Employers who pay enhanced maternity pay, but do not pay
equivalent shared parental pay, should therefore be reassured by this decision.
The policy in place at the relevant time was that mothers were
paid at an enhanced rate for up to 26 weeks of
shared parental leave, (and at the statutory rate for 13 weeks thereafter) but there was no
equivalent benefit for fathers, who were only entitled to statutory
shared parental pay for the duration of their period of leave.