It is our commitment to ensure that, as far as possible, colleagues are able to combine their career and family responsibilities. This page sets out the statutory information and responsibilities of colleagues who are about to or have adopted a child and demonstrates our commitment to encouraging family life.
If you take adoption leave you will also qualify for statutory adoption pay, provided that you have 26 weeks' service calculated as at the week in which notification of matching was given by the adoption agency and have average weekly earnings not less than the lower earnings limit for national insurance contributions. Statutory adoption pay is payable for up to 39 weeks. For current statutory adoption pay rates, see the Government website.
Those who will become the legal parents of a child under a surrogacy arrangement are entitled to take statutory adoption leave. Local authority foster parents who are also prospective adopters ("foster to adopt") are entitled to take adoption leave.
Statutory adoption pay is treated as earnings and is therefore subject to PAYE and national insurance deductions.
Timing of Adoption Leave
Adoption leave can start on the day the child is placed for adoption, or up to 14 days earlier.
To make administration as easy as possible, you should discuss the timing of your adoption leave with your line manager as early as possible.
To be entitled to take adoption leave and receive statutory adoption pay, you are required to give the Company written notification of your intention to take adoption leave no later than seven days after the date on which notification of the match with the child was provided by the adoption agency. Notice must specify the date the child is expected to be placed with you for adoption and the date you intend your adoption leave to start.
You are permitted to bring forward your adoption leave start date, provided that you advise the Company in writing at least 28 days before the new start date or, if that is not possible, as soon as reasonably practicable. You may also postpone your adoption leave start date, provided that you advise the Company in writing at least 28 days before the original proposed start date or, if that is not possible, as soon as reasonably practicable. You must also, provide evidence of entitlement to adoption leave and pay by producing a "matching certificate" from the adoption agency.
Within 28 days of receiving your notice of intention to take adoption leave, the Company will write to you confirming the latest date on which you must return to work after adoption leave.
When adopting a child, you are entitled to take time off to attend adoption appointments.
If you are adopting a child alone you are entitled to take paid time off to attend up to five adoption appointments. If you are part of a couple jointly adopting a child, yourself and your partner can elect for one of you to take paid time off to attend up to five adoption appointments. The other can elect to take unpaid time off to attend up to two adoption appointments.
The purpose of the appointment is to enable you and your partner to have contact with the child (for example, to bond with them before the placement) and for any other purpose connected with the adoption (for example, to meet with the professionals involved in the care of the child).
The appointment must have been arranged by or at the request of the adoption agency. The time off must be taken before the date of the child's placement for adoption with you.
The Company will ask you for proof of the date and time of the appointment and that the appointment has been arranged by or at the request of the adoption agency (for example, a letter or email from the adoption agency).
During ordinary adoption leave and additional adoption leave, all terms and conditions of your contract except normal pay will continue. Salary will be replaced by statutory adoption pay if you are eligible for it.
This means that, while sums payable by way of salary will cease, all other benefits will remain in place. For example, holiday entitlement will continue to accrue and pension contributions will continue to be paid.
You are encouraged to take any outstanding holiday due to you before the commencement of adoption leave.
During you adoption leave the Company will endeavour to maintain reasonable contact with you. This may be to discuss your plans for your return to work, to discuss any special arrangements to be made or training to be given to ease your return to work or to update you on developments at work during your absence.
You can agree to work for the Company (or to attend training) for up to 10 days during your adoption leave without that work bringing your adoption leave to an end and without loss of a week's statutory adoption pay. These are known as "keeping-in-touch" days. These are optional days which can be worked in order for you to remain in contact with your workplace.
The type of work done and the payment for this work will be agreed between you and your Line Manager.
Shared parental leave enables you to commit to ending your adoption leave and pay at a future date, and to share the untaken balance of leave and pay as shared parental leave and pay with your partner, or to return to work early from adoption leave and opt in to shared parental leave and pay at a later date.
Shared parental leave must be taken in blocks of at least one week. You can request to take shared parental leave in one continuous block (in which case the Company is required to accept the request as long as you meet the eligibility and notice requirements), or as a number of separate blocks of leave (in which case you need the Company's agreement).
To be able to take shared parental leave, you and your partner must meet various eligibility requirements and have complied with the relevant curtailment, notice and evidence requirements. This includes the adopter curtailing their adoption leave.
You can refer to the Company’s policy on shared parental leave, where you will find full details of the eligibility requirements, as well as instructions as to how the adopter's adoption leave can be curtailed. The Company's policy on shared parental leave sets out the notice periods with which you must comply and what evidence you must provide to the Company.
The adopter and the partner should ensure that they are each liaising with their own employer when making requests for shared parental leave.
You may return to work at any time during ordinary adoption leave or additional adoption leave, provided that you give the appropriate notification. Alternatively, you may take your full period of adoption leave entitlement (52 weeks) and return to work at the end of this period. If you wish to return before the full period of adoption leave has elapsed, you must give at least eight weeks' notice in writing to the Company of the date on which you intend to return.
You have the right to resume working in the same job if returning to work from ordinary adoption leave. If you return to work after a period of additional adoption leave, you are entitled to return either to the same job or, if this is not reasonably practicable, to another suitable job that is on terms and conditions not less favourable.
Failure to return to work by the end of adoption leave will be treated as an unauthorised absence unless you are sick and produce a current medical certificate before the end of the adoption leave period.
If the you decide during adoption leave that you do not wish to return to work, you should give written notice of resignation to the Company as soon as possible and in accordance with the terms of your contract of employment.