Helen Tracey
Overview Practicalities Eligibility Notification Agreement Examples During Leave Policy/Procedure Impact Resources
Practicalities Family Choice Friendly But it’s Equality Law Complicated ? Modern Flexibility
Practicalities 1 December 14 5 April 15 Publish policy/ Consult/inform procedure staff (Regulations) (Effective Date)
Practicalities Open • Early stage Discussion • Rights clear Non-binding • Whether indication • When • Maternity Leave Plan Ahead • Adoption Leave (Tentative) • Paternity Leave
Practicalities Maternity/ Adoption Leave is ended early Untaken leave Shared available as Shared Parental Parental Leave Leave Maximum of 50 weeks available
Practicalities Maternity or Adoption Pay is ended early Untaken pay Shared available as Shared Parental Parental Pay (ShPP) Pay Maximum of 37 weeks available
Eligibility “Sharer” (Employed by you) If these criteria are met the employee will also be entitled to Shared Parental Pay – unless they fall below the earnings threshold
Eligibility Put simply…(as possible) They are If entitled to And The “sharer” And Shared works for Was entitled And you to maternity Will be Parental or adoption returning to Have leave leave and work for you Leave and and pay pay outstanding Pay
Eligibility Mother/main adopter may share with The child’s father (maternity only) Their partner (either married to/civil partnership or live with) Their co-adopter (adoptions only) Both need to meet the eligibility criteria The two people who share the leave should be those who have the main responsibility to caring for the child
Eligibility “Sharing Partner” (Not employed by you)
Eligibility “Sharing partner” (Employed by you) Information they must give: Their name Their partners name Start and end date of the maternity/adoption leave (and/or pay) The amount of leave and pay available The expected and/or actual birth date or placement date Their declaration:
Eligibility “Sharing partner” (Employed by you)
Eligibility Cannot begin before the All leave and pay must be taken Birth (or adoption within 1 year of the birth (or adoption placement) placement) Shared Parental Leave If there are two employers they Both partners must agree to do not necessarily both have to share the leave and/or pay agree but…if they don’t plans may need to change
Notification At least 8 weeks notice (also for variations) Therefore notice should be given at least 9 weeks before the 52 week period is due to end. So notice to return to work may be given before the mother/adopter leaves work Notice may also be given after the mother/adopter has returned to work (However any outstanding pay will “run in the background” up until 39 weeks, even after the employee has returned to work unless SPL/SPP notice is given) Entitled to ask to change the amount or pattern of leave twice Therefore maximum number of notifications is three (unless you agree more) Once they have returned to work the maternity or adoption leave/pay cannot be restarted. Any outstanding leave or pay must be taken as Shared Parental Leave and pay
Notification Revoking notifications Their partner has provided notice to their employer You are not required to check the information provided by the partner … …but you can and may want to
Notification - Example Form
Notification - Example Form
Notification - Example Form (HR-Inform)
Agreement Two week “discussion period” Employer can propose agree, propose alternatives or refuse If refused the weeks may be taken in a single block Employee has 5 days to specify start date If not specified, will start on the first date in their notification An employer must agree to Shared Parental Leave taken in one single block An employer does not have to agree to an employee taking more than one block of Shared parental Leave
Agreement Withdrawal The employee has up until the point of agreement (within the 2 weeks) to withdraw Once the declarations are made the employee is bound to end their leave on that date unless: In the 8 weeks after the notice it is discovered there is no entitlement Before the end date the person who the leave was to be shared with dies (for mothers only) notice was given before the birth and is revoked within six weeks after the birth In the first two cases there is no right to make a further request
Examples Share once – transfers from one to the other Share back and forth (take in blocks) Share and take leave at the same time (although the mother will have had to give notice of her return date) Taking blocks of leave Minimum of a week Your employee will be returning to work in between Cap of three notifications ( not three blocks)
Example
Example – Shared in 1 Block
Example – Numerous blocks The remaining 4 weeks will still be available up until the day before the child’s first birthday (or one year after the date of placement for adoptions) Use the HR Inform online calculator
Example – Numerous blocks In this example, all periods are paid (subject to eligibility) Due to using leave at the same time ShPP is used by week 35
During and After Leave Protection of Terms and Conditions (except remuneration) Continuity of Employment Accrual of leave Pension implications – similar to maternity/adoption/paternity Contact during leave “SPLIT” days – up to 20 per employee – paid Providing cover Returning to work – original contract and T&Cs unless not practicable
Policy/Procedures The existing rules on the following will remain the same : • The length of Maternity Leave • The length of Statutory Maternity Pay • The qualification arrangements for Statutory Maternity Leave/Pay and Maternity Allowance • The length of Ordinary Paternity Leave • The length of Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay • The qualification arrangements for Statutory Paternity Pay • The length of Adoption Leave • Arrangements for recovering statutory payments via HMRC
Policy/Procedure The following will change : • Additional Paternity Leave abolished • Additional Paternity Pay abolished • (and replaced with Shared Parental Leave and Pay) • So…those previously entitled can only access additional leave if someone shares it with them… • Adoption Leave and Pay will be brought in line with Maternity Leave and Pay • i.e. No service requirement to qualify for adoption leave • Pay enhanced to 90% for the first six week • Adoption leave and pay will become open to parents in surrogacy arrangements who meet eligibility criteria • Statutory Pay Rates will be upped to £139.58pw from 5 April 2015
Policy/Procedure Consider the impact on: • Maternity Leave Procedure • Adoption Leave Procedure • Paternity Leave Procedure • Agency Workers Procedure • Possibly: • Flexible Working Procedure
Impact Culture Change Only 0.6% of those eligible take APL Government predicts 2% take up E.g. Sweden – 40 years, popularity linked to pay Most employers not offering enhanced pay (Civil Service are) Is there a risk of discrimination if you offer enhanced maternity/adoption and not shared parental pay? BIS guidance – not legally binding Shuter v Ford Motor Company http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr- inform/case-law/2014/september/shuter-v-ford-motor-company Also need to ensure consistency and fairness in types of requests accepted/refused
Resources Examples of where to find further information: CIPD HR-Inform (example policies, letters, forms, cases etc.) Department for Business, Innovation and Skills – Shared Parental Leave and Pay – Employers’ Technical Guide – September 2014 (FAQs, examples) ACAS guidance – Shared Parental Leave: a good practice guide for employers and employees (best practice, sample templates) Gov.uk (Basic information on rights, pay and administration) My Family Care – HR Resource Pack (survey results, overview of the legislation).
Resources - Glossary Curtailment - Ending leave or pay before maximum entitlement has been taken KIT - Keeping in Touch (Days) – Maternity/Adoption MA - Maternity Allowance SAP - Statutory Adoption Pay SMP - Statutory Maternity Pay SPP - Statutory Paternity Pay ShPL - Shared Parental Leave ShPP - Statutory Shared Parental Pay SPLIT - Shared Parental Leave Keeping in Touch Days
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