MATERNITY, PATERNITY, ADOPTION AND PARENTAL LEAVE POLICY
Version / 12Name of responsible (ratifying) committee / HR Policy Group
Date ratified / 04 May 2017
Document Manager (job title) / Recruitment Manager
Date issued / 17 July 2017
Review date / 16 July 2019
Electronic location / Management/Human Resources Policies
Related Procedural Documents / Flexible Working Policy; Job Share Policy; Employment Break Policy; Special Leave Policy
Key Words (to aid with searching) / Maternity; Paternity; Adoption; Parental leave; Work & Families Act; pregnancy; Expected Week of Childbirth; MATB1; reasonable contact; pregnancy health risk assessment; premature birth; breast feeding; maternity pay; Keeping in Touch days; antenatal care; fertility treatment Maternity benefits; Adoption leave; Paternity leave; Shared Parental leave
Version Tracking
Version / Date Ratified / Brief Summary of Changes / Author12 / 04/05/2017 / Section 7.1 updated in line with Direct.Gov
Notification requirements from employee and manager to HR (removing Manager self service) / Recruitment Manager
11 / 01/12/2016 / Section 6.8 updated in line with A4C / Corp HR Manager
10 / 05/02/2015 / Update of 7 Parental leave to include shared parental leave / Recruitment Manager
9 / 20/11/2014 / Update of 6.36 Antenatal Rights for fathers and partners / Recruit Manager
CONTENTS
QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE 3
1. INTRODUCTION 4
2. PURPOSE 4
3. SCOPE 4
4. DEFINITIONS 4
5. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 5
6. MATERNITY PROVISIONS 6
7. PARENTAL LEAVE 11
8. PATERNITY LEAVE 12
9. ADOPTION LEAVE 13
10. SHARED PARENTAL LEAVE 13
11. TRAINING REQUIREMENTS 16
12. REFERENCES AND ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTATION 16
13. EQUALITY IMPACT STATEMENT 17
14. MONITORING COMPLIANCE WITH PROCEDURAL DOCUMENTS 18
APPENDIX 1: New and Expectant Mothers at Work: Occupational Health aspects 2012 19
APPENDIX 2: New and Expectant Mothers at Work. Risk Assessment 21
EQUALITY IMPACT SCREENING TOOL 28
QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE
This policy must be followed in full when developing or reviewing and amending Trust procedural documents.
For quick reference the guide below is a summary of actions required. This does not negate the need for the document author and others involved in the process to be aware of and follow the detail of this policy.
1. The purpose of the policy is to provide details about entitlements to leave and pay for the following circumstances: maternity leave, paternity leave, adoption, parental leave and leave for fertility treatment.
2. In the case of maternity and adoption leave (for the main carer), whilst all staff will qualify for 52 weeks leave, entitlement to paid leave will vary depending on the length of service and the intention following the end of the leave period.
3. Keeping in Touch Days - An employee may work for up to 10 days during the maternity or adoption leave period without bringing the leave to an end.
4. A period of unpaid parental leave may be added on to the end of the period of maternity or adoption leave.
5 There is an entitlement to Shared Parental Leave where employees meet the qualifications.
6. There is an entitlement to two weeks paid paternity leave or additional Paternity Leave for up to 26 weeks where employees meet the qualifications.
7. The policy provides details of the Occupational Health aspects of new and expectant mothers at work, including details of risk assessment and the forms that should be completed in this respect. Biological and chemical risks are also listed.
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 At Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust (“the Trust”) it is recognised that the birth or adoption of a child is one of the most important events in the lives of our staff. The Trust would therefore wish to encourage a culture where the needs of both new and established parents are understood and, wherever possible, addressed by establishing “family friendly” working arrangements and policies. The Trust will seek to reflect current best practice in the areas of maternity, paternity, adoption and parental leave and to work towards becoming a “model employer”.
2. PURPOSE
2.1 The purpose of the policy is to provide staff with information about their entitlements to leave and pay for the birth or adoption of a baby or child. The policy includes information on the qualification requirements for leave and pay in both of these circumstances and provides guidance on the steps staff should take in order to benefit. It also includes detail on other issues arising when a member of staff needs to take maternity, paternity, adoption or parental leave.
2.2 The policy has been written to comply with the requirements of the Work & Families Act 2006. In this respect, it supersedes the maternity and adoption provisions in both the Agenda for Change terms and conditions and the Terms and Conditions Consultants (England) 2003 as the provisions of the Work & Families Act are more beneficial in certain respects.
2.3 The Trust will work to develop a co-ordinated childcare provision strategy which will include access to childcare facilities and, wherever possible, flexible working opportunities for those with childcare responsibilities.
3. SCOPE
3.1 This policy is intended to apply to all employees of the Trust, including Medical and Dental staff. It does not, however, apply to agency workers.
‘In the event of an epidemic infection outbreak, flu pandemic or major incident, the Trust recognises that it may not be possible to adhere to all aspects of this document. In such circumstances, staff should take advice from their manager and all possible action must be taken to maintain ongoing patient and staff safety’
4. DEFINITIONS
4.1 Expected week of childbirth (EWC) – the date of the Sunday of the week in which the baby is due to be born, stated on the MATB1 form.
4.2 MATB1 – Maternity Certificate, which is obtained from the GP or Midwife at the 21st week of pregnancy, verifying the expected date of the baby’s birth.
4.3 SMP – Statutory Maternity Pay
4.4 OMP – Occupational Maternity Pay
4.5 SPP – Statutory Paternity Pay
4.6 SPL – Shared Parental leave
4.7 ShPP – Shared Parental Pay
5. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
5.1 Employees
Employees are responsible for:
· Notifying their manager and the Employee Resourcing Department of their pregnancy or potential adoption;
· Complying with all notification requirements within this policy for maternity, adoption, paternity,parental leave and shared parental leave.
· Complying with pregnancy related health risk assessments (see appendix 2);
· Providing all required documentation to their manager and the Employee Resourcing Department prior to commencing leave (e.g. MatB1, Declaration of Intent, letter of adoption placement, SC3 form for Paternity leave or relevant form SC7 to 10 for Additional Paternity Leave );
· Maintaining reasonable contact as agreed during any period of leave;
· Providing the correct amount of notice on the return from maternity or adoption leave;
· Returning from any leave on the agreed date;
· Discussing annual leave arrangements with their manager prior to commencing leave;
· Notifying the Employee Resourcing Department of their return to work.
5.2 Managers
Managers are responsible for:
· Carrying out a health risk assessment once notified of an employee’s pregnancy and for making any necessary changes identified (see Appendix 2);
· Maintaining reasonable contact with any members of their staff who are on maternity or adoption leave as agreed;
· Discussing annual leave arrangements with staff prior to them commencing leave;
· Allowing staff time off to attend ante-natal appointments (either their own or with a partner) wherever possible;
· Ensuring the Employee Resourcing Department are notified of the date an employee is due to commence maternity leave (and not the date of any annual leave prior to the commencement of maternity leave) via authorisation from the Manager directly to the HR Inbox ;
· Ensuring the employee returns to work within 15 months of the commencement of the maternity leave period, either to the Trust or to another NHS employer. Should they not return, the manager must inform Human Resources Department;
· For reasonably considering a request from an employee to reduce their hours or work flexibly on their return from Maternity or Adoption leave (see Flexible Working Policy);
· Ensuring the Employee Resourcing Department are notified of an employee’s return to work via the PHT3 Authorisation for changes to contractual details form direct into the HR Inbox.
5.3 Human Resources
The Employee Resourcing team is responsible for:
· Providing advice and guidance to both managers and staff on the interpretation of thispolicy;
· Once notified of a pregnancy, to inform the appropriate manager of the need to perform a pregnancy related health risk assessment (see Appendix 2);
· Providing employees with their entitlements to maternity, or adoption, leave and pay, the expected return date and notification requirements for maternity or adoption leave in writing;
· Notifying the Payroll department of any employees who will be taking maternity, paternity, adoption parental leave or shared parental leave and return from each period of leave.
6. MATERNITY PROVISIONS
Eligibility
6.1 Once an employee is aware of her pregnancy and has been given an Expected Week of Childbirth (EWC), she should inform both her manager and the Employee Resourcing Department in writing, who will confirm her entitlements, again in writing.
Maternity Leave
6.2 All employees, regardless of their length of service, qualify to receive 52 weeks’ maternity leave. If an employee has had at least twelve months service with the Trust, she may request for unpaid parental leave of up to four weeks to be added on to the end of her maternity leave if she so wishes.
6.3 An employee must be absent from work on maternity leave for two weeks immediately following the birth of her baby. During this period she may not carry out any form of work, including working from home, bank, agency or private practice.
Maternity Pay
6.4 Entitlement to Maternity Pay is based on length of service and the employee reaching the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) For Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), this is based on length of service with the Trust at the 15th week before the EWC and the LEL stipulation. For Occupational Maternity Pay (OMP), this is based on length of continuous NHS service at the 11th week before the EWC. For both types of maternity pay, the actual amount of pay will be calculated based on the two pay periods immediately preceding the 15th week before the EWC. If an employee receives some of her salary as part of a salary sacrifice scheme, e.g. childcare vouchers, the amount of the salary received in this way will not be included in the calculation of pay received in order to calculate maternity pay. Further information can be obtained from the Employee Resourcing Team.
6.5 If, at the 15th week before the EWC, the employee has less than 26 weeks’ continuous service with the Trust, she will have no entitlement to maternity pay: the entitlement is to 52 weeks unpaid leave only. However, in these circumstances the employee may be entitled to receive Maternity Allowance and the Employee Resourcing Team will advise on how this allowance may be claimed from the Benefits Agency.
6.6 If, at the 15th week before the EWC, the employee has 26 weeks (or more) continuous service with the Trust, and her pay is above the LEL (this means the employee must earn enough to pay National insurance during the 2 months of the qualifying period) she will be entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay for 39 weeks: 6 weeks at the higher rate (90% of full pay) and the remainder at the lower rate (a fixed rate determined annually by the Department of Work and Pensions). The remainder of the maternity leave period, should the employee choose to take it, will be at no pay.
6.7 If, at the 11th week before the EWC, the employee has 52 weeks’ continuous service or more with the NHS, she will be entitled to paid leave under the NHS Occupational Scheme. She will receive 8 weeks full pay and 18 weeks half pay. Providing that she also meets the criteria for SMP (see point 6.6 above), she will also receive the lower rate Statutory Maternity Pay during the 18 weeks half pay, followed by a further 13 weeks of lower rate Statutory Maternity Pay only. She will not receive maternity pay in excess of average weekly earnings. Again, the remainder of the maternity leave period, should the employee choose to take it, will be at no pay.
Fixed term contracts or training contracts
6.8 The following will apply in the event of an application for maternity / adoption leave if the employee has the required length of service:
· If the fixed term contract expires after the 11th week before the expected week of childbirth shall have their contracts extended so as to allow them to receive the 52 weeks which includes paid occupational and / or statutory maternity pay and the remaining 13 weeks of unpaid maternity leave.
· Absence on maternity leave (paid and unpaid) will not be counted as a break in service.
· If the contract would have ended if pregnancy and childbirth had not occurred, the repayment requirements of 6.26 will not apply.