Adoption Leave Scheme

The policy sets out entitlements to adoption leave and pay and the obligations of employees who wish to exercise those entitlements.

Definitions:

OAL - Ordinary Adoption Leave
The first 26 weeks of adoption leave to which employees may be entitled provided they have the necessary period of qualifying service with the University and provided that they have complied with the notification requirements set out below.

AAL - Additional Adoption Leave
A further period of 26 weeks adoption leave to which employees may be entitled, provided the child in respect of whom the employee took OAL has been placed with the employee for adoption and the OAL has not ended prematurely because of a disrupted placement of the child or dismissal of the employee.

1. Introduction

The University recognises that employees who adopt a child require sufficient time for bonding, building trust and developing the family unit. Adoption leave is therefore available to employees with the necessary length of service, who are newly matched with a child for adoption by an approved agency provided that they meet the necessary conditions set out below.

If a couple adopt a child jointly, adoption leave is available to only one member of the couple. The couple will be able to elect which partner takes adoption leave. The other partner may be entitled to adoption support leave (otherwise known as paternity leave). Adoption leave also includes entitlement to time off prior to the adoption to allow for formalities, visits, etc. Employees may be requested to provide evidence of appointments with the relevant adoption agency to the University.

The needs of parents adopting a baby are different from those of parents adopting an older child or children. While it may be thought that a baby requires considerably more time, older children may have behavioural or other difficulties which requires time for adjustment to enable settlement in to the new family.

2. Qualifying period for adoption leave schemes

Subject to the employee's compliance with the notification requirements set out below, the employee's length of continuous service with the University will determine whether the employee qualifies for the University Adoption Scheme or the Statutory Adoption Scheme. The University Adoption Scheme, with respect to pay and leave, will automatically include and replace the statutory adoption leave and pay provisions.

Employees with 12 months' continuous service: Employees who have been continuously employed in the University's service for a minimum period of 12 months in the week in which they are notified of having been matched with the child for adoption, qualify for the University Adoption Leave Scheme.

Employees with a minimum of 26 weeks' but less than 12 months continuous service: Employees who have been employed in the University's service for a minimum period of 26 weeks' continuous service in the week they are notified of having been matched with the child for adoption, qualify for the Statutory Adoption Leave Scheme.

3. Notification

It is recognised that adoptive parents may not be given much notice of the date when the adoption will take place and may therefore not always be able to give lengthy notice to the University. However, adoptive parents requesting leave should give as much notice as possible to their Heads of Department. The member of staff must inform the Head of Department when s/he wants to take adoption leave within 7 days of being notified by the adoption agency that s/he has been matched with a child (unless that is not reasonably practicable). This notice should also state the date that the employee expects the child to be placed with him or her. In order to receive Adoption Pay in terms of either scheme, employees should give 28 days notice to their Heads of Department of the date when they want to leave to start (unless that is not reasonably practicable).

Leave must be taken from the date of the child's placement (whether this is earlier or later than expected) or from a fixed date which can be up to 14 days before the expected date of placement. Leave can start on any day of the week. The employee can change his or her mind about the date on which he or she wishes adoption leave to start provided that 28 days notice of any such change is given in writing.

Adoptive parents should produce evidence of the adoption to the University in the form of one or more documents issued by the relevant adoption agency, which contain the following details:

name and address of the employee;
name and address of the adoption agency;
the name and date of birth of the child;
date on which the employee was notified of match with a child for adoption together with a copy of the matching certificate; and
date on which the agency expects to place the child with the employee or date of placement

Confirmation of the actual date of placement must be forwarded once the placement has taken place. The employee must also give a written declaration that he or she has elected to receive Adoption Pay rather than Maternity Support Leave Pay (otherwise known as paternity pay) in respect of the adoption.

The University will write to the employee setting out the date on which it expects the employee to return to work if the full entitlement to leave is taken. This written confirmation will be sent to the employee within 28 days of receiving the employee's notification of the date on which he or she wants leave to start.

4. Adoption leave and pay entitlement

University Adoption Scheme:

LEAVE: Unless the placement is disrupted, qualifying employees can take up to 52 weeks adoption leave consisting of the OAL followed by any AAL period to which they are entitled.
PAY: Option A the OAL period will be paid at 8 weeks' leave on full pay, 16 weeks' leave on half pay, and 2 weeks' leave at the appropriate rate of statutory adoption pay. Option B the OAL period will be paid at 16 weeks' leave on full pay and 10 weeks at the appropriate rate of statutory adoption pay.

Any AAL to which the employee is entitled will be unpaid.

Statutory Adoption Scheme:

LEAVE: Unless the placement is disrupted, qualifying employees can take up to 52 weeks adoption leave consisting of OAL followed by any AAL period to which they are entitled.
PAY: Qualifying employees will be paid for the period of OAL at the appropriate rate of statutory adoption pay which is the lesser of £117.18 per week or 90% of average weekly earnings provided that the employee's earnings are not below the Lower Earnings Limit for National Insurance Contributions.

Any AAL to which the employee is entitled will be unpaid.

It should be noted that if the employee returns to work for the University or any other employer during a period of OAL, his or her entitlement to University Adoption Pay will cease. The University will, however, continue to pay Statutory Adoption Pay, if the employee is eligible for such a payment.

Only one period of adoption leave is available irrespective of how many children are adopted as part of the same arrangement.

5. Sickness absence associated with adoption

Any absence following the end of the period of adoption leave and supported by a Medical Certificate will be managed in accordance with the University's arrangements for sickness absence.

6. Terms and conditions on returning to work

The Ordinary Adoption Leave period ends 26 weeks after the start date of adoption leave. Additional Adoption Leave ends 26 weeks after Ordinary Adoption Leave. If the employee wants to return to work at the end of his or her full adoption leave entitlement, he or she does not have to give any further notification to the University. However, if he or she wants to return to work before the end of the full adoption leave period, he or she must give the University 28 days notice of the date he or she intends to return. If this notice is not given, the University can postpone the return so that the employee has given 28 days notice or the leave period would otherwise end, whichever is the earlier.

On return from the OAL the employee will return to the job in which he/she was employed under the contract on which he/she was employed prior to the adoption absence, and on the terms applicable to him/her as if he/she had not been absent.

On return from any period of AAL, the employee is normally entitled to return to the job in which he or she was employed before the leave. However, if it is not reasonably practicable for the employer to permit the employee to return to their job he or she will be entitled to return to another job which is both suitable and appropriate for their employee to do in the circumstances.

7. Employees not returning to work

An employee on any type of Adoption Leave who decides not to return to work must comply with his or her obligation to give notice as set out in his or her contract of employment.

The University will reclaim the whole or part of the non-statutory element of maternity pay if the employee fails to return to work for at least three months following her return from maternity leave.

8. Rights and obligations during leave

During a period of OAL the employee is entitled to the benefit of all of his or her terms and conditions of employment (except for payment of wages or salary) which would have applied had he or she not been absent. Where an employee exercises his/her right to return to work following a period of adoption leave, the absence shall be regarded as continuous service with the University for the purposes of seniority; pension; redundancy and other similar rights. In this connection it is agreed:

(a) Pension rights and contributions shall be managed in accordance with the provisions of the relevant University superannuation scheme, providing that these provisions do not conflict with any statutory requirements that may at the time apply.

(b) The employee will be entitled to receive the normal annual increments on his/her salary scale in accordance with his/her contract of employment, to take effect from the normal incremental date.

During a period of OAL the employee is subject to all his or her obligations to the University under his or her contract of employment except insofar as those obligations are inconsistent with the right to leave.

N.B. Before taking adoption leave a member of staff should be informed of the period of annual leave which will accrue during his/her absence on adoption leave. Any leave accrued during the current leave year may be used in lieu of an equivalent amount of unpaid adoption leave or carried over to the following year with the prior approval of the relevant Head of Department.

This policy will be regularly reviewed by the University and may be ended or amended at any time. The University may omit any element of this policy where it considers appropriate.

Updated: 7 April 2005

UNIVERSITY of GLASGOW