Shared Parental Leave (Adoption) Information

Frequently used terms

The following definitions apply throughout this document and have the same meanings as in the other policies.

Partner: the employee’s spouse, civil partner or someone living with the employee in an enduring family relationship at the time the child is placed for adoption, but not the employee’s sibling, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew.

Qualifying Week: the week the adoption agency notifies the employee that they have been matched with a child for adoption.

What is shared parental leave?

• Shared parental leave (SPL) is a form of leave that may be available where a child is placed with the employee and/or their partner for adoption. It gives the employee and his or her partner more flexibility in how to share the care in the first year after the child is placed with them for adoption than simply taking adoption and paternity leave. Assuming they are both eligible, they will be able to choose how to split the available leave between them and can decide to be off work at the same time or at different times. The employee may be able to take leave in more than one block.

Entitlement

• The employee may be entitled to SPL if an adoption agency has placed a child with them and/or their partner for adoption, or where a child is placed with them and/or their partner as foster parents under a “fostering for adoption” or “concurrent planning” scheme. The employee must intend to share the main responsibility for the care of the child with their partner.
• The following conditions must be met:
  • the employee must have at least 26 weeks continuous employment with the employer by the end of the Qualifying Week, and still be employed by the employer in the week before the leave is to be taken;
  • the employee’s partner must have worked (in an employed or self-employed capacity) in at least 26 of the 66 weeks before the Qualifying Week and had average weekly earnings of at least £30 during 13 of those weeks; and
  • the employee and their partner must give the necessary statutory notices and declarations as set out below, including notice to end adoption leave or statutory adoption pay (SAP).
• Either the employee or their partner must qualify for statutory adoption leave and/or SAP and must take at least two weeks of adoption leave and/or pay.
• If the employee’s partner is taking adoption leave and/or claiming SAP, the employee may be entitled to two weeks’ paternity leave and pay (see the Paternity Leave Information). The employee should consider using this before taking SPL. Paternity leave is additional to any SPL entitlement which the employee may have, but the employee will lose any untaken paternity leave entitlement once they start a period of SPL.
• The total amount of SPL available is 52 weeks, less the weeks of adoption leave taken by either the employee or their partner (or the weeks in which their partner has been in receipt of SAP if they were not entitled to adoption leave).

Opting in to shared parental leave and pay

• Not less than eight weeks before the date the employee intends their SPL to start, they must give the employer a written opt-in notice which includes:
  • their name and their partner’s name;
  • if they are taking adoption leave, their adoption leave start and end dates;
  • if they are not taking adoption leave, their partner’s adoption leave start and end dates, or if their partner is not entitled to adoption leave, the start and end dates of their SAP;
  • the total SPL available, which is 52 weeks minus the number of weeks’ adoption leave or SAP taken or to be taken by the employee or their partner;
  • how many weeks of the available SPL will be allocated to the employee and how many to their partner (this allocation can be changed by giving the employer a further written notice, and the employee does not have to use their full allocation);
  • if the employee is claiming statutory shared parental pay (ShPP), the total ShPP available, which is 39 weeks minus the number of weeks of SAP taken or to be taken);
  • how many weeks of the available ShPP will be allocated to the employee and how many to his/her partner (this allocation can be changed by giving the employer a further written notice, and the employee does not have to use their full allocation);
  • an indication of the pattern of leave the employee is thinking of taking, including suggested start and end dates for each period of leave (see below for information on taking leave). This indication will not be binding at this stage, but it is helpful to the employer to give as much information as possible about future intentions; and
  • declarations by the employee and his/her partner that they both meet the statutory conditions to enable them to take SPL and ShPP.

Ending the adoption leave period

• If employees are taking or intend to take adoption leave and want to opt into the SPL scheme, they must give the employer at least eight weeks’ written notice to end their adoption leave (a curtailment notice). The notice must state the date on which their adoption leave will end. Employees can give the notice before or after adoption leave starts but must take at least two weeks’ adoption leave.
• Employees must also give the employer, at the same time as the curtailment notice, a notice to opt into the SPL scheme (see below) or a written declaration that their partner has given their employer an opt-in notice and that the employee has given the necessary declarations in that notice.
• If the employee’s partner is eligible to take SPL from their employer, they cannot start it until the employee has given the employer their curtailment notice.
• The curtailment notice is binding on the employee and cannot usually be revoked. The employee can only revoke a curtailment notice if their adoption leave has not yet ended and one of the following applies:
  • if the employee realises that neither they nor their partner are in fact eligible for SPL or ShPP, in which case they can revoke the curtailment notice in writing up to eight weeks after it was given;
  • if their partner has died.
• Once the employee has revoked a curtailment notice they will be unable to opt back into the SPL scheme.

Ending their partner’s adoption leave or pay

• If the employee’s partner is taking adoption leave or claiming SAP from their employer, the employee will only be able to take SPL once their partner has either:
  • returned to work;
  • given their employer a curtailment notice to end adoption leave; or
  • given their employer a curtailment notice to end SAP (if they are entitled to SAP but not adoption leave).

Evidence of entitlement

The employee must provide to the employer on request:

• • one or more documents from the adoption agency showing the agency’s name and address and the expected placement date; and
  • The name and address of their partner’s employer (or a declaration that they have no employer).

Booking SPL dates

• Having opted into the SPL system, the employee must book their leave by giving the employer a “period of leave notice”. This may be given at the same time as the opt-in notice or later, provided it is at least eight weeks before the start of SPL.
• The period of leave notice can either give the dates on which the employee wants to take SPL or, if the child has not been placed with the employee yet, it can state the number of days after the placement that the employee wants the SPL to start and end. This may be particularly useful if the employee intends to take paternity leave starting on the date of placement and wishes to take SPL straight afterwards.
• Leave must be taken in blocks of at least one week.
• If the period of leave notice gives dates for a single continuous block of SPL the employee will be entitled to take the leave set out in the notice.
• If the period of leave notice requests split periods of SPL, with periods of work in between, the employer may consider the request as set out below.
• The employee can give up to three period of leave notices. This may enable them to take up to three separate blocks of SPL (although if they give a notice to vary or cancel a period of leave this will in most cases count as a further period of leave notice – see Procedure for requesting split periods of SPL section of this information).

Procedure for requesting split periods of SPL

• In general, a period of leave notice should set out a single continuous block of leave. Employers may be willing to consider a period of leave notice where the SPL is split into shorter periods with periods of work in between. It is best for the employee to discuss this with their employer in good time before sending in the request in the period of leave notice. This will give the employer more time to consider the request and hopefully agree a pattern of leave with the employee from the start.
• If employees want to request split periods of SPL, they must set out the requested pattern of leave in their period of leave notice. The employer may either agree to the request or start a two-week discussion period. At the end of that period, the employer should confirm any agreed arrangements in writing. If no agreement has been reached, the employee will be entitled to take the full amount of requested SPL as one continuous block, starting on the start date given in the notice (for example, if the employee requested three separate periods of four weeks each, they will be combined into one 12-week period of leave). Alternatively, the employee may:
  • choose a new start date (which must be at least eight weeks after the original period of leave notice was given), and tell the employer within five days of the end of the two-week discussion period; or
  • withdraw the period of leave notice within two days of the end of the two-week discussion period (in which case it will not be counted and the employee may submit a new one if he/she chooses).

Changing the dates or cancelling SPL

• The employee can cancel a period of leave by notifying the employer in writing at least eight weeks before the start date in the period of leave notice.
• The employee can change the start date for a period of leave by notifying the employer in writing at least eight weeks before the original start date or the new start date, whichever is earlier.
• The employee can change the end date for a period of leave by notifying the employer in writing at least eight weeks before the original end date or the new end date, whichever is earlier.
• The employee can combine non-continuous periods of leave into a single continuous period of leave. Since this will involve a change to the start date or end date of a period of leave, see Booking SPL dates section of this information which sets out how much notice is required.
• The employee can request that a continuous period of leave be split into two or more non-continuous periods of leave, with periods of work in between. Since this will involve a change to the start date or end date, see  Procedure for requesting split periods of SPL section of this information which sets out how much notice is required for the request. The employer does not have to grant the request but will consider it as set out Procedure for requesting split periods of SPL section of this information.
• A notice to change or cancel a period of leave will count as one of the employee’s three period of leave notices, unless:
  • the variation is a result of the child being placed with the employee earlier or later than the expected placement date;
  • the employee is cancelling a request for non-continuous leave within two days of the end of the two-week discussion period referenced in the Changing the dates or cancelling SPL section of this information.
  • the variation is at the employer’s request; or
  • the employer and employee both agree otherwise.

Shared parental pay

• The employee may be able to claim Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) of up to 39 weeks (less any weeks of SAP claimed by them or their partner) provided they have at least 26 weeks’ continuous employment with the employer at the end of the Qualifying Week and their average earnings are not less than the lower earnings limit set by the government each tax year. ShPP is paid at a rate set by the government each year. This should be checked on the government website here as it changes each year.
• The employee should tell the employer in the period of leave notice(s) whether They intend to claim ShPP during the leave (and if applicable, for what period). If it is not in the period of leave notice the employee can tell the employer in writing, at least eight weeks before they want ShPP to start.

Other terms during shared parental leave

• The employee’s terms and conditions of employment remain in force during SPL, except for the terms relating to pay.
• Annual leave entitlement will continue to accrue at the rate provided under the contract. If the SPL will continue into the next holiday year, any holiday entitlement that cannot reasonably be taken before starting the period of leave can be carried over and must be taken immediately before returning to work or within a set period of returning to work according to the employer’s policy. It is helpful if the employee can discuss holiday plans with the employer in good time before starting SPL
• If the employee is a member of a pension scheme, the employer must make employer pension contributions during any period of paid SPL, based on the employee’s normal salary, in accordance with the pension scheme rules. Any employee contributions made by the employee will be based on the amount of any shared parental pay they are receiving, unless they inform the employer or Pensions Administrator that they wish to make up any shortfall.

Keeping in touch

• The employer may make reasonable contact with the employee from time to time during their SPL although they should try to keep this to a minimum. This may include contacting the employee to discuss arrangements for their return to work.
• The employee may ask or be asked to work (including attending training) on up to 20 “keeping-in-touch” days (KIT days) during their SPL without bringing the SPL to an end. This is in addition to any KIT days that the employee may have taken during adoption leave. KIT days are not compulsory and must be discussed and agreed with the employer.
• The employee will be paid at their normal basic rate of pay for time spent working on a KIT day and this will be inclusive of any shared parental pay entitlement. Alternatively, the employee may agree with the employer to receive the equivalent paid time off in lieu.

Returning to work

• If the employee wants to end a period of SPL early, they must give the employer eight weeks’ written notice of the new return date. If they have already given the employer three period of leave notices, they will not be able to end their SPL early without the employer’s agreement.
• If the employee wants to extend the SPL, assuming they still have unused SPL entitlement remaining, they must give the employer a written notice at least eight weeks before the date on which they were due to return to work. If they have already given the employer three period of leave notices, they will not be able to extend the SPL without the employer’s agreement. The employee may instead be able to request annual leave or ordinary parental leave (see the Parental Leave Information), subject to the employer’s business needs.
• Employees are normally entitled to return to work in the position they held before starting SPL, and on the same terms of employment. However, if it is not reasonably practicable for the employer to enable them to return to the same position, the employer may give them another suitable and appropriate job on terms and conditions that are not less favourable, but only in the following circumstances:
  • if their SPL and any adoption or paternity leave they have taken adds up to more than 26 weeks in total (whether or not taken consecutively); or
  • if they took SPL consecutively with more than four weeks of ordinary parental leave.
• If employees want to change their hours or other working arrangements on return from SPL they should make a request in line with the statutory requirements in the Flexible Working Information. It is helpful if such requests are made as early as possible.
• If the employee decides they do not want to return to work they should give notice of resignation in accordance with their contract.