Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992

[F1171ZUEntitlement: birthU.K.

(1)Regulations may provide that, where all the conditions in subsection (2) are satisfied in relation to a person who is the mother of a child (“the claimant mother”), the claimant mother is to be entitled in accordance with the following provisions of this Part to payments to be known as “statutory shared parental pay”.

(2)The conditions are—

(a)that the claimant mother and another person (“P”) satisfy prescribed conditions as to caring or intending to care for the child;

(b)that P satisfies prescribed conditions—

(i)as to employment or self-employment,

(ii)as to having earnings of a prescribed amount for a prescribed period, and

(iii)as to relationship either with the child or with the claimant mother;

(c)that the claimant mother has been in employed earner's employment with an employer for a continuous period of at least the prescribed length ending with a prescribed week;

(d)that at the end of that prescribed week the claimant mother was entitled to be in that employment;

(e)that the claimant mother's normal weekly earnings for a prescribed period ending with a prescribed week are not less than the lower earnings limit in force under section 5(1)(a) at the end of that week;

(f)if regulations so provide, that the claimant mother continues in employed earner's employment (whether or not with the employer by reference to whom the condition in paragraph (c) is satisfied) until a prescribed time;

(g)that the claimant mother became entitled to statutory maternity pay by reference to the birth of the child;

(h)that the claimant mother satisfies prescribed conditions as to the reduction of the duration of the maternity pay period;

(i)that the claimant mother has given the person who will be liable to pay statutory shared parental pay to her notice of—

(i)the number of weeks in respect of which she would be entitled to claim statutory shared parental pay in respect of the child if the entitlement were fully exercised (disregarding for these purposes any intention of P to claim statutory shared parental pay in respect of the child),

(ii)the number of weeks in respect of which she intends to claim statutory shared parental pay, and

(iii)the number of weeks in respect of which P intends to claim statutory shared parental pay;

(j)that the claimant mother has given the person who will be liable to pay statutory shared parental pay to her notice of the period or periods during which she intends to claim statutory shared parental pay in respect of the child;

(k)that a notice under paragraph (i) or (j)—

(i)is given by such time as may be prescribed, and

(ii)satisfies prescribed conditions as to form and content;

(l)that P consents to the extent of the claimant mother's intended claim for statutory shared parental pay;

(m)that it is the claimant mother's intention to care for the child during each week in respect of which statutory shared parental pay is paid to her;

(n)that the claimant mother is absent from work during each week in respect of which statutory shared parental pay is paid to her;

(o)that, where she is an employee within the meaning of the Employment Rights Act 1996, the claimant mother's absence from work during each such week is absence on shared parental leave.

(3)Regulations may provide that, where all the conditions in subsection (4) are satisfied in relation to a person (“the claimant”), the claimant is to be entitled in accordance with the following provisions of this Part to payments to be known as “statutory shared parental pay”.

(4)The conditions are—

(a)that the claimant and another person (“M”) who is the mother of a child satisfy prescribed conditions as to caring or intending to care for the child;

(b)that the claimant satisfies—

(i)prescribed conditions as to relationship with the child, or

(ii)prescribed conditions as to relationship with M;

(c)that M satisfies prescribed conditions—

(i)as to employment or self-employment, and

(ii)as to having earnings of a prescribed amount for a prescribed period;

(d)that the claimant has been in employed earner's employment with an employer for a continuous period of at least the prescribed length ending with a prescribed week;

(e)that at the end of that prescribed week the claimant was entitled to be in that employment;

(f)that the claimant's normal weekly earnings for a prescribed period ending with a prescribed week are not less than the lower earnings limit in force under section 5(1)(a) at the end of that week;

(g)if regulations so provide, that the claimant continues in employed earner's employment (whether or not with the employer by reference to whom the condition in paragraph (d) is satisfied) until a prescribed time;

(h)that M became entitled, by reference to the birth of the child, to—

(i)a maternity allowance, or

(ii)statutory maternity pay;

(i)that M satisfies prescribed conditions as to—

(i)the reduction of the duration of the maternity allowance period, or

(ii)the reduction of the duration of the maternity pay period, as the case may be;

(j)that the claimant has given the person who will be liable to pay statutory shared parental pay to the claimant notice of—

(i)the number of weeks in respect of which the claimant would be entitled to claim statutory shared parental pay in respect of the child if the entitlement were fully exercised (disregarding for these purposes any intention of M to claim statutory shared parental pay in respect of the child),

(ii)the number of weeks in respect of which the claimant intends to claim statutory shared parental pay, and

(iii)the number of weeks in respect of which M intends to claim statutory shared parental pay;

(k)that the claimant has given the person who will be liable to pay statutory shared parental pay to the claimant notice of the period or periods during which the claimant intends to claim statutory shared parental pay in respect of the child;

(l)that a notice under paragraph (j) or (k)—

(i)is given by such time as may be prescribed, and

(ii)satisfies prescribed conditions as to form and content;

(m)that M consents to the extent of the claimant's intended claim for statutory shared parental pay;

(n)that it is the claimant's intention to care for the child during each week in respect of which statutory shared parental pay is paid to the claimant;

(o)that the claimant is absent from work during each week in respect of which statutory shared parental pay is paid to the claimant;

(p)that, where the claimant is an employee within the meaning of the Employment Rights Act 1996, the claimant's absence from work during each such week is absence on shared parental leave.

(5)Regulations may provide for—

(a)the determination of the extent of a person's entitlement to statutory shared parental pay in respect of a child;

(b)when statutory shared parental pay is to be payable.

(6)Provision under subsection (5)(a) is to secure that the number of weeks in respect of which a person is entitled to payments of statutory shared parental pay in respect of a child does not exceed the number of weeks of the maternity pay period reduced by—

(a)where the mother of the child takes action that is treated by regulations as constituting for the purposes of this section her return to work without satisfying conditions prescribed under subsection (2)(h) or, as the case may be, subsection (4)(i)—

(i)the number of relevant weeks in respect of which maternity allowance or statutory maternity pay is payable to the mother, or

(ii)if that number of relevant weeks is less than a number prescribed by regulations, that prescribed number of weeks, or

(b)except where paragraph (a) applies, the number of weeks to which the maternity allowance period is reduced by virtue of section 35(3A) or, as the case may be, the maternity pay period is reduced by virtue of section 165(3A).

(7)In subsection (6)(a) “relevant week” means—

(a)where maternity allowance is payable to a mother, a week or part of a week falling before the time at which the mother takes action that is treated by regulations as constituting for the purposes of this section her return to work;

(b)where statutory maternity pay is payable to a mother, a week falling before the week in which the mother takes action that is so treated.

For these purposes “week” has the meaning given by section 122(1), in relation to maternity allowance, or the meaning given by section 165(8), in relation to statutory maternity pay.

(8)In determining the number of weeks for the purposes of subsection (6)(b)—

(a)week” has the same meaning as in subsection (7), and

(b)a part of a week is to be treated as a week.

(9)Provision under subsection (5)(a) is to secure that, where two persons are entitled to payments of statutory shared parental pay in respect of a child, the extent of one's entitlement and the extent of the other's entitlement do not, taken together, exceed what would be available to one person (see subsection (6)).

(10)Provision under subsection (5)(b) is to secure that no payment of statutory shared parental pay may be made to a person in respect of a child after the end of such period as may be prescribed.

(11)Provision under subsection (5)(b) is to secure that no payment of statutory shared parental pay in respect of a child may be made to a person who is the mother of the child before the end of the mother's maternity pay period.

(12)Regulations may provide that, where the conditions in subsection (13) are satisfied in relation to a person who is entitled to statutory shared parental pay under subsection (1) or (3) (“V”), V may vary the period or periods during which V intends to claim statutory shared parental pay in respect of the child in question, subject to complying with provision under subsection (14) where that is relevant.

(13)The conditions are—

(a)that V has given the person who will be liable to pay statutory shared parental pay to V notice of an intention to vary the period or periods during which V intends to claim statutory shared parental pay;

(b)that a notice under paragraph (a)—

(i)is given by such time as may be prescribed, and

(ii)satisfies prescribed conditions as to form and content.

(14)Regulations may provide that, where the conditions in subsection (15) are satisfied in relation to a person who is entitled to statutory shared parental pay under subsection (1) or (3) (“V”), V may vary the number of weeks in respect of which V intends to claim statutory shared parental pay.

(15)The conditions are—

(a)that V has given the person who will be liable to pay statutory shared parental pay to V notice of—

(i)the extent to which V has exercised an entitlement to statutory shared parental pay in respect of the child,

(ii)the extent to which V intends to claim statutory shared parental pay in respect of the child,

(iii)the extent to which another person has exercised an entitlement to statutory shared parental pay in respect of the child, and

(iv)the extent to which another person intends to claim statutory shared parental pay in respect of the child;

(b)that a notice under paragraph (a)—

(i)is given by such time as may be prescribed, and

(ii)satisfies prescribed conditions as to form and content;

(c)that the person who is P or, as the case may be, M in relation to V consents to that variation.

(16)A person's entitlement to statutory shared parental pay under this section is not affected by the birth of more than one child as a result of the same pregnancy.]