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Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) in Workforce Payroll

This guide explains how to record Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and pay Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP / SShP) in Workforce Payroll, including how to split paid and unpaid leave and report statutory payments to HMRC.

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What's covered in this guide:

Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and Shared Parental Pay (ShPP)

Shared Parental Leave (SPL) allows eligible parents to share part of maternity or adoption leave. Shared Parental Pay (ShPP / SShP) is the statutory pay an eligible employee can receive while taking SPL.

Workforce Payroll supports recording SPL and paying ShPP. Workforce enforces a maximum of 37 weeks of paid ShPP per employee (the statutory maximum). Note that the statutory pool for a child is 37 weeks shared between parents; an individual employee cannot be paid more than 37 weeks of statutory ShPP.

Important: Workforce does not validate statutory eligibility, compute statutory ShPP amounts automatically in all cases, or reconcile entitlement between parents. Employers remain responsible for confirming eligibility and paying the correct statutory amounts.

What Workforce Payroll does (and doesn’t) do

Workforce Payroll supports

  1. Creating and assigning Shared Parental Leave leave types.

  2. Recording SPL as one or more leave requests.

  3. Showing leave in timesheets and exporting leave into payroll.

  4. Paying and costing leave via:

    • paid leave types (if configured), or

    • manual pay lines / adjustments.

  5. Enforcing the 37-week paid ShPP limit for employees.

Workforce Payroll does not support

  1. Validating statutory eligibility (continuity tests, partner earnings tests, etc.).

  2. Automatically calculating statutory ShPP in every scenario (employers should check amounts).

  3. Tracking or reconciling the “shared” entitlement between two parents.

  4. Automatically splitting entitlement into paid/unpaid periods or automatically handling part-weeks/pro-rata statutory calculations.

Important: Employers must confirm eligibility, calculate statutory pay amounts (including part-week or pro-rata calculations), and submit accurate HMRC reporting.

Eligibility Summary (for reference only)

Note: Workforce does not determine eligibility, this is a brief reminder only. 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 employment & earnings test.

  • ShPP: Employee must meet continuity and earnings thresholds and the partner must meet the employment & earnings test.

Recommended setup (Paid + Unpaid SPL leave types)

Because Workforce does not automatically apply all statutory rules, we recommend creating two leave types:

  1. Shared Parental Leave (Paid / ShPP): use for periods where the employee should be paid (statutory ShPP or enhanced company pay).

  2. Shared Parental Leave (Unpaid): use for unpaid portions of SPL. Configure the pay multiplier to 0.0.

Why two leave types?

  • Clearly separates paid vs unpaid periods.

  • Makes payroll processing and auditing easier.

  • Reduces reporting mistakes and avoids “zeroing out” hours.

Note: Workforce enforces the 37-week paid limit for ShPP.

Set up ShPP leave types

To set up ShPP leave types:

  1. Payroll > Payroll Settings > Leave Types

  2. Select the built-in Statutory Shared Parental Leave (SShP)

  3. Assign to All Employees or the relevant employees/groups.

  4. Configure pay multiplier and rules (if using the leave type to pay).

  5. Click Save.

What should the paid leave multiplier be?

  • If you want Workforce to pay normal or enhanced earnings automatically, set the paid SPL (ShPP) multiplier to 1.0 (100% of normal pay) or another fraction that reflects your policy.

  • If you will pay the statutory ShPP amount using manual pay lines, you may leave the paid leave multiplier at 1.0 (so the leave is recognised as paid) or set it to 0.0 (if you prefer the leave type not to auto-pay at all) but the actual statutory payment must still be recorded as a statutory pay line so it appears in FPS/EPS.

  • For unpaid SPL, set multiplier to 0.0

To set up the unpaid ShPP leave type:

  1. Payroll > Payroll Settings > Leave Types

  2. Create: Shared Parental Leave (Unpaid).

  3. Assign to All Employees or the relevant employees/groups.

  4. Configure pay multiplier to 0.0.

  5. Click Save.

How to record SPL in Workforce Payroll

Create leave requests (recommended)

Create a leave request for each block of leave. Separate paid and unpaid periods as distinct requests. Steps:

  1. Leave Requests > Create new leave request > choose SPL (Paid/ShPP) or SPL (Unpaid) > enter dates > submit & approve > confirm timesheets > Export to payroll.

Why separate requests?

  • Easier to cost/report paid vs unpaid weeks.

  • Avoids manual “zeroing” and reduces mistakes.

  • Product does not capture the contextual sharing rules between parents — you should track who is using which paid weeks.

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)

  1. Configure Shared Parental Leave (Paid / ShPP) so Workforce pays according to your leave pay rules.

  2. 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)

  1. Enter the exact statutory ShPP amount as a manual pay line in each pay run.

  2. 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.

EPS reporting notes

Do I need to set anything up?


No special product setup is required. To reclaim statutory pay values you:

  1. Submit your FPS (Full Payment Submission) including statutory pay fields populated by Workforce when ShPP has been recorded/paid; then

  2. Submit the EPS to claim the statutory pay reclaim.

Workforce will send statutory pay on the FPS/EPS if the payment has been recorded as statutory pay in payroll. There is no separate “statutory payments setup” needed.

Reminder: Workforce does not confirm the correctness of the statutory pay amount, employers must ensure values are accurate before submitting FPS / EPS.

Example workflows

Example A: 17 weeks paid, then 3 weeks unpaid

  1. Create SPL (Paid / ShPP) request for Weeks 1–17

  2. Create SPL (Unpaid) request for Weeks 18–20

  3. For each pay run covering Weeks 1–17:

    • pay using the Paid leave type or enter manual ShPP

  4. Export > run payroll > submit FPS > submit EPS

Example B: Mother takes 27 weeks leave, 20 weeks paid

  1. Create SPL (Paid / ShPP) request for Weeks 1–20

  2. Create SPL (Unpaid) request for Weeks 21–27

  3. Pay ShPP for Weeks 1–20 using Option A or Option B

  4. Submit FPS

Admin checklist (for payroll teams)

  1. Confirm eligibility & entitlement outside Workforce (HR / payroll review).

  2. Create Paid and Unpaid SPL leave types (mark paid type as statutory pay).

  3. Record leave as separate blocks (paid vs unpaid).

  4. Confirm timesheets and export to payroll.

  5. Add ShPP payments (via paid leave type or manual entry).

  6. Run payroll and confirm statutory pay boxes are populated correctly in the FPS.

  7. Submit FPS, then submit EPS to reclaim statutory pay amounts.

  8. Track weeks used per child (so the combined parents do not exceed the 37-week statutory pool).

  9. Check holiday and pension treatment while on SPL (statutory guidance applies).

FAQs

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?

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?

No. Workforce doesn’t reconcile entitlement between parents, HR/payroll must ensure combined usage is correct.

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.

Statutory Maternity Leave (SMP)

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