OXFORD DIOCESAN BOARD OF EDUCATION
MATERNITY, ADOPTION AND PARENTAL LEAVE GUIDE
FOR BUCKS PAY EMPLOYEES
September 2016
Please note: This Policy has been developed from the Buckinghamshire County Councilguide.Contents
1.INTRODUCTION
STATUTORY AND OCCUPATIONAL ENTITLEMENT TO MATERNITY LEAVE
STATUTORY AND OCCUPATIONAL ENTITLEMENT TO MATERNITY PAY
STATUTORY AND OCCUPATIONAL ENTITLEMENT TO ADOPTION LEAVE AND PAY
2.SECTION A: LESS THAN 26 WEEKS’ CONTINUOUS SERVICE
2.1.DOES SECTION A APPLY TO ME?
2.2.WHAT ARE MY MATERNITY LEAVE AND MATERNITY PAY ENTITLEMENTS?
2.3.HOW MUCH MATERNITY LEAVE CAN I TAKE?
2.4.WHAT MATERNITY PAY WILL I RECEIVE?
2.5.WHO DO I HAVE TO TELL THAT I AM GOING ON MATERNITY LEAVE – AND WHEN?
3.SECTION B: 26 WEEKS’ CONTINUOUS SERVICE OR MORE
3.1.DOES SECTION B APPLY TO ME?
3.2.WHAT ARE MY MATERNITY LEAVE AND MATERNITY PAY ENTITLEMENTS?
3.3.HOW MUCH MATERNITY LEAVE CAN I TAKE?
3.4.WHAT MATERNITY PAY WILL I RECEIVE?
3.5.WHO DO I HAVE TO TELL THAT I AM GOING ON MATERNITY LEAVE – AND WHEN?
4.SECTION C: ADOPTIONLEAVE
5.SECTION D: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS – MATERNITY AND ADOPTION
6.SECTION E: SHARED PARENTAL LEAVE
6.1.WHAT IS SHARED PARENTAL LEAVE (SPL)?
6.2.WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR SHARED PARENTAL LEAVE (SPL)?
6.3.SHARED PARENTAL LEAVE ENTITLEMENT
6.4.NOTICE REQUIREMENTS FOR SHARED PARENTAL LEAVE
6.5.RESPONDING TO A SHARED PARENTAL LEAVE NOTIFICATION
6.6.STATUTORY SHARED PARENTAL PAY (ShPP)
6.7.ELIGIBILITY FOR STATUTORY SHARED PARENTAL PAY (ShPP)
6.8.RIGHTS DURING SHARED PARENTAL LEAVE
6.9.CONTACT DURING SHARED PARENTAL LEAVE
6.10.SHARED PARENTAL LEAVE IN TOUCH DAYS (SPLIT)
APPENDIX 1: USEFUL CONTACTS
APPENDIX 2: CHILDCARE SERVICES
1.INTRODUCTION
MATERNITY
Congratulations on expecting a baby! This guide tells you and your manager[1] how much maternity leave you are entitled to and explains if you are entitled to any maternity pay. It gives information about your other rights as an expectant or new mother and answers a lot of the most frequently asked questions about pregnancy and employment, including childcare arrangements.
Entitlements to different amounts of maternity leave and maternity pay vary depending on length of service and earnings. These different entitlements are summarised in the charts following this introduction on pages 4 and 5 but the booklet also contains 2 separate Sections (A and B) giving full details about employees’ different entitlements.
You should read the section of this booklet which covers your own circumstances, together with Sections D (Frequently Asked Questions – Maternity and Adoption) and E (Shared Parental Leave) and the appendices, which give extra information that may interest you. You need to keep track of the dates that matter – to avoid the risk of losing your rights. Please speak to your manager as early as possible in your pregnancy, so that you are very clear about your position, and at any other time if you have a question or problem. You or your manager may also wish to seek advice from Human Resources.
ADOPTION
This guide also encompasses adoptive parents who are eligible for similar leave and pay provisions as an equivalent natural mother. Only one adoptive parent of a couple will be entitled to this provision at any time; however, the partner of the employee who adopts will be entitled to paternity leave and there is the option to share adoption leave, see Section E on Shared Parental Leave for further information. Only one period of leave will be available irrespective of whether more than one child is placed for adoption as part of the same arrangement. Please see Section C for further details about Adoption Leave and Pay.
NEXT STEPS: Please now turn to whichever of the following sections applies to you:
SECTION A(page 9)
All employees with less than 26 weeks’ continuous service with Bucks C.C. (or with the Governing Body of a single Buckinghamshire Voluntary Aided or Foundation School) by the end of the 15th week before the Expected Week of Childbirth.
SECTION B(page 12)
Employees with 26 weeks’ continuous service with Bucks C.C. (or with the Governing Body of a single Buckinghamshire Voluntary Aided or Foundation School) by the end of the 15th week before the Expected Week of Childbirth.
SECTION C (page 17)
For teachers who plan to adopt a child.
STATUTORY AND OCCUPATIONAL ENTITLEMENTTOMATERNITY LEAVE
STATUTORY AND OCCUPATIONALENTITLEMENT TO MATERNITY PAY
Please refer to notes that go with this flowchart on page 7 and 8 of this guide.
STATUTORY AND OCCUPATIONAL ENTITLEMENTTO ADOPTION LEAVE AND PAY
Please refer to notes that go with this flowchart on page 7 and 8 of this guide.
1.1.Lower Earnings Limit
The current lower earnings limit, relevant for National Insurance purposes and set by the Government, is shown on the Maternity Rates sheet. This limit is revised April each year.
- To be entitled to Maternity Allowance you must:
- be employed by Bucks C.C. (or by the Governing Body of a single Buckinghamshire Voluntary Aided or Foundation School) regardless of the length of service
- not be entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay
- have earnt an average of £30 a week in your test period. The test period is the period of 66 weeks up to and including the week before the baby is due. Your average earnings are worked out using earnings from any 13 weeks in the test period.
Please note that Bucks C.C./school governing bodies do not pay Maternity Allowance: you will need to claim this from your local Job Centre Plus Office. The current Maternity Allowance rate is shown on the Maternity Rates sheet.
Employees, who are planning to adopt but who are not entitled to Statutory Adoption Pay, may be able to claim Income Support from the Job Centre Plus.
1.3.To be entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay you must:
- be employed continuously by Bucks C.C. (or by the Governing Body of a single Buckinghamshire Voluntary Aided or Foundation School if you are employed by one of these) for 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before your Expected Week of Childbirth.
- be pregnant and have reached, or have given birth before reaching, the start of the 11th week before your Expected Week of Childbirth. Your Expected Week of Childbirth is the week in which your baby is officially expected to arrive, as stated on the Maternity Certificate MAT B1 given to you by a registered medical practitioner or a registered midwife.
- have average weekly pay of at least the Government’s Lower Earnings Limit for National Insurance (N.I.) purposes. This is a lower amount than the amount when you have to start paying N.I. contributions (see attachment for current amount). Your average weekly pay is based on your gross taxable pay during the 8 weeks up to and including the 15th week before your Expected Week of Childbirth.
- have stopped working for your employer in order to start maternity leave.
1.4.To be entitled to Statutory Adoption Pay you must:
- have 26 weeks’ continuous service with Buckinghamshire County Council (Bucks C.C.) (or with the Governing Body of a single Buckinghamshire Voluntary Aided or Foundation School) ending with the week in which you are notified of being matched with a child for adoption.
- be newly matched with a child for adoption by an approved adoption agency. Adoption leave and pay is not available in circumstances where a child is not newly placed for adoption, for example when a step-parent is adopting a partner’s child.
- have stopped working for your employer in order to start adoption leave. You must be an employee of Bucks C.C. when you commence your adoption leave.
- earn at least the Lower Earnings Limit to pay National Insurance.
1.5.To be entitled to Occupational Maternity or Occupational Adoption Pay you must have at least 26 weeks’ continuous service with Bucks C.C. (or with the Governing Body of a single Buckinghamshire Voluntary Aided or Foundation School if you are employed by one of these) by the end of the 15thweek before your Expected Week of Childbirth and be earning at least the Lower Earnings Limit.
1.6.Your average weekly pay is based on your gross taxable pay during the 8 weeks up to and including the 15th week before your Expected Week of Childbirth.
1.7.A week’s pay, if you have normal working hours, is the amount you are paid for working your normal hours in a week. If you do not have normal working hours, a week’s pay is your average pay in the last 12 complete weeks before going on maternity leave, excluding any week in which you did not earn anything.
1.8.The total amount you receive (which may include Lower Rate Statutory Maternity Pay, Maternity Allowance or other state benefits, Statutory Adoption Pay, Half Pay, etc.) cannot be more than your normal full pay, and would be reduced to the level of your normal full pay if necessary, providing this is more than your Statutory benefits.
2.SECTION A: LESS THAN 26 WEEKS’ CONTINUOUS SERVICE
EMPLOYEES WITH LESS THAN 26 WEEKS’ CONTINUOUS SERVICE BY THE END OF THE 15TH WEEK BEFORE THE EXPECTED WEEK OF CHILDBIRTH
This section covers employees who may be entitled to:
- Ordinary Maternity Leave
- Additional Maternity Leave
- Maternity Allowance only
2.1.DOES SECTION A APPLY TO ME?
Section A applies to you if:(i)you are employed by Buckinghamshire County Council (or by the Governing Body of a single Buckinghamshire Voluntary Aided or Foundation School);
(ii)you have been continuously employed by Buckinghamshire County Council (or by the Governing Body of a single Buckinghamshire Voluntary Aided or Foundation School) for less than 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before your Expected Week of Childbirth;
and
(iii)you are earning on average £301 a week or more, or paying National Insurance contributions. If you are earning less than this, you are still entitled to maternity leave but you are not entitled to Maternity Allowance 2.
1Current at the time of writing.
2If you are not entitled to Maternity Allowance you may be entitled to Incapacity Benefit, Income Support or Working Families Tax Credit. You would need to approach your local Job Centre Plus Office regarding your eligibility.
2.2.WHAT ARE MY MATERNITY LEAVE AND MATERNITY PAY ENTITLEMENTS?
- 26 weeks’ Ordinary Maternity Leave
- 26 weeks’ Additional Maternity Leave. This starts immediately after Ordinary Maternity Leave.
- Maternity Allowance:
- 39 weeks at the Maternity Allowance rate as set annually by the Government.
- For current rate please see Maternity Rates sheet.
- This amount is not paid by your employer but should be claimed from your local Job Centre Plus Office.
2.3.HOW MUCH MATERNITY LEAVE CAN I TAKE?
All employees are entitled to 26 weeks’ Ordinary Maternity Leave plus 26 weeks Additional
Maternity Leave, regardless of their length of service. Your entitlement to maternity pay during this 52-week period is covered below. You cannot begin your maternity leave any earlier than the start of the 11th week before your Expected Week of Childbirth unless your baby is born earlier than this date. This means that you can take a maximum of 11 weeks’ leave (out of your total of 52) before your baby is actually born, unless the baby arrives later than expected.
By law, you must take a minimum of 2 weeks’ compulsory Ordinary Maternity Leave after childbirth, beginning with the day on which the baby is born.
Your maternity leave includes any periods when your workplace is closed.
During your maternity leave, you will continue to build up continuous service for the purposes of the pension scheme (if you are a member and you make the necessary pension contributions), sick pay entitlements and annual leave.
2.4.WHAT MATERNITY PAY WILL I RECEIVE?
For the first 39 weeks of your maternity leave you are entitled to be paid Maternity Allowance, by your local Job Centre Plus office, at a rate that is set annually by the Government. See Maternity Rates sheet.
To be entitled to Maternity Allowance you must:
- be employed by Buckinghamshire County Council (or by the Governing Body of a single Buckinghamshire Voluntary Aided or Foundation School);
- have been employed by Buckinghamshire County Council (or by the Governing Body of a single Buckinghamshire Voluntary Aided or Foundation School) for less than 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before your Expected Week of Childbirth;
and
- have worked at least 26 weeks out of the 66 weeks before the expected week of childbirth and be earning on average £30 a week or more, or paying National Insurance Contributions.
Shortly after you have sent your completed Maternity/Adoption Notification form to the HR Transactions team, the HR Department will send you a form SMP 1. They will fill in some of the information on this form and you will need to add other details. Then, if you send (or take) the completed form to the Aylesbury Job Centre Plus Office (see Appendix 1 for address and telephone number) the Job Centre Plus Office will decide whether or not you are entitled to State Maternity Allowance.
Alternatively, you can ask your antenatal clinic or Job Centre Plus Office for a MA1 Maternity Allowance claim form.
2.5.WHO DO I HAVE TO TELL THAT I AM GOING ON MATERNITY LEAVE – AND WHEN?
It is to your advantage to tell your manager that you are pregnant as soon as you can. Once you have actually informed your manager, he/she is then legally required by the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999 to re-assess any risks in your work activity and to take steps to protect you as an expectant and new mother (further details can be found in Section E, Frequently Asked Questions).
Please note, however, that if you do not submit the required notification form for maternity leave in writing by the legal deadline you may lose your rights.
There is a statutory requirement that you must inform your manager, by the end of the 15th week before your expected week of childbirth, of the following:
- that you are pregnant
- the week your baby is expected to be born
- when you want your maternity leave to start (although you may change the date by giving 28 days’ notice).
If, exceptionally, you are unable to give the required notice, you must notify your manager as soon as you reasonably can.
To comply with the above, you should obtain a copy of the Authority’s form entitled Maternity/Adoption Notification Form from the Intranet or the HR Service Desk (see Appendix 1 for address and telephone number). You must complete this form as a formal notification that you intend to take maternity leave, and send it to the HR Transactions team, 11th floor, NCO and give a copy to your manager. It would be helpful if you could do this as soon as you can but you must do this by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (unless you are unable to, for example because your baby is born prematurely). If you wish to change the date you want your maternity leave to start you may do so but you must inform your manager, giving 28 days’ notice.
You might find it useful at this stage to contact the HR Service Desk, who can provide further advice and information about maternity leave (see Appendix 1 for address and telephone number).
The notification form asks you for information about who you are and where you work. It asks you to confirm the date on which you intend your maternity leave to begin, which cannot be any earlier than the start of the 11th week before your “Expected Week of Childbirth”. You must obtain a certificate to confirm your Expected Week of Childbirth, from a registered medical practitioner or a registered midwife. This certificate is called a “Maternity Certificate MAT B1”. You should attach your Maternity Certificate MAT B1 to the Notification Form and send them to the HR Transactions team.
The notification form does not ask you to declare whether or not you intend to return to work, but it would be helpful if you could provide this information. However, you do not have to make the decision at this stage.
You will receive an SMP1 form from the Human Resources Department, which will enable you to claim Maternity Allowance.
You will also receive an acknowledgement from Human Resources within 28 days confirming the date you are expected to return to work, assuming you take your maximum leave entitlement.
PLEASE NOW TURN TO SECTION D (page 19)
3.SECTION B: 26 WEEKS’ CONTINUOUS SERVICEOR MORE
EMPLOYEES WITH 26 WEEKS’ CONTINUOUS SERVICE BY THE END OF THE 15TH WEEK BEFORE THE EXPECTED WEEK OF CHILDBIRTH
This section covers employees who may be entitled to:
- Ordinary Maternity Leave
- Additional Maternity Leave
- Occupational Maternity Leave
- Statutory Maternity Pay and/or Maternity Allowance
- Occupational Maternity Pay
3.1.DOES SECTION B APPLY TO ME?
Section B applies to you if:(i)you are employed by Buckinghamshire County Council (or by the Governing Body of a single Buckinghamshire Voluntary Aided or Foundation School);
(ii)you have 26 weeks with Bucks C.C., (or with the Governing Body of a single Bucks Voluntary Aided or Foundation School) by the end of the 15th week before your Expected Week of Childbirth;
and
(iii)your average weekly pay is at least the Government’s Lower Earnings Limit for National Insurance purposes. If you are earning less than this, you are not entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay. You may however be entitled to claim Maternity Allowance from the Job Centre Plus Office.
3.2.WHAT ARE MY MATERNITY LEAVE AND MATERNITY PAY ENTITLEMENTS?
- 26 weeks’ Ordinary Maternity Leave
- Up to 37 weeks’ Additional Maternity Leave. This starts immediately after Ordinary Maternity Leave and includes 26 weeks’ statutory entitlement and 11 weeks’ occupational entitlement.
- 6 weeks at 90% of your average weekly pay [2] (which equates to Higher Rate Statutory Maternity Pay) provided you qualify.
- 33 weeks at Lower Rate Statutory Maternity Pay (see Maternity Rates sheet for current amount) provided you qualify. During this period, you will also receive 20 weeks at Half Pay (i.e. half a week’s pay)[3]provided you return to work for a minimum period of time if you opt to take it.
- If you do not qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay you may qualify for Maternity Allowance [4] from the Job Centre Plus Office.
3.3.HOW MUCH MATERNITY LEAVE CAN I TAKE?
You have an entitlement to up to 63 weeks’ maternity leave.