Difficulty with Employer

Feeling Stuck with Your Shared Parental Leave Request?


You’re not alone. Many schools haven’t fully caught up with the rules around Shared Parental Leave (SPL), and sometimes well-meaning HR teams or heads just need a little nudge in the right direction. Over the past couple of years I’ve met dozens of teachers who hit roadblocks—yet every single one eventually secured the leave they were entitled to. Let’s walk through what you need to know so you can feel confident when you submit your application.

1. Know Your Rights

  • Up to three separate periods of leave can be requested—and legally, none of these applications can be turned down if each one is submitted on its own form.
  • The only ground for refusal is if you don’t actually qualify for SPL in the first place.

For the official guidance, check ACAS’s SPL page: https://www.acas.org.uk/shared-parental-leave-and-pay/taking-shared-parental-leave

2. Splitting Your Leave into Three Blocks

To make sure your school can’t refuse on technicalities, just:

  1. Fill in a fresh government (Form 2) or school-branded SPL form for each block.
  2. Submit them separately.

By doing this, your leave counts as three continuous chunks—and that’s protected by law as long as you meet the basic SPL criteria.

3. Handling the “Meeting to Discuss”

Your employer has 15 calendar days to respond—and they may invite you to chat about your plans. That meeting can actually work in your favour:

  • Bring support. A partner, colleague or union rep can join you.
  • You can decline. If you’d rather not add stress during pregnancy, politely say thanks but no thanks.
  • No snap decisions. Listen to any concerns, then say you’ll go away and talk it over at home—so you don’t feel rushed.

4. If They (Mistakenly) Say No

Most schools will check the rules before refusing. But if your SPL is refused anyway, here’s a quick template you can adapt and send by email or letter:

Dear [Name],

Thank you for your response to my Shared Parental Leave application.

I applied after thoroughly reviewing both gov.uk and ACAS guidance, which confirm that each parent can make three separate requests for SPL—each of which must be granted unless eligibility is not met.

I therefore believe the refusal is not supported by the legal grounds, and I kindly ask you to review your decision in writing.

Best regards,
[Your Name]

Feel free to tweak the wording to suit your style and school context!

You’ve got this! Shared Parental Leave is designed to give families flexibility—don’t hesitate to point decision-makers to the facts, and always keep a written trail of your requests.