-50%
Solution
Email 9: 4.2 Differences Maternity Leave (ML) and Shared Parental Leave (SPL)
Maternity Leave (ML) and Shared Parental Leave (SPL) differ in two significant ways: exclusive entitlement and flexibility. Below, I outline these key distinctions with examples to help you decide what suits you and your partner best.
1. Exclusive Entitlement vs. Shared Responsibility
Maternity Leave is a statutory workplace provision applicable only to women who fall under the Employment Rights Act 1996. It provides up to one year leave, which is 39 weeks of which are paid and can be funded through Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) (Gov.uk, 2024). This means that you get adequate and undisturbed time to rest and enjoy your new born baby. For example, if you take maternity leave (ML), it is possible to stay at home the whole time and your partner can continue working unaffected.
On the other hand, SPL, which is employed under the Children and Families Act 2014, enables you and your accomplice to swap up to 50 weeks of leave couple with 37 weeks of pay (UK Government, 2014). Before SPL starts, you need to shorten your maternity leave and divide the rest of them. Using this approach is advisable for couples that would like to share responsibilities of caregiving. For instance, you might decide to be on child care leave for several months and then your partner will take the child care leave after several months of your break.
2. Fixed Duration vs. Flexible Sharing
Please click the following icon to access this project in full
