Family Friendly Leave
Definition of terms used:
Maternity leave - applies to anyone who is pregnant themselves
New parent leave - applies to a new parent who is not carrying a child themselves, and is not taking shared parental leave (but is usually not adopting)
1. Introduction
At The Bristol Bike Project (BBP) we understand that having a baby or adopting a child is a life-changing event and we are committed to being supportive of our employees before, during, and after this time. This policy explains the leave and pay that you can expect if you have a baby or adopt a child while working for BBP and explains what you need to do to make sure that we can process this correctly. The rules around family friendly leave are complicated and can be confusing. If you have any questions after you have read this policy, please speak to the HR & Governance Coordinator.
The Government has created an online calculator to help you to work out the statutory leave and pay that you and your partner will be entitled to if you have a child: www.gov.uk/pay-leave-for-parents.
2. Maternity leave and pay
Antenatal appointments
If you are pregnant, you may take paid time off to attend antenatal appointments or classes if they have been recommended by your healthcare provider. Please give us as much notice as possible of these appointments and, if you can, arrange them for the start or end of your working day.
Telling us that you want to take maternity leave
Please let us know as soon as possible that you are pregnant. This is so that we can arrange to complete a health and safety risk assessment of your role and working conditions. We will keep your pregnancy confidential for as long as you wish. If you haven’t already done so, you must let us know before the end of the 15th week before your baby is due (before you are 25 weeks pregnant), that you are pregnant and that you plan to take maternity leave.
You should let us know when your baby is due and the dates that you want your maternity leave to start and finish. You can start your leave any time from 11 weeks before your baby is due, up to the date they are born. You must take at least 2 weeks of leave after your baby is born; after this you can choose how much leave you take up to a maximum of one year (52 weeks).
If you want to change your maternity leave dates later you can, as long as you give us 28 days’ notice of a change to your start date and 8 weeks’ notice of a change to your end date. If you can’t give us this much notice, please let us know as soon as possible.
Your maternity leave will start automatically if your baby is born early, or if you are off work with a pregnancy-related illness during the 4 weeks before the week of your baby’s due date.
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
If you are eligible, we will pay you Statutory Maternity Pay for up to 39 weeks. SMP is set by the government and changes each year. You can find the current rate of SMP on the government website at www.gov.uk/maternity-pay-leave/pay
Statutory pay is paid through payroll in the usual way and will have tax and national insurance deducted.
To receive SMP you must:
have been working for Bristol Bike Project for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before your baby is due
earn at least a certain amount each week (see www.gov.uk/maternity-pay-leave/eligibility for the current figure)
have given us the correct notice
have given us proof of your pregnancy (MATB1 form; your midwife will give this to you after your 20th week of pregnancy. Please let us have a copy as soon as possible.)
If you don’t qualify for SMP we’ll let you know in writing, explaining why. You may be able to claim Maternity Allowance from the government. There is more information on Maternity Allowance on the government website: www.gov.uk/maternity-allowance
3. Adoption leave and pay
If you are adopting as a couple only one of you may take adoption leave and pay even if you work for different organisations. The partner who doesn’t take adoption leave might be able to take new parent leave instead.
If you’re having a baby through surrogacy arrangements you can take adoption leave, as long as your partner doesn’t also take adoption leave from their employer.
Adoption appointments
You may take paid time off for up to 5 adoption appointments after you have been matched with a child. Please give us as much notice as possible of these appointments and, if you can, arrange them for the start or end of your working day.
Telling us that you want to take adoption leave and pay
Within 7 days of being matched with a child for adoption, or of receiving ‘official notification’ if you are adopting from overseas, you should write to us to let us know that you want to take adoption leave and when you would like it to start and end. If you are having a baby through surrogacy arrangements this should be at least 15 weeks before the week that your baby is due.
When your leave can start is different depending on the circumstances:
when your child starts living with you or up to 14 days before (if you are adopting from the UK)
when your child arrives in the UK or up to 28 days after this date (if you are adopting from overseas)
the day of or day after the birth (if your baby is being born through surrogacy arrangements)
You must take at least two weeks of adoption leave. After this you can choose how much leave you take, up to a maximum of one year (52 weeks).
If you want to change your dates later you can, as long as you give us 28 days’ notice of a change to your start date and 8 weeks’ notice of a change to your end date. If you can’t give us this much notice, please let us know as soon as possible.
Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP)
If you are eligible, we will pay you Statutory Adoption Pay for up to 39 weeks. SAP is set by the government and changes each year. You can find the current rate of SAP on the government website at www.gov.uk/adoption-pay-leave/pay
Statutory pay is paid through payroll in the usual way and will have tax and national insurance deducted.
To receive SAP you must:
have been working for BBP for at least 26 weeks by the week that you are matched with a child (if you are adopting a child from the UK) or by the ‘official notification’ that you have been matched with a child (if you are adopting a child from overseas) or by 15 weeks before your baby’s due date (if your baby is being born through surrogacy arrangements)
earn at least a certain amount each week (see www.gov.uk/adoption-pay-leave/eligibility for the current figure)
have given us the correct notice
have given us proof that you are adopting a child (you do not need to give us proof if your baby is being born through surrogacy)
If you don’t qualify for SAP we’ll let you know in writing, explaining why. Your local council might be able to offer you help; there is more information on the government website: www.gov.uk/browse/childcare-parenting/financial-help-children
4. New parent leave and pay
Antenatal appointments
You may take paid time off to attend up to three antenatal or adoption appointments with your partner. Please give us as much notice as possible of these appointments and, if you can, arrange them for the start or end of your working day.
Telling us that you want to take new parent leave and pay
You should let us know as soon as possible that you’re expecting a child and want to take new parent leave. In any case you must let us know at least 15 weeks before your baby is due or within 7 days of having been matched with a child for adoption (or of receiving ‘official notification’ if you’re adopting from abroad).
You can choose to take either one or two consecutive weeks of leave. You can choose to start your leave when you want as long as it’s after the birth or after your child has come to live with you (or has arrived in the UK if they are coming from overseas), and within 56 days of this.
You don’t have to tell us an exact date to start your leave when you first apply as long as you let us know when you would like it to be (for example, from the day of the birth, or a certain number of days after this).
Statutory paternity pay *1 (SPP)
If you are eligible, we will pay you Statutory Paternity Pay for up to 2 weeks. SPP is set by the government and changes each year. You can find the current rate of SPP on the government website at www.gov.uk/paternity-pay-leave/pay
Statutory pay is paid through payroll in the usual way and will have tax and national insurance deducted.
To receive SPP you must:
have been working for BBP for at least 26 weeks by the week that:
is 15 weeks before your baby is due
you are matched with a child (if you are adopting a child from the UK)
you receive ‘official notification’ that you have been matched with a child (if you are adopting a child from overseas)
be either:
the spouse or partner (including same sex partners) of the baby’s mother or the child’s adopter
the baby’s father
the intended parent (if you’re having a baby through surrogacy arrangements)
still be working for us when the baby is born or when the child comes to live with you
earn at least a certain amount each week (see www.gov.uk/paternity-pay-leave/eligibility for the current figure)
have given us the correct notice
have given us proof if you are adopting (for example a letter from the adoption agency or your matching certificate)
5. Shared parental leave and pay
Shared parental leave (SPL) allows you and your partner (or the child’s other parent if you are separated) to share some of the maternity or adoption leave available after the first two weeks. You both qualify for shared parental leave and pay separately so you might be able to take it even if your partner can’t. You can take shared parental leave in separate blocks, instead of having to take it all in one go like with maternity or adoption leave, but it must all be taken within a year.
To be eligible for SPL either you or your partner must be eligible for maternity pay or leave, adoption pay or leave, or maternity allowance. You also need to:
have been employed by BBP for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before your baby’s due date (or by the date you’re matched with your adopted child)
still be employed by us while you take your leave
During the 66 weeks before your baby is due (or the week you’re matched with your adopted child), your partner needs to:
have been working (this includes being self-employed) for at least 26 weeks (they don’t need to be in a row.)
have earned at least a certain amount in the last six months (see www.gov.uk/shared-parental-leave-and-pay/eligibility for the current figure)
How SPL works
A mother must take a minimum of two weeks of maternity leave after the birth of her baby (four if she works in a factory) and the main adopter must take a minimum of two weeks of adoption leave. After this, if you’re eligible for SPL and you or your partner end maternity or adoption leave and pay early then you can:
take up to the remaining 50 weeks of maternity or adoption leave as shared parental leave
take up to the remaining 37 weeks of maternity or adoption pay (or maternity allowance) as statutory shared parental pay (ShPP)
You can take leave separately or at the same time as your partner, but there will only ever be a maximum of 50 weeks of leave to share between you.
You can choose how you structure your SPL; unlike maternity and adoption leave you can choose to take SPL in blocks, returning to work in between, instead of taking it all in one go, or you can take it all in one go if you prefer. You can book up to three separate blocks of leave each and if you prefer you can ask to split each of those blocks into chunks of leave and working time (provided that each chunk is at least a week); you should let us know your plans when you apply for SPL. Although you can change your mind later, you’ll need to give us at least 8 weeks’ notice of any changes. We might not always be able to agree to the working/leave pattern that you ask for but we will always talk this through with you in detail and try to find a solution that works for both your family and Bristol Bike Project.
Statutory shared parental leave pay (ShPP)
You will be able to get ShPP if:
you’re eligible for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) or Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP), or
you’re eligible for Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) and your partner is eligible for SMP, SAP or Maternity Allowance (MA)
Telling us that you want to take shared parental leave and pay
To be able to take SPL you or your partner must either:
end maternity or adoption leave and pay by returning to work, or
give us (or your partner’s employer) ‘binding notice’ (at least 8 weeks) of your/their decision to end maternity or adoption leave and pay early. Once this notice has been given it can only be withdrawn in exceptional circumstances.
If you or your partner receives maternity allowance from Jobcentre Plus you must give them at least 8 weeks’ notice to end this.
You can start shared parental leave while your partner is still on maternity or adoption leave as long as they have given binding notice to end it.
There is quite a lot of information that you’ll need to give us if you want to take shared parental leave. Please speak with the HR & Governance Coordinator who will be able to help you do this.
6. Unpaid parental leave
Unpaid parental leave is designed to allow parents to take time off work to look after their child’s welfare. For example, you might use this leave to spend more time with your child during school holidays or to investigate potential new schools.
If you have worked for BBP for at least a year you can take up to 18 weeks of leave for each child up to their 18th birthday, but can only take a maximum of 4 weeks of unpaid parental leave each year. You won’t be paid during this leave. Unless your child is disabled you’ll need to take this leave in weekly blocks, rather than as odd days here and there. You will need to give us at least 21 days’ notice of the date that you would like your leave to start. We will only refuse this in exceptional circumstances; if we do need to refuse your request, we’ll discuss this with you in detail and try to find a solution that works for both your family and BBP.
Any unpaid parental leave that you take while you are working for someone else counts towards your total allocation; you should let us know if you have already taken some unpaid parental leave elsewhere.
7. What happens during your leave
While you are taking family friendly leave you will still be employed by BBP and we will treat you in the same way as any other colleagues; we will keep you updated on any important changes at work. You should agree how you would prefer us to contact you before your leave starts.
Keeping in Touch / Shared Parental Leave in Touch Days
While you are on maternity or adoption leave you can choose to take up to 10 ‘Keeping in Touch’ (KIT) days if both you and BBP agree. These are days when you can do some work without bringing your maternity or adoption leave to an end; they can often be useful for training days or important team announcements.
If you take shared parental leave you can agree to use up to 20 ‘Shared Parental Leave in Touch’ (SPLIT) days. These are in addition to any KIT days that you may have taken during maternity or adoption leave and work in exactly the same way. You and your partner can use up to 20 SPLIT days each.
We’ll pay you full pay for any KIT or SPLIT days that you work; if you are still receiving maternity, adoption or shared parental leave pay we will bring that up to full pay (you won’t ever get more than one normal day’s pay for working a KIT or SPLIT day).
We both have to agree for you to use a KIT or SPLIT day. We won’t ever try to force you to use one and we won’t treat you differently if you choose not to. Equally, you can’t use one of these days if we don’t agree that it’s needed.
Pensions
If you’re a member of the pension scheme your contributions will continue to be deducted from any statutory pay that you receive in the usual way. If you don’t pay pension contributions during any period of unpaid leave the benefits provided to you on retirement will be reduced; please speak to the HR & Governance Coordinator for more information.
Returning from family friendly leave
You will usually be able to return to the same job, with the same terms and conditions of employment, when your family friendly leave comes to an end. If there has been a reorganisation or business change during your leave this might not be possible, but if this happens we’ll always consult with you fully and discuss the implications of this with you as soon as possible.
Last reviewed: May 2022 / Next review due: May 2024
'Statutory paternity pay' This is the official terminology - we acknowledge that the language of paternity may not feel relevant to you but have kept it in this section for clarity ↑
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