THE CONVERSATION: How shared parental leave gives adoptive parents real time to build a new family unit

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The latest video in the government’s campaign to promote shared parental leave features two dads. The video, which we helped to develop, is a timely reminder that the implications of shared parental leave extend beyond a family with two biological parents.

Shared parental leave gives eligible parents flexibility to split up to 50 weeks of leave after having a child, or within one year of adopting a child. They can also receive statutory pay for 37 weeks of that time, of ￡145.18. It replaces any untaken maternity leave – after the first period of up to four weeks which are compulsory – and is in addition to the fathers’ right to take two weeks of paternity leave.

Reports since the introduction of shared parental leave in 2016 have tended to focus on the small number of fathers taking it up, suggested to be around 2%. But the entitlement offers real possibilities for new parents in all types of family set up.