Supreme Court turns down Shared Parental Pay appeal

The Supreme Court has turned down a request for an appeal hearing on Shared Parental Pay.

The appeal was filed against a High Court ruling that it is not discriminatory for employers to offer enhanced maternity pay while only offering statutory pay to staff taking shared parental leave.

The decision means that employers are allowed to offer enhanced maternity pay without providing the same benefits through SPL.

Another dad is also taking a similar case to appeal. Barry Price took his employer Powys Council to tribunal last year claiming that its policy on offering mothers and adopters enhanced pay discriminated against biological dads.

The panel concluded that enhanced shared parental pay and enhanced maternity pay are not comparable, as the latter takes into account the added physical burdens of childbirth.

A council spokesperson said: “Our policy on parental pay is based on national statutory requirements. It does not discriminate against males as it applies equally to females who are not the birth mother.”

Price had wanted to take SPL, but when he found out he would only get statutory pay he changed his mind.

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