SPL becomes law in U.K. From December 1, 2014. From the UK.gov website: https://www.gov.uk/shared-parental-leave-and-pay/starting-shared-parental-leave
Example A mother and her partner are both eligible for SPL. The mother ends her maternity leave after 12 weeks, leaving 40 weeks (of the total 52 week entitlement) available for SPL. She takes 30 weeks and her partner takes the other 10 weeks. “Shared Parental Leave” (SPL) and Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) are only available in England, Scotland and Wales.