Family Friendly Leave Policy
1.1 Maternity Leave and Pay Maternity Leave
Regardless of how long you have been employed by CCGroup, you are entitled to take up to 52 weeks of maternity leave which is made up of 26 weeks of Ordinary Maternity Leave and 26 weeks of Additional Maternity Leave.
Timings to consider
There are certain things that you need to tell us about before and during your maternity leave. We will write to you confirming these, but it is important to advise us of the following:
- Please let us know about your pregnancy as soon as is reasonably possible. You should have a chat with your mentor about your situation as there are health and safety issues which we must consider. The HR team will arrange a risk assessment to ensure your work doesn’t put you or your baby at any risk.
- You are entitled to take reasonable paid time off work to attend antenatal appointments as advised by your doctor, registered midwife or health visitor. If you are the partner you may also take paid time off to attend up to two ante-natal clinic visits.
- When you receive it from your doctor or midwife, we will need your MAT B1 form which confirms your pregnancy and when your baby is expected.
- Please let us know at least 15 weeks before your expected week of childbirth (EWC), about when you intend to take your maternity leave. Don’t worry, these dates can still be changed if you give us at least 28 days’ notice before the new start date or, if that is not possible, as much notice as is reasonably practicable. Once we receive this we will send you an official letter confirming further details and provisional dates.
- You can start your maternity leave any time from 11 weeks before your EWC. There are some circumstances, such as pregnancy related illness, which can trigger maternity leave. If your baby is born early, leave will start the day after the birth.
Your employment rights remain in place as normal during maternity leave. You have the right to return to the same job after Ordinary Maternity Leave and the right to return to either the same job or a job of a similar level (if your job is no longer available) after Additional Maternity Leave. You will continue to accrue holiday as normal during this period. During your maternity leave you are entitled to take up to 10 Keeping in Touch days which are paid at your normal rate and do not affect your Maternity Pay. You are under no obligation to use these.
Maternity Pay
If you have been continuously employed by CCGroup for at least 26 weeks by the ‘qualifying week’ (the 15th week before the EWC) you will also be entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) (see table below)
If you have been continuously employed by CCGroup for at least 1 year by the ‘qualifying week,’ you will also be entitled to Enhanced Maternity Pay (see table below)
| Length of Service (by the EWC) | Maternity Leave entitlement | Maternity Pay entitlement |
| Less than 26 weeks | Up to 52 weeks | Nil* you may be entitled to Maternity allowance |
| More than 26 weeks and less than 1 year | Up to 52 weeks | Statutory Maternity Pay ie: 6 weeks @90% salary
followed by 33 weeks SMP rate (currently £172.48) Followed by 13 weeks unpaid leave |
| More than 1 year
(*If notice given by employee or employer before the 15 qualifying week (the 15 week before your estimated week of childbirth), this does not apply) |
Up to 52 weeks | Enhanced Maternity Pay
ie: 16 weeks @100% salary followed by 23 weeks SMP (currently £172.48) followed by 13 weeks unpaid leave |
If you do not return to work after the birth of your baby or you leave voluntarily within six months of returning, the company reserves the right to request that you reimburse any enhanced maternity pay (EMP) received over and above statutory maternity pay (SMP).
We will write to you to confirm the dates of your maternity leave, what your pay will be during this time, timings that you need to be aware of and how we will keep in touch with you. We will also discuss how we will manage any outstanding holiday entitlement.
Should you have any queries about this policy, please speak to the HR team.
Returning to work
The company is open to discussing the potential of returning to work on a reduced hours/part-time basis.
1.2 Paternity Leave and Pay
Eligibility
In order to be eligible for paternity leave you must satisfy the following criteria:
- You must be the father of the child or married to, the civil partner of, or the partner of the child’s mother; married to, the civil partner of, or the partner of the child’s adopter; or one of a couple jointly adopting a child; and expect to have responsibility for the upbringing of the child and you are making the request in order to help care for the child or to support the child’s mother
- You have 26 weeks’ continuous service at the 15th week before the baby is due to be born, or in respect of an adopted child, the week in which the child’s adopter was notified of having been matched with a child
- You may be asked to produce evidence of entitlement to paternity leave by signing a self-certification form declaring that you meet the statutory eligibility criteria
Entitlements
If you have at least 26 weeks continuous service by 15 weeks before the expected week of childbirth/adoption, you are entitled to two weeks Paternity Leave and Statutory Paternity Pay, which is currently paid at the rate of
£151.97 per week. You can choose to take either one or two weeks Paternity Leave, but it must be taken in a single block.
At CCGroup, we provide four weeks’ of Enhanced Paternity Pay in the event that your partner gives birth. This is paid at your normal rate. Paternity leave can be taken immediately from the birth of your child, or afterwards, however it must be completed within 56 days (8 weeks) of the birth/adoption.
Please give us as much notice as possible of your intention to take Paternity Leave.
In addition, employees who are the father or partner have the right to take paid time off work to accompany expectant mothers on up to two antenatal appointments.
1.3 Adoption Leave and Pay
Adoption Leave
Regardless of how long you have been employed by CCGroup, you are entitled to take up to 52 weeks of adoption leave which is made up of 26 weeks of Ordinary Adoption Leave and 26 weeks of Additional Adoption Leave.
Timings to consider
There are certain things that you need to tell us about before and during your adoption leave.
We will write to you confirming these, but in the meantime it is important to advise us of the following:
- You are entitled to take reasonable paid time off work to attend up to five adoption appointments. Please advise when these are likely to take place, with as much notice as possible. If you are the partner you may also take paid time off to attend two adoption appointments.
- When you receive it from your adoption agency, we will need a copy of your matching certificate.
- Within 7 days of the date in which you were matched with the child we will need the expected week of the placement and the date on which you intend to start your adoption leave. Don’t worry these dates can still be changed if you give us at least 28 days notice before the new start date or, if that is not possible, as much notice as is reasonably practicable
Adoption leave can start:
- When a child starts living with you or up to 14 days before the placement date
- When you have been matched with a child by a UK adoption agency
- When the child arrives in the UK or within 28 days of this date (overseas adoption)
- The day the child is born or the day after (for parents in surrogacy arrangements)
Adoption Pay
If you have been continuously employed by CCGroup for at least 26 weeks by the ‘qualifying week’ (the 15th week before the adoption) you will also be entitled to Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) (see table below)
If you have been continuously employed by CCGroup for at least 1 year by the ‘qualifying week,’ you will also be entitled to Enhanced Adoption Pay (see table below)
| Length of Service (by the adoption date) | Adoption Leave entitlement | Adoption Pay entitlement |
| Less than 26 weeks | Up to 52 weeks | Nil* You may be entitled to claim Adoption Allowance |
| More than 26 weeks and less than 1 year | Up to 52 weeks | Statutory Adoption Pay ie: 6 weeks @90% salary
followed by 33 weeks SAP rate (currently £172.48) Followed by 13 weeks unpaid leave |
| More than 1 year
(*If notice given by employee or employer before the relevant period – 8 weeks before Matching Week) |
Up to 52 weeks | Enhanced Adoption Pay
ie: 16 weeks @100% salary followed by 23 weeks SMP (currently £172.48) followed by 13 weeks unpaid leave |
We will write to you to confirm the dates of your adoption leave, what your pay will be during this time, timings that you need to be aware of and how we will keep in touch with you. We will also discuss how we will manage any outstanding holiday entitlement.
Returning to work
The company is open to discussing the potential of returning to work on a reduced hours/part-time basis.
1.4 Shared Parental Leave
Shared parental leave is designed to give parents / adopters more flexibility in how to share the care of their child in the first year following birth or adoption. If you are eligible you can share up to 50 weeks leave, and can decide to be off work at the same time and/or take it in turns to have periods of leave to look after the child. To be eligible you must meet the following criteria:
- You (or your partner) must be entitled to maternity / adoption leave, or statutory maternity / adoption pay (or maternity allowance from the Government) and you must share the main responsibility for caring for the child with your partner. In addition, you and your partner will also be required to follow a two-step process to establish eligibility as follows:
- Step 1 – Continuity test: if you are seeking to take shared parental leave, one parent / adopter must have worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks at the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (EWC), or at the week in which an adopter was notified of having been matched with a child or adoption and they should still be employed in the first week that shared parental leave is to be taken.The other parent /adopter has to have worked for 26 weeks in the 66 weeks leading up to the due date and have earned above the maternity allowance threshold of £30 a week in 13 of the 66 weeks.
- Step 2 – Individual eligibility for pay: To qualify for shared parental pay the parent / main adopter must, as well as passing the Continuity test, also have earned an average salary of the National Insurance lower earnings limit or more for the 8 weeks prior to the 15th week before the expected birth / adoption.
How can I share parental leave with my partner?
Firstly you and your partner must meet the eligibility criteria described above. If you do:
- You can effectively “convert” a period of maternity / adoption leave and pay into shared parental leave and pay that can be taken by either parent.
- Your partner can take shared parental leave concurrently with you when you are on maternity leave or shared parental leave.
- Shared parental leave does not have to be taken in a single continuous block, it can be taken in chunks of as little as a week with our agreement.
- When on shared parental leave you will be entitled to the same terms and conditions that would have applied had you been at work, with the exception of pay.
- Shared Parental Leave may be taken at any time within the period which begins on the date the child is born or date of the adoption placement and ends 52 weeks after that date.
Here is how you and your partner should go about opting in to shared parental leave:
- The mother / main adopter must bring their period of maternity / adoption leave to an end by letting their employer know at least 8 weeks before the date she intends to curtail the leave. NB maternity leave cannot be brought to an end before the end of the two week (four if you work in a factory) compulsory maternity leave period. The balance of maternity leave at that point becomes available for the partner to share as shared parental leave. While this notice of curtailment of maternity / adoption leave can be given before or after the birth / placement, if it is given afterwards, the notice is binding. However, if notice is given before, there is a six-week window after the child’s birth / adoption, during which a mother / primary adopter who has previously stated she intends to share her leave can change her mind and decide to remain on leave.
- Both you and your partner should let your respective employers know in writing that you are eligible for and intend to take shared parental leave. You should also give an indication of how much shared parental leave and pay each parent intends to take and when. Please contact HR for the relevant forms.
- If requested, within 14 days of letting us know about your intention to take shared parental leave, you should provide us with a copy of the child’s birth certificate, or if this is not yet available, confirmation from your midwife or GP of the date of the child’s birth. In the case of adoption you should provide details of the adoption agency, the date you (or your partner) were informed of the adoption match, and the expected date that the child will be placed with you. You must provide the information requested within 14 days.
- The information about how and when you and your partner are intending to take shared parental leave is non-binding – you are free to change your minds about how leave and pay are to be allocated between you by letting your employers know of the variation in writing. We will need at least 8 weeks notice of each period of leave, and you can submit a total of three requests. That is, you can take up to three periods of shared parental leave.
- If you submit a request for a single continuous period of shared parental leave (e.g. a single block of 12 weeks) this will be granted automatically.
- If you submit a request for discontinuous leave (e.g. 6 weeks shared parental leave followed by 2 weeks at work followed by another 6 weeks shared parental leave etc.) we may need to discuss with you whether our business can support such a work pattern. If it cannot we will try to agree an alternative arrangement with you, or we may need to refuse the request.
- We may ask you to stay in touch with work during your shared parental leave. This could be for training purposes, meetings or just to keep generally up to date with the business. You can work for up to 20 days without bringing your period of shared parental leave to an end. Any days worked do not extend your leave period. When you work you will receive your normal rate of pay inclusive of any shared parental pay. You are under no obligation to undertake any work during your shared parental leave period, and we are under no obligation to offer you any work. These 20 days are in addition to the 10 days available during maternity or adoption leave.
- While on shared parental leave you will continue to accrue your normal holiday entitlement. We may ask you to take some or all of your outstanding holidays prior to commencing your shared parental leave. We may also ask you to take some or all of the holidays you have accrued on shared parental leave at the end of your leave period and prior to returning to work.
Examples
- The mother / main adopter ends her leave after 26 weeks, and the balance of the leave and pay – 26 weeks leave including 13 weeks statutory maternity / adoption pay is available to be shared between the parents as they choose. The father takes 10 weeks leave and pay, while the mother returns to work. He then returns to work and the mother takes the remaining 16 weeks leave and 3 weeks pay.
- Baby is born prematurely and the mother immediately commits to taking 27 weeks maternity leave and pay leaving 25 weeks leave and 12 weeks pay to be shared with the father. The father takes 2 weeks paternity leave when baby is born and then immediately takes the 25 weeks leave and 12 weeks pay. Both parents return to work after 27 weeks having used all their shared parental leave.
- The main adopter takes the first 10 weeks adoption leave and pay, and then commits to returning to work at week 22. This then frees up 30 weeks shared parental leave and 17 weeks pay. His partner takes 12 weeks of leave and pay to coincide with weeks 11 to 22 of the main adopter’s adoption leave so she and the main adopter can look after the child together. She then takes a further 8 weeks’ leave and last 5 weeks of pay while the main adopter returns to work. When the partner then goes back to work, the main adopter takes the last 10 week of shared parental leave.
- In total the main adopter has taken 32 weeks leave and 22 weeks pay while the partner has taken 20 weeks leave and 17 weeks pay.
Returning to Work from Shared Parental Leave
- If you wish to alter your return date from shared parental leave, please ensure you give us notice as follows:
- If you wish to extend your SPL, at least 8 weeks notice from the originally agreed return date.
- If you wish to shorten your SPL, at least 8 weeks notice from the new return date.
- If you return to work after a period of shared parental leave (including any maternity / adoption leave) which was 26 weeks or less, then you are entitled to return to the same job that you left with terms and conditions no less favourable than would have applied had you not been on leave.
- If you return to work from a period of shared parental leave (including any maternity / adoption leave) which was greater than 26 weeks we will try to allow you to return to the same job you left. If it is not practicable for you to return to your original job then you will be offered a suitable alternative on terms and conditions no less favourable than would have applied had you not been on leave.
Although the situation around pregnancy and adoption appears complex, it is normally quite straightforward to work out your entitlement. Therefore as soon as you know you are pregnant or have been matched with a child for adoption, please let us know as soon as is practical. We will calculate your entitlement and the relevant dates for you.
Returning to work
The company is open to discussing the potential of returning to work on a reduced hours/part-time basis.
1.5 Parental Leave
If you are a parent with a child who is under 18 years old, then:
- After one year’s service you can take up to 18 weeks unpaid parental leave for that child.
- This allowance applies to each of your children but can only be taken in blocks of up to 4 weeks per year.
- Parental leave should be taken in blocks of a week or multiples of a week, and should not be taken as “odd” days off, unless your child is disabled. You cannot take off more than four weeks during a year. A “week” is based on your normal working pattern.
- Please ensure you give us at least 21 days notice in writing if you intend to take unpaid parental leave. As unpaid parental leave is transferable between employers, please also confirm whether you have already taken some of your entitlement with another employer and how much.