Adoption Leave
Guide for Employers and Managers
Since 2003 Adoption Leave and Pay have been available to parents through the introduction of the Employment Act 2002.
- all employees who have 26 weeks service when newly matched with adopting a child are entitled to up to 26 weeks Ordinary Adoption Leave and up to a further 26 weeks Additional Adoption Leave
- leave can start either from the actual date of the child’s placement or up to 14 days before
- the employee’s Contract of Employment continues as normal, with the exception of remuneration
- employment is regarded as continuous during Ordinary Adoption Leave and Additional Adoption Leave
- to qualify for Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP*) employees must earn at least the lower earnings limit to pay National Insurance
- employees earning less than the lower earnings limit for National Insurance may be able to claim other Allowances and should seek advice from the Local Council and/or Social Security office
- where eligible, Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP*) is paid for 39 weeks. There is no legal requirement to pay during the period 40-52 weeks
employers can recover 92% of the Statutory Adoption Pay (refer to HM Revenue & Customs)
* SAP rate £117.18 per week as at April 2008
Eligibility to Adoption Rights
- employees should inform their employer within 7 days of being matched with a child when they want their adoption leave to start
- the employee must be newly matched with a child for adoption by an approved agency
Keeping in touch during Adoption Leave
- the employee is entitled to work for up to 10 days during adoption leave without affecting eligibility to Statutory Adoption Pay. This can be used for training or just for keeping in touch. The employee is under no obligation to work these days
Return to Work
- the employee has the right to return to the same job or, if not reasonably practical, to a similar job on comparable terms and conditions
- set out minimum statutory adoption rights and essentially makes provision for the employer and manager to have flexibility in managing the complex process
- provides detailed action required by employee and employer during adoption
APS Letters
- start at the commencement of notification by the employee of the intention to adopt a child through to return to work
- detail rights, notification, adoption leave, pay, keeping in touch and return to work through the various stages
- are laid out chronologically, making it easy to select a letter at any stage of the process with clear guidelines for completion
Well written procedures and letters help employees and managers understand the process and what is expected of them, avoiding complaints to an Employment Tribunal
APS...legal, professional
without the nonsense!
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