Shared Parental Leave (SPL)
Questions and Answers for ARU PhD studentship holders
Q.
What is Shared Parental Leave?
A.
SPL is new and is designed to allow eligible parents to take leave flexibly in the first
year after their child is born or placed for adoption. It applies to children expected to
be born or placed for adoption on or after 05 April 2015.
Q.
How do I know if I’m eligible to take SPL?
A.
To qualify for SPL you must share the primary responsibility for the child with the
other parent at the time of the birth/placement.
Q.
How much SPL can I have?
A.
If you are eligible, you may be able to take up to 50 weeks SPL. This must be taken
before the child’s first birthday or a year after being placed for adoption.
Q.
When can SPL start?
A.
As a mother or primary adopter, you must take a minimum of two weeks
maternity/adoption leave. As long as you are eligible and have given the required
notice, then approved SPL can start at any time after this.
Q.
How much notice do I need to give?
A.
For each period of SPL being requested you will need to give us eight weeks’ written
notice setting out the start/end dates of each period of SPL being requested.
Q.
Do I have to take SPL in one continuous block?
A.
You can request to take a block of continuous leave which must be taken in complete
weeks. You can also ask to take SPL over different blocks of time with breaks
between the leave where you return to study which is called discontinuous leave.
Q.
How many times can I request for SPL?
A.
You can request up to three periods of SPL and as part of each request you can ask
for a period of continuous or discontinuous leave.
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Q.
Can my supervisor say no to my request for SPL?
A.
If you are eligible and have given eight weeks’ notice to take a block of continuous
leave then this must be approved. If the request is for a discontinuous period of
leave, then while every effort will be made to accommodate the request it may not be
possible to agree it. In such cases your supervisor will meet with you to discuss any
mutually agreeable alternatives. If no suitable alternatives can be agreed then you
will need to decide if you want to take it as a continuous block or withdraw the
request completely (which means it will not count towards one of your three
requests).
Q.
What if my SPL has been approved and I change my mind?
A.
You can vary or cancel an agreed period of SPL as long as you notify us in writing at
least eight weeks before the arranged start date. Any new start date cannot be
sooner than eight weeks from the date of the variation request. Any request to vary
or cancel an agreed period of SPL will count as a new notification and will reduce
your total amount of available requests by one.
Q.
What if my baby is born early and I have already booked SPL?
A.
If your baby is born earlier than expected and you have booked a period of SPL
within the first eight weeks of the due date, you can take the same period of time off
after the birth without having to provide eight weeks’ notice. This would not reduce
your total amount of available requests. If you had booked SPL after the first eight
weeks of your baby’s due date then you will still need to give eight weeks’ notice to
vary your leave.
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