Summary of University contractual adoption leave scheme

Application

All employees employed by the University who meet the relevant qualifying criteria, and regardless of their staff group, grade or hours worked, will be eligible for the provisions of the University adoption leave scheme.

Adoption leave and pay allows one member of an adoptive couple, the one with the primary care responsibility for the child, to take paid time off work when their new child starts to live with them. Paternity, or birth and adoption support leave and pay may be available for the other member of the couple, or an adopter's partner. Where a couple are adopting jointly they can choose which of them will take adoption leave and pay, and the other (regardless of gender) may take paternity or birth and adoption support leave and pay.

Overseas adoptions

This guidance only covers leave and pay entitlements and responsibilities which apply when an adopter is matched with a child and the child is placed for adoption within Great Britain. Similar provisions apply where a child is adopted from overseas, although the detailed operation of the scheme differs slightly for practical reasons. The department should contact its Sector Personnel Officer if an employee is adopting a child from overseas and further guidance will be provided.

Qualification

At the qualifying week (the week in which the employee is told by the adoption agency that he/she has been matched with a child) the employee must:

  • hold a current contract of employment with the University; and
  • have at least 26 weeks' continuous service with the University; and
  • have been matched with a child to be placed with him/her by a UK adoption agency; and
  • have notified the agency that they agree that the child should be placed with him/her and agree the date of placement; and
  • provide his/her department with the correct notification of his/her intentions to take adoption leave as the primary carer of the child; and
  • intend to return to work at the end of the adoption leave.

Note that contractual pay will only apply where you have a current contract of employment wih the University. Therefore if your contract with the University of Oxford is due to end during your planned periods of Maternity Leave, the right to any contractual payments will end on the contract end date. If you are in any doubt about your entitlement to pay and leave, contact your departmental administrator or equivalent for clarification.

Benefits

If s/he meets all these requirements, the employee will be eligible to receive the benefits of the University adoption leave scheme as follows:

26 weeks' full pay (inclusive of any statutory adoption pay which is due) ; followed by

13 weeks' statutory adoption pay (if the adopter does not meet all the statutory qualification rules for statutory adoption pay, s/he will only receive pay for the first 26 weeks of adoption leave.); followed by

13 weeks' unpaid leave

Total = 52 weeks' leave

Notice Periods

No more than seven days after s/he is notified that s/he has been matched with a child the employee must provide his/her department with the correct notification of his/her intentions to take adoption leave.

At least 28 days before the date s/he wants it to begin, or as soon as is reasonably practicable (notice can be given earlier alongside notice of the start of adoption leave) the employee must notify his/her department of when s/he wants to receive statutory adoption pay (SAP). The employee can tell his/her department earlier than this if s/he wants to.

Evidence will be needed to demonstrate eligibility for University adoption leave and this includes:

  • the name and address of the adoption agency; and
  • the date the employee was notified of having been matched with the child; and
  • the date on which the child is expected to be placed for adoption or, if it has already happened, the actual date of placement; and
  • a declaration that the employee is the primary carer for the child and has chosen to receive SAP rather than Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP).

Start of adoption leave/pay

An adopter can choose to begin his/her leave and pay on:

  • the date on which the child is placed with him/her for adoption; or
  • a pre-determined date no earlier than 14 days before the expected date of placement, and no later than the expected date of placement.

During adoption leave

The department may make contact with the employee (and vice versa) while s/he is on adoption leave, as long as the amount and type of contact is not unreasonable (e.g. to discuss plans for returning to work or to keep him/her informed of important developments in the workplace).

Work during the adoption leave period - keeping in touch days

The employee can undertake up to a maximum of 10 days' work under his/her contract of employment during his/her adoption leave, as long as both s/he and his/her department have agreed for this to happen, and agree on what work is to be done and how much s/he will be paid for it.

Returning to work

It is assumed that an employee will return to work at the end of his/her full 52 weeks of adoption leave unless s/he has told her department that she wishes to come back at any other time.

The employee can return to work earlier than the full 52 weeks of adoption leave, or can change the date of his/her return to work, as long as s/he gives eight weeks' notice to her department.

If an employee decides not to return to work at the end of his/her adoption leave, or returns to work for less than three months, the University reserves the right to reclaim all or part of the payments made under the University scheme, minus the statutory adoption pay element.

End of contract during adoption leave

If a woman's contract is due to end during her adoption leave period 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 woman has provided written confirmation that she 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 her, then University pay and rights under the university adoption scheme end on the same day that her contract expires, although she would continue to receive any remaining statutory adoption pay, if she qualifies.