Maternity and other family-related Leave and Pay (Rules J1–J11)
The University has published a maternity policy which applies to all staff and includes general guidance including health and safety advice. This is also available from your Head of Institution.
All University staff are entitled to a maximum of 52 weeks' maternity leave, consisting of 26 weeks' paid leave during which they will receive their normal rate of pay (no qualifying period), plus 13 weeks, if entitled, during which they will received Statutory Maternity Pay, and additionally, up to 13 weeks unpaid leave. In normal circumstances your maternity leave should begin no earlier than 11 weeks before the expected week of birth. You may not return to work for at least two weeks after the birth.
Maternity pay
You will receive maternity pay equal to your normal salary for 26 weeks. In the following period, if the amount due under the Statutory Maternity Pay scheme (if eligible) is greater than your normal salary, you will receive full Statutory Maternity Pay. If you are not entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay the Payroll Section will inform you of this and will give you a form SMP1 which you should forward to your local Benefits Agency office in order to claim Maternity Allowance. Your salary payable will be reduced by the amount of Maternity Allowance which you are entitled to receive, unless you provide proof via your Head of Institution that you are not eligible for Maternity Allowance. During paid maternity leave (whether on full pay or on Statutory Maternity Pay) you are not permitted to undertake paid work. You will normally be paid on the same date as your salary would be paid.
Risk assessment and ante-natal care
Risk assessments of working environments in the University are routinely carried out in order to be able to protect the safety of mother and child for any member of staff who may become pregnant. Should your working environment pose a threat to your health and safety, your duties will be modified or alternative work will be found for you. Should this not be possible you will be suspended from work on full pay on medical grounds.
During your pregnancy you will be entitled to time off with pay in order to attend ante-natal appointments, which may include classes. You should inform your Head of Institution of the dates of such appointments and you may be asked to produce an appointment card from your clinic.
Notification
You should give notice of your intention to take maternity leave by the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (using Form CHRIS/60), available from the Human Resources Division, accompanied by a certificate from your doctor or midwife, form Mat B1, stating the expected week of childbirth) of the date you intend to commence your maternity leave unless this is not reasonably practicable, in which case you should give as much notice as is reasonably practicable. You may subsequently change your mind about when you want to start your leave provided that you give at least 28 days' notice (unless this is not reasonably practicable), in which case you should give as much notice as is reasonably practicable. If you are absent from work due to a pregnancy-related reason after the beginning of the fourth week before the expected week of childbirth, your maternity leave will begin on the day after the first day of the absence, even if you had intended it to begin later than that date.
Return to work
On receipt of your formal application the Human Resources Division will write to you granting leave, and will inform you of the last permissible date for return from maternity leave. If you wish to return earlier than this date, you should give four weeks' notice of your intended date of return.
If you intend to return to work at the end of your paid maternity leave period you are not required to give notice of your return; if you wish to return earlier you should give 8 weeks' notice of your intention to return (using Form CHRIS/61); if you give less than 8 weeks' notice, your maternity leave may be extended for 8 weeks after the date of giving notice of return, to allow your institution to make any necessary arrangements.
Although there is no legal requirement for employees to give advance notice of your intention to return at the end of the maternity leave period, if you intend to do so it is helpful to keep your Head of Institution informed of your intentions so that appropriate cover arrangements can be made and workloads can be planned.
If you are unable, because you are medically unfit to work, to return to work at the end of your entitlement to maternity leave, you should submit medical certification in the usual way and you will then transfer from maternity leave to sick leave. Subsequently the normal procedures relating to absence on account of sickness will be followed.
If you do not return to work following a period of maternity leave, your job remains open and you do not automatically lose your right to return. However, your absence may be treated as unauthorised absence under the University's disciplinary procedure.
If you do not return to work after the specified period, or return to work but do not remain employed in the University for a period of at least three months, the University will normally reclaim from you any amount of maternity pay in excess of your Statutory Maternity Pay. The amount deducted will be all the excess pay if you do not return, two thirds of the excess pay if you return and continue in employment for one month, and one third of the excess pay if you return and continue in employment for two months. In exercising this right, the University shall have regard to individual circumstances.
You will be able to return from maternity leave by graduated steps, and/or part-time, provided that your institution can make arrangements to cover your duties at no extra cost to the University. If you wish to discuss any change in working arrangements on your return to work, you should contact your Head of Institution at the earliest opportunity and not later than four weeks before you return to work. Any agreement to a change in working arrangements (e.g. to work part-time) will be considered on the basis of the operational requirements of the department.
Temporary posts to cover for maternity leave
Usually, a temporary member of staff will be appointed to cover for maternity leave. If you are appointed to a temporary post of this kind you will be informed of this in your letter of appointment, and also of the fact that you may be dismissed with one week's notice when the permanent jobholder returns from maternity leave.
Adoption leave (Rules J4–J5)
A member of staff, male or female, who adopts a child will be entitled to adoption leave provided that only one of the adoptive parents may take adoption leave. The other parent will be entitled to take paternity leave.
An assistant adopting a child under 5 years of age who is the prime carer may apply (using Form CHRIS/64 ) for up to 52 weeks' leave to care for the child, consisting of 26 weeks leave during which they will receive their normal rate of pay, followed by 13 weeks during which they will receive, if they are entitled, Statutory Adoption Pay and up to 13 weeks' unpaid leave.
The leave and pay offered to employees who adopt a child aged over five years will be at the discretion of the HR Committee but will be no less than the statutory provision.
Paternity / Co-Parent Leave (Rule J9)
The following Assistants, who have or expect to have responsibility for the child's upbringing, are entitled to a maximum of 12 weeks' paid paternity/co-parent leave, regardless of their length of service and entitlement to statutory paternity benefits:
- Biological father of the child.
- Spouse, civil partner or partner of the mother or birth parent who themselves expects to have responsibility for the child's upbringing.
- Employee who is adopting a child but is not taking adoption leave.
- Employee who is having a child via surrogacy but is not taking adoption leave.
The paternity/co-parent leave and pay available consists of any statutory leave and pay that the employee is entitled to and a contractual paternity leave and pay provision. Full details and the steps eligible assistants must take to give notice of their entitlement are set out in the University Paternity/Co-parent Leave Policy and Procedure.
Paternity / Co-Parent Leave Policy and Procedure
Shared Parental Leave (Rule J10)
Shared Parental Leave (SPL) gives eligible parents flexibility to choose how they use their family leave entitlement in the year following their child's birth or adoption. SPL can be used where both parents work at the University or where one parent works for the University and the other parent works for another employer or is self-employed (subject to eligibility criteria).
Full details and the steps eligible assistants must take to give notice of their entitlement are set out in the University Shared Parental Leave Policy and Procedure.
Emergency leave (Rule J6)
Employees who are faced with an unforeseen emergency involving dependants, for instance an unexpected disruption in childcare arrangements, may be allowed to take paid leave of up to 5 working days in any rolling 12-month period (pro-rated for part-time employees), with a limit of 2 working days’ paid leave permitted on any single occasion. Where paid leave is exhausted, employees may have a statutory right to reasonable time off (unpaid) to deal with unforeseen emergencies involving dependants.
Employees may also request up to 1 day of unpaid leave to deal with severe and un-expected domestic emergencies unrelated to children or dependants, which necessitates their presence at home, for instance a burglary, fire or flood at their home.
Full details of the University’s provisions on emergency leave can be found in the University’s Special Leave Policy.
Ordinary Parental Leave (Rule J7)
Employees may be entitled to take up to 18 weeks' unpaid leave to look after their child, until that child’s 18th birthday.
If they need to take such leave, they should inform their Head of Institution as soon as possible. Full details of the University’s provisions on unpaid parental leave can be found in the University’s Ordinary Parental Leave policy and procedure.
Flexible Working (Rule J8)
All employees have a statutory right to apply to work flexibly from the first day of employment. The University has a Flexible Working Policy which sets out the procedure when staff ask to work flexibly to achieve a better work-life balance.