| Please note The University’s contractual shared parental leave pay entitlement will increase from 18 weeks full pay to 26 weeks full pay from the 1 October 2024, along with several other changes to pay and benefits which are detailed in this Pay and benefits package news item. The shared parental leave policy will be updated shortly to reflect this change. In the meantime, this Frequently Asked Questions document may answer questions that you have about this change. |
Context and basic principles
The University of Cambridge aims to provide shared parental leave benefits which comply with both the letter and the spirit of the law and meet all the statutory requirements.
Shared Parental Leave enables eligible parents to choose how to split the available leave between them and enables them to be off work together or at different times. Its purpose is to give parents more flexibility in considering how to best care for, and bond with, their child in the first 52 weeks following birth or adoption, instead of simply taking maternity/adoption and paternity leave.
All eligible employees have a statutory right to take Shared Parental Leave.