¹. Their partner must have been employed or self-employed for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before the expected week of childbirth and have earned at least £30 a week on average in 13 of those weeks¹. Single parents cannot qualify for shared parental leave¹. Workers who are not employees, such as agency workers, casual workers and freelance staff paid through PAYE, cannot take shared parental leave but may qualify for ShPP¹.

From April 2026, fathers and partners can take shared parental leave at any time up to 52 weeks from the birth, before or after paternity leave¹. Leave can be taken from the end of the two-week compulsory maternity leave period, or four weeks for factory workers, up to 52 weeks from the birth¹. At least eight weeks' notice of entitlement and intention to take shared parental leave must be given, and a maximum of three separate notices to book or vary leave can be given unless the employer agrees to more¹. Up to 20 shared-parental-leave-in-touch days can be worked during the leave, and statutory annual leave continues to accrue¹.

Employers can reclaim 92% of ShPP from HM Revenue and Customs, or 109% for small employers¹. ShPP does not have to be repaid if the person does not return to work¹. It cannot be paid once the baby is one year old, or to the baby's mother while she is still receiving Statutory Maternity Pay or Maternity Allowance¹.

Why it matters for households

The rate and the earnings test set the amount that eligible parents can receive through ShPP for any leave taken between April 2026 and April 2027. Because ShPP is paid at the flat statutory rate rather than the 90% rate that applies to the first six weeks of maternity pay, a mother who transfers leave to a partner may receive less in the early weeks than she would on maternity leave¹. The amount of leave available does not increase: shared parental leave only redistributes maternity leave and pay that the mother has given up, and once she has curtailed her maternity leave, Statutory Maternity Pay or Maternity Allowance it can only be withdrawn in very limited circumstances¹.

Eligibility depends on both parents meeting separate tests, so a household where one parent is self-employed, or where the mother claims Maternity Allowance rather than Statutory Maternity Pay, may find that only one parent can take ShPP¹. Mothers on Maternity Allowance cannot qualify for ShPP for themselves¹. The £129 weekly earnings test is the same threshold used for Statutory Maternity Pay and Statutory Paternity Pay, so parents already entitled to those payments will meet it¹.

Separately, Maternity Action states that the two-child limit will no longer apply to Universal Credit claims from monthly assessment periods beginning on or after 6 April 2026¹. That change affects Universal Credit awards more broadly and is not part of the ShPP rules.

What happens next

The ShPP rate of £194.32 a week and the £129 weekly earnings test apply for the period April 2026 to April 2027¹. The removal of the two-child limit for Universal Credit applies to monthly assessment periods beginning on or after 6 April 2026¹.