Staff Handbook Section 4 - Statutory Entitlements
Index to Section 4
Contact During Maternity Leave
Additional Statutory Paternity Pay
1.Entitlement. This policy applies to all staff, regardless of their length of service and their entitlement to statutory maternity benefits.
2. A member of staff who is the prime carer and adopts a child aged under 5 shall have the right to receive leave equivalent to maternity leave; the arrangements for leave for a member of staff who adopts a child aged over 5 shall be at the discretion of the Personnel Committee, but will be no less than the statutory provision. Please see separate Adoption Policy)
3. Maternity Leave Period. All staff are entitled to a maximum of 52 weeks' maternity leave, consisting of 18 weeks' paid leave during which they will receive their normal rate of pay, followed by 21 weeks during which they will receive, if they are entitled, Statutory Maternity Pay and up to 13 weeks' unpaid leave. Maternity leave should normally commence no earlier than 11 weeks before the expected week of birth, and must extend to at least two weeks after the birth.
4. A member of staff may choose not to begin her maternity leave until shortly before the birth. If the baby is born before she has begun her maternity leave, the maternity leave and pay commences on that earlier date. If you are off work because of your pregnancy within four weeks of the expected birth date, your employer can make you start your Statutory Maternity Leave then.
5. A member of staff who is absent from work due to an illness unrelated to pregnancy can remain on sick leave until she starts maternity leave on the date previously notified in her application.
6. However, if a member of staff is on sick leave because of a pregnancy-related illness at the beginning of the fourth week before the expected week of birth, she will commence her maternity leave at that date and will transfer from sick pay to maternity pay; if she becomes sick with a pregnancy-related illness after the beginning of the fourth week before the expected week of birth, her maternity pay and leave will commence on the first day of illness.
7. If the baby is born before the 11th week before the expected week of birth, the maternity leave and pay commences immediately. Staff should inform the relevant authority as soon as possible after the birth. In exceptional circumstances, the maternity leave period may commence before the 11th week. The Personnel Division, taking into account the individual circumstances, will consider such requests. If a pregnancy ends in a stillbirth after the 24th week of pregnancy, a member of staff is entitled to maternity leave and pay.
8. Maternity Pay. A member of staff taking maternity leave will receive maternity pay equal to her normal salary for 18 weeks. She will receive Statutory Maternity Pay only, if eligible, for a further 21 weeks. Payment will normally be made on the member of staff's normal pay date and at her normal pay interval.
9. The payment during the first 18 weeks of leave consists of a contractual maternity pay provision and any Statutory Maternity Pay to which she is entitled. If the amount due is less than the Statutory Maternity Pay provision, only Statutory Maternity Pay will be payable. If she is not entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay, the salary payable will be reduced by the amount of Maternity Allowance which she is entitled to receive. A member of staff not eligible for the Statutory Maternity Pay shall be deemed to be entitled to Maternity Allowance unless she shows proof to the contrary.
10. Maternity pay is subject to the condition that no work is undertaken during the paid period of leave (up to 39 weeks) outside 'keeping in touch days'.
11. Keeping in Touch Days. A member of staff on maternity leave may, with the agreement of her Head of Department, carry out up to 10 days' work during her statutory maternity leave period without bringing her maternity leave to an end. In accordance with legislation, any work carried out on any day shall constitute a full day's work. This provision does not apply during the two week period commencing on and including the day on which childbirth occurs.
12. Work means any work done under the contract of employment and may include training, attending meetings and committees or any activity undertaken for the purposes of keeping in touch with the workplace. It should be noted however, that this provision does not confer any right on the College concerned to require any work to be carried out during the statutory maternity leave period, nor any right on a member of staff to request work during this period. Also, there is no obligation on either the Institution or the member of staff to make use of these days.
13. Any days' work carried out will not have the effect of extending the total statutory maternity leave period.
14. Contact During Maternity Leave. Reasonable contact between an appropriate colleague in the College and the member of staff on leave is encouraged to facilitate communication. Under legislation, either party is entitled to initiate this during the maternity period (for example to discuss the member of staff's return to work or potential work related issues that may concern them) and such contact will not bring the maternity period to an end.
15. Qualifying parents adopting a child under the age of 18, where the child is newly placed for adoption, either within the UK or overseas, will be entitled to ordinary adoption leave (OAL) of 26 weeks and additional adoption leave (AAL) of 26 weeks. To qualify they must have 26 weeks' continuous service leading into the week in which they are notified by the adoption agency of being matched for adoption. The adopting parent must notify the College within 7 days that: they have been matched with a child; their intention to take adoption leave; the expected date of placement (EDP) and when adoption leave is due to commence. They may be legally required to furnish the College with a 'matching certificate' as proof of entitlement to adoption leave. When a couple jointly adopt, provided that they both qualify, they can choose who takes adoption leave and who takes paternity leave.
16. Entitlement. This policy applies to all staff, regardless of their length of service and their entitlement to statutory paternity benefits, wishing to take paternity leave.
17. Statutory Paternity Leave. A male member of staff who is the biological father of a child or the mother's husband or partner and who has or expects to have responsibility for the child's upbringing, or a member of staff of either sex who is adopting a child but is not taking adoption leave, will be entitled to a maximum of two weeks' paid paternity leave. Staff are encouraged, where possible, to follow the provisions laid down by the Statutory Paternity Pay regulations. To comply with the statutory provision, the leave should start on any day of the week on or following the child's birth and must be completed within 56 days of the actual date of birth of the child or if the child is born early, within the period from the actual date of the child's birth up to 56 days after the expected week of birth.
18. Additional Paternity Leave. You may qualify for Additional Paternity Leave and Pay if:
a. Your wife, partner or civil partner is pregnant
b. You and your partner receive notification that you are matched with a child for adoption on or after 3 April 2011
c. your spouse, civil partner or partner (including same-sex relationships) is adopting a child from overseas and the child entered Great Britain on or after 3 April 2011
19. Additional paternity Leave is for a maximum of 26 weeks. If your partner has returned to work, the leave can be taken between 20 weeks and one year after your child is born or placed for adoption. You may be entitled to receive Additional Statutory Paternity Pay during your partner's Statutory Maternity Pay, Maternity Allowance or Adoption Pay period.
20. Additional Statutory Paternity Pay. Additional Statutory Paternity Pay is paid if you either:
a. Take Additional Paternity Leave
b. Are not working for the purposes of caring for your child, during your partner's Statutory Maternity Pay, Maternity Allowance or Statutory Adoption Pay period
21. Notification. The member of staff ideally should give notice no later than the fifteenth week before the baby is expected, or the adopted child expected to be placed. If for any reason s/he wishes to change the start date of the leave period, s/he should give at least 28 days' notice of the change, unless this is not reasonably practicable.
22. Confirmation of leave. On receipt of the paternity leave application, the HR Manager will write to the member of staff confirming details of the leave which has been granted.
All employees who have a year's service have a statutory right to parental leave.
All employees who have 26 weeks' service at the date of application and have children under 6 years of age have a statutory right to apply to work flexibly to care for the child.
23. All employees who have 26 weeks' service at the date of application and have children under 6 years of age have a statutory right to apply to work flexibly to care for the child.
COMPASSIONATE LEAVE
24. Compassionate Leave All employees have a statutory right to short periods of unpaid leave in order to make arrangements to deal with family emergencies. In addition to this statutory provision Heads of Department have discretion to grant compassionate leave where circumstances justify so doing. Should this be necessary you should discuss your situation with your Head of Department or the Domestic Bursar, who, if appropriate, will agree the necessary time off.
25. All staff will be granted three days' compassionate leave in the event of the death of a member of their immediate family. Immediate family is normally taken to mean: your husband, wife or long term partner; grand-mother or grand-father; mother, father, brother, sister or your own children and grandchildren. For other members of close but not immediate family, compassionate leave may be granted by heads of department at their discretion and depending upon the circumstances.
26. Working Time Regulations 1998, which came into force on 1st October 1998, include provisions that:
a. You are entitled to a daily in-work rest break of 20 minutes if your daily working time is more than 6 hours (for members of staff under 18 years of age, the entitlement is to a 30 minute in-work rest break if daily working time is more than 4 hours.)
b. You are entitled to a daily rest period of 11 consecutive hours between each working day (for members of staff under 18 years of age, the entitlement is to a 12 hour daily rest period in each 24 hour period.)
c. You are entitled to a rest period of 24 hours in each 7 day period which may be averaged over a two week period i.e. two days' rest over a fortnight (for members of staff under 18 years of age, the entitlement is to two days' rest in each week which cannot be averaged.)
d. Your average working time should not exceed 48 hours a week, normally averaged over a 17 week period, unless you have signed an agreement to opt out of this limit. (There are no separate rules for members of staff under 18 years of age.)
e. Since 1 October 2007, the statutory minimum annual holiday entitlement will rise from 4 weeks (20 days for those working a 5 day week) to 4.8 weeks (24 days). From 1 April 2009, all workers, including those working part time, will be entitled to 5.6 times their usual working week - capped at a maximum of 28 days.
28. The College is confident that your hours of work and annual leave entitlement will either exceed or comply with these provisions. If at any time you think this may not be the case you should immediately advise your Head of Department.
