During Shared Parental Leave the contract of employment continues in force. All terms and conditions of the contract continue with the exception of stipend or salary. Continuity of service is maintained, and any standard incremental progression taking place during the Shared Parental Leave will be implemented.
Annual leave accrual
Annual leave entitlement as stated in the relevant contract of employment will continue to accrue as normal for the entire period of Shared Parental Leave. All accrued annual leave must be taken within three months of returning to work following Shared Parental Leave.
Effect on sabbatical leave
For academic staff with an entitlement to leave under Statute D,II,5, all terms on Shared Parental Leave are counted as reckonable service for sabbatical leave purposes.
Pension Implications
For members of both the USS and the CPS during any period of paid Shared Parental Leave, pension benefits are accrued as if the member is at work. The following paragraphs give general information about the procedures operating in the two pension schemes available to staff in the University. However this does not cover all individual circumstances and any member of staff who has queries on their pension entitlement should contact the Pensions Office for information.
For members of USS, contributions are maintained in full for any period when the member is in receipt of any pay, whether contractual (EShPP) or statutory (ShPP). Where a member is not entitled to EShPP or to ShPP, contributions also have to be maintained for the first 39 weeks of SPL pay or the period up to two weeks after the baby's birth/placement if this is longer. The member's contributions during this period are based on their actual income and any shortfall is made up by the University. A member of USS on unpaid leave is treated as being on suspended membership of the scheme and does not receive any service credits. On their return they may, if they wish, buy in this service by paying both employer and employee contributions.
For members of CPS, contributions are paid based on the salary actually received. When a member goes on unpaid leave they cease to accrue service for the period of that leave. On their return they may buy in the missing service, and are required to pay only the employee's contributions.
Contact during Shared Parental Leave
Before an employee's Shared Parental Leave begins, the Institution will discuss the arrangements for them to keep in touch during their leave. The University reserves the right in any event to maintain reasonable contact with the employee from time to time during their Shared Parental Leave. This may be to discuss the employee's plans to return to work, to ensure the individual is aware of any possible promotion opportunities, to discuss any special arrangements to be made or training to be given to ease their return to work or simply to update them on developments at work during their absence.
Shared Parental Leave in Touch (SPLIT) days
An employee can agree to work for the University (or attend training) for up to 20 days during Shared Parental Leave without bringing their period of Shared Parental Leave to an end. These are known as "Shared Parental Leave In Touch" or "SPLIT" days. Any work carried out on a day or part of a day shall constitute a day's work for these purposes
SPLIT days are in addition to any KIT days that the mother/adopter may have taken during their maternity/adoption leave.
The University has no right to require an employee to carry out any work, and is under no obligation to offer an employee any work, during the employee’s Shared Parental Leave. Any work undertaken is a matter for agreement between the Institution and the employee.
An employee, with the agreement of the organisation, may use SPLIT days to work part of a week during SPL. The Institution and the employee may use SPLIT days to effect a gradual return to work by the employee towards the end of a long period of Shared Parental Leave or to trial a possible flexible working pattern.
Payment of SPLIT days
An employee will receive full pay (at the appropriate rate according to their salary spine point), inclusive of any ShPP, for the hours worked during a SPLIT day.
Alternatively, an employee may choose to take paid ‘time off in lieu’ (TOIL) instead of payment for hours worked. Therefore, an employee who takes a SPLIT day may choose to receive no additional payment for that day beyond their ShPP but instead choose to gain an additional day's annual leave to be taken after their return to work
Support during Shared Parental Leave
An employee who is due to go on, or is currently taking Shared Parental Leave, is entitled to access all of the usual support networks available to staff. This includes within their Institution (e.g. Institution Administrator), within HR (e.g. HR Business Manager/Adviser) the Occupational Health Service and Counselling Service.