What's covered in this guide:
What are SPL and ShPP?
Shared Parental Leave (SPL) allows eligible parents to share part of maternity or adoption leave. Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) is the statutory pay an eligible employee can receive while taking SPL.
Shared Parental Pay is fully automated in Workforce Payroll, using the same statutory pay engine as Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) and Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), it is not a manual, unassisted process.
How Workforce Payroll calculates and pays ShPP
Once an employee takes leave on the built-in Shared Parental Pay leave type, Workforce automatically:
Determines eligibility based on continuous employment and average weekly earnings (AWE) against the National Insurance Lower Earnings Limit
Calculates ShPP at 90% of AWE, capped at the statutory weekly rate (£194.32/week for the 2026–27 tax year) — for the whole ShPP period, unlike SMP which pays an initial 6 weeks at an uncapped 90%
Enforces the 37-week statutory maximum of paid ShPP per employee automatically, once reached, no further ShPP is costed
Includes ShPP in payroll totals and statutory reporting automatically (see EPS/FPS reporting below)
You do not need to enter statutory ShPP amounts manually, and you do not need to set up separate "paid" and "unpaid" leave types to get correct statutory payment, a single Shared Parental Pay leave type, configured correctly, handles this.
What Workforce Payroll does not do
Does not validate the partner's eligibility (the employment and earnings test on the employee's partner) - this is a legal requirement outside what Workforce can check, since it depends on the partner's own employer or self-employment status.
Does not track or reconcile the shared 37-week entitlement pool between two parents - Workforce enforces the 37-week cap per employee within your organisation, but has no visibility into how many weeks a partner has used, especially if the partner works elsewhere. You are responsible for confirming the combined total doesn't exceed the statutory pool for the child.
Does not enforce the notice period (statutory notice requirements for SPL/ShPP), this is a process requirement, not a system gate.
Eligibility Summary (for reference only)
Note: Workforce automatically checks continuous employment and AWE against the Lower Earnings Limit for the employee taking leave, but does not check the partner's eligibility or coordinate shared entitlement. For full legal detail see GOV.UK: Shared Parental Leave and Pay.
SPL: Employee must meet continuity of employment rules and share responsibility for the child. Partner must meet the employment & earnings test.
ShPP: Employee must meet continuity and earnings thresholds; partner must meet the employment & earnings test.
Enable Shared Parental Pay in Workforce Payroll
To set up the leave type:
Go to Payroll > Settings > Leave Types
In the Statutory Leave Types table, click + New (this is separate from the "+ New" button on the Payroll Leave Types table above it)
On 1. Statutory Pay, select "Shared Parental Pay" from the Statutory pay type dropdown
On 2. Leave Type Details, enter the Name and Payroll account
Click Save
The page itself confirms this is automatic: "Configure who statutory leave applies to and when. Statutory pay is worked out automatically."
📝 Note: Like other statutory leave types, this applies to all staff by default, there's no separate "assign to employees" step.
📝 Note: The Statutory pay type dropdown only lists types your organisation hasn't already created one of, each statutory pay type can only be set up once per organisation. If "Shared Parental Pay" doesn't appear as an option, it's likely already been created; check the existing rows in the Statutory Leave Types table first.
⚠️ Important: Once saved, the Statutory pay type and Name cannot be edited, only the Payroll account can be changed afterward. If you need a different pay type or name, delete the leave type and create a new one.
⚠️ Important: Do not create a manual leave type for Shared Parental Leave if you want automatic statutory calculation and reporting, the leave type's Statutory pay type must be set to "Shared Parental Pay" from the start.
Optional: set up an unpaid leave type for parental leave beyond ShPP
If an employee's Shared Parental Leave extends beyond the 37-week statutory pay maximum, or beyond what they're eligible for, that portion is unpaid. This is a separate, ordinary leave type, not part of the Shared Parental Pay statutory leave type, since Workforce doesn't attach a pay rate or eligibility window to it.
To set it up:
Go to Payroll > Payroll Settings > Leave Types
In the Payroll Leave Types table, click + New
Name it something like "Shared Parental Leave (Unpaid)"
Assign it to All Employees or the relevant employees/groups
Set the pay multiplier to 0.0
Click Save
⚠️ Important: This is a normal leave type, not a statutory one, it goes through the standard Payroll Leave Types creation flow (with an "assign to employees" step and a pay multiplier), which is different from the Statutory Leave Types flow used for the main Shared Parental Pay type above.
📝 Note: You do not need this unpaid leave type at all if the employee's leave stays within the 37-week paid ShPP period and they remain eligible throughout, it's only for leave beyond what statutory pay covers.
How to record SPL leave requests
To record SPL leave requests:
Go to Leave Requests
Create a new leave request using the Shared Parental Pay leave type, for the dates the employee is taking SPL
Approve the leave
Navigate to the employee's Timesheets
Export the timesheet to Payroll
⚠️ Important: Approving the leave request alone does not add ShPP to a pay run, exporting the timesheet is a required step, the same as for SMP and SSP.
If part of the employee's parental leave is genuinely unpaid (beyond what statutory ShPP covers), record that portion using the unpaid leave type set up above instead.
How to pay Shared Parental Pay (ShPP)
Workforce does not automatically calculate ShPP in every scenario. Choose the best option for your workflow:
Option A: Pay via a paid leave type (less manual)
Configure Shared Parental Leave (Paid / ShPP) so Workforce pays according to your leave pay rules.
Best for enhanced company pay or where standard earnings rules should apply.
Option B: Add ShPP as a manual pay line item (recommended for statutory ShPP)
Enter the exact statutory ShPP amount as a manual pay line in each pay run.
Best for statutory ShPP when you need precise control: part-weeks, pro-rata, changing pay patterns, or when normal pay rules do not match statutory calculations.
How ShPP is costed in Workforce
Workforce costs ShPP as a statutory payment in line with HMRC treatment.
When ShPP is paid through payroll (whether via a paid leave type or manual pay line):
It is included in payroll totals as statutory pay,
It is costed accordingly (allowing your accounts to reflect statutory pay cost), and
It is included in HMRC statutory pay reporting (FPS/EPS) so you can reclaim statutory amounts.
Workforce enforces the 37-week paid limit per employee; employers are still responsible for ensuring correct entitlement and payment each pay period.
Reclaim: Workforce will include statutory pay amounts on the EPS for reclaim. Workforce will send the statutory reclaim values in the EPS; teams commonly see a reclaim figure of around 92% of statutory pay, but employers should confirm reclaim and NIC adjustments with HMRC where applicable.
Note: If ShPP is not paid through payroll, there will be no statutory payment to include/cost or report in FPS/EPS.
Accruing holiday leave while on SPL
You can choose to let holiday leave types keep accruing while an employee is on SPL.
To turn this on:
Go to Payroll > Settings > Leave Types and open the holiday leave type you want to configure.
Under Balance Configuration, choose Leave balance accrues.
Tick Accrues during statutory leave.
This setting is off by default, and it isn't available for leave types that deduct from a starting balance.
Once it's turned on, approving a leave request on the built-in Statutory Shared Parental Leave (SShP) leave type accrues that holiday type at its usual accrual rate, based on the approved hours on the request. Accrued hours appear in the employee's live balance as soon as the request is approved.
Note: Accrual only applies to the built-in SShP leave type. If you're using the recommended paid/unpaid setup above, this means holiday only accrues against requests made on the built-in statutory type, the manually created Shared Parental Leave (Unpaid) leave type won't trigger accrual, since it isn't a built-in statutory leave type.
EPS/FPS reporting
ShPP reporting is automated, no separate setup is required. When ShPP has been recorded and paid through payroll:
It's reported on the FPS as year-to-date shared parental pay
It's reported on the EPS as a recoverable statutory amount, alongside your other statutory reclaims
The standard statutory reclaim rate (~92% of the statutory payment) applies to Shared Parental Pay the same way it applies to SMP and other statutory family pay, you don't need to separately configure or confirm this rate per payment, though you should still confirm reclaim treatment with HMRC if your organisation's circumstances differ (e.g. Small Employers' Relief eligibility, which can affect the reclaim percentage).
Admin checklist (for payroll teams)
Confirm eligibility & entitlement outside Workforce (HR / payroll review).
Create Paid and Unpaid SPL leave types (mark paid type as statutory pay).
Record leave as separate blocks (paid vs unpaid).
Confirm timesheets and export to payroll.
Add ShPP payments (via paid leave type or manual entry).
Run payroll and confirm statutory pay boxes are populated correctly in the FPS.
Submit FPS, then submit EPS to reclaim statutory pay amounts.
Track weeks used per child (so the combined parents do not exceed the 37-week statutory pool).
Check holiday and pension treatment while on SPL (statutory guidance applies).
FAQs
Can SPL be taken in multiple blocks?
Can SPL be taken in multiple blocks?
Yes. Create separate leave requests for each block so payroll can track and cost it accurately.
Does Workforce automatically calculate statutory ShPP?
Does Workforce automatically calculate statutory ShPP?
No. ShPP amounts must be entered by the employer, either through configured paid leave rules or manual line items.
Does Workforce track shared entitlement between two parents?
Does Workforce track shared entitlement between two parents?
No. Workforce doesn’t reconcile entitlement between parents, HR/payroll must ensure combined usage is correct.
Do I need separate requests for unpaid SPL?
Do I need separate requests for unpaid SPL?
Yes, this is recommended. It’s the clearest and easiest way to track unpaid portions accurately and avoid manual adjustments.