During adoption leave

Action required by employee

If you have agreed with your department that you would like to work Keeping in Touch days during your adoption leave, you will need to make sure that you respond when your department offers you this work.

If you wish to change the date of your planned return to work, you will need to give 8 weeks' notice of the changed date to your department.

Action required by department

If you have agreed with the employee that s/he will be offered Keeping in Touch days during his/her adoption leave, make sure that you give as much notice as possible of the work that you would like the employee to do and clarify what s/he will be paid for the work s/he does.

Think about the return to work plan for the employee - it can be difficult returning to work, particularly after a year off.

If the employee changes his/her return to work date, confirm the changed date with him/her.

Contact during adoption leave

During the adoption leave period, a department may make reasonable contact with an employee and, in the same way, an employee may make contact with his/her department. The frequency and nature of the contact will depend on a number of factors such as the nature of the work and the employee's post, any agreement that the employer and employee might have reached before adoption leave began as to contact and whether either party needs to communicate important information to the other, such as, for example, news of changes at the workplace that might affect the employee on his/her return.

The contact between department and employee can be made in any way that best suits either or both of them. For example, it could be by telephone, email, letter, involving the employee making a visit to the workplace, or in other ways.

Departments should note that they must, in any event, keep the employee informed of information relating to his/her job that s/he would normally be made aware of if she was working (such as changes to terms and conditions of employment).

Departments and their employees will often find it helpful, before adoption leave starts, to discuss arrangements for staying in touch with each other. This might include agreements on the way in which contact will happen, how often, and who will initiate the contact. It might also cover the reasons for making contact and the types of things that might be discussed.

What constitutes "reasonable" contact will vary according to the circumstances. Some employees will be happy to stay in close touch with the department and will not mind frequent contact. Others, however, will prefer to keep such contact to a minimum.

There is a section on the Adoption Leave Plan for the employee to note his/her preferences in this respect.

Payment for keeping in touch (KIT) days

As KIT days allow work to be carried out under the employee's contract of employment, the employee is entitled to be paid for that work. The rate of pay is a matter for agreement with the department, but may be agreed on a case-by-case basis.

It is suggested that if an employee attends for work, s/he is paid the equivalent of his/her normal hourly rate for the hours s/he works on the day in question. Therefore during the period that s/he is being paid at the rate of full pay, no further payment would be due.

It is suggested that if an employee works a KIT day in a week in which s/he is receiving SAP only, then his/her pay should be made up to the equivalent of full pay for the hours worked over and above the amount received under SAP rules. S/he will continue to be paid SAP for the week in which the work is done.

There is a maximum of 10 KIT days allowed under the new regulations and once an employee has used up his/her 10 KIT days and s/he does any further work, s/he will lose a week's SAP for the week in the Adoption Pay Period in which s/he has done that work.

The hours to be worked and the pay for those hours must be agreed in advance between the department and the employee.

Any questions from departments about payment during KIT days should be directed to their Sector Personnel Officer.

Notification of change of return to work dates while on adoption leave

Unless otherwise notified, the date on which an employee returns to work will normally be the first working day 52 weeks after the adoption leave began. This is because all employees are entitled to 26 weeks' OAL and 26 weeks' AAL .

(i) Return to work before the end of the adoption leave period

If the employee wishes to return to work before the end of his/her full adoption leave period (this will normally be the end date that the department confirmed to the employee before s/he went on leave), s/he must give his/her department eight weeks' notice of his/her return to work. This notice requirement applies during the full period of leave. The notice period is the minimum that the department is entitled to expect, but the department may, at its discretion, accept less notice

If the employee tries to return to work without having given the appropriate eight weeks' notice, the department may postpone the employee's return until the end of the eight weeks' notice period. However, the department may not postpone the return to a date later than the end of the adoption leave period.

(ii) Return to work later than previously notified

An employee who has notified his/her department that s/he wishes to return to work before the end of his/her 52 weeks entitlement to adoption leave, is entitled to change his/her mind. However, in these circumstances, s/he should give her department notice of this new, later date at least eight weeks before the earlier date.

(iii) Employees who do not wish to return to work after adoption leave

An employee who does not wish to return to work after his/her adoption leave must give his/her department the notice of termination required by his/her contract of employment. However, if an employee is in the position to do so, it would be helpful to the department if s/he can give as much notice as possible of his/her intention to leave his/her employment.

Please note: If an employee does not return to work for at least 3 months following the adoption leave period, departments may reclaim the whole of the non-statutory element of adoption pay.

Being paid

Employees on adoption leave will be paid on the last working day but one of the month by credit transfer direct to their named bank or building society account, in exactly the same way that their salary would be paid if they were at work.

The employee's pay slip will be sent to his/her department and the employee can ask the department to forward it to his/her home address.

If an employee is sick during his/her adoption leave, s/he cannot claim sick pay. If the employee is sick when his/her adoption leave is due to end, s/he will be deemed to be an employee who has returned to work but who is on sick leave under the University sick pay scheme.

End of contract during adoption leave

If an employee's contract is due to end during the adoption leave period, the normal arrangements for ending contracts will apply, however, it is recommended that the administrator contacts his/her Sector Personnel Officer for guidance on the appropriate procedures.

If the employee has provided written confirmation that s/he wishes the department to seek suitable alternative employment for her within the University, this should be sought in the normal way. If it has not been possible, under the normal University rules, to redeploy the employee, then University pay and rights under the University adoption scheme end on the same day that the contract expires, although s/he would continue to receive any remaining statutory adoption pay, if s/he qualifies.

Annual leave

It is not possible for an employee to take annual leave at the same time as adoption leave but you may wish to ask parents to take any accrued annual leave before they commence adoption leave. You may also ask that an employee takes at least 28 days' annual leave (the annual statutory holiday requirement) before s/he goes on adoption leave if s/he will not return to work before the end of the current year.

In the event that an adoption leave period crosses over two annual leave years, you may ask an employee returning to work to use up the balance of his/her annual leave from the leave year that has ended at the end of his/her adoption leave. However, departments retain the right to make annual leave arrangements with their employees to fit in with operational requirements. Employees must agree when they will take annual leave in advance with their department.

If an employee wishes to take annual leave at the end of the adoption leave period, s/he is deemed to have returned to work at the notified date and then she may take his/her annual leave as agreed with his/her department.

Other benefits

During the whole period of adoption leave the employee is entitled to receive all his/her contractual benefits with the exception of remuneration. This includes all non-cash benefits such as childcare vouchers.