Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Adoption definition

What does Adoption mean? Adoption is the court process by which an adult or couple becomes a child’s legal parent(s), permanently replacing the legal status of the birth parent(s). When an adoption order is made, parental responsibility (England & Wales and Northern Ireland) or parental responsibilities and rights (Scotland) transfers in full to the adopter(s); the birth parents’ legal rights and duties are extinguished, subject to any contact the court may authorise. The child is treated in law as the child of the adopter(s) for all purposes, including name, birth registration and inheritance. The law is statutory in each jurisdiction (for example, the...

Statutory shared parental pay for adoption: eligibility, curtailment, notices, rates, overseas and parental order cases, and employer obligations (Great Britain)

Published by a LexisNexis Employment expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note outlines the shared parental pay (SPP) framework applicable to the adoption of a child. The legislation that establishes shared parental pay (the Shared Parental Pay (General) Regulations 2014) took effect on 1 December 2014. However, the entitlement to claim SPP only applies to children placed for adoption on or after 5 April 2015. For the present rate of shared parental pay, see Practice Note: Employment-related statutory rates and limits—Maternity, parents and carers.

Guidance and other materials

Various guidance and resources are available.

Acas guidance

Acas has produced guidance documents, along with certain template materials. See Acas materials on shared parental leave and pay.

Government guidance

The government has issued a detailed 66-page guidance document aimed at employers. See:

As well as setting out the shared parental leave and pay system in general terms, this guide includes helpful content for handling less typical situations, and also provides examples and discursive sections, such as:

information about employees who have more than one job
what to do in the event of maternal, paternal or infant death
worked examples of calculating how much shared...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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