A Guide to Teachers Maternity Scheme

Transcription

1 A Guide to Teachers Maternity Scheme Maternity Policy September 2011

2 CONTENTS Introduction 1 Background 1 Maternity Leave and Pay Summary. 2 Continuous Service... 4 Managing Maternity The Scheme in Detail 4 Initial Obligations on the Employee... 4 Initial Obligations of the Headteacher / Line Manager... 4 Maternity Leave - Starting Leave... 5 Maternity Pay... 5 Statutory Maternity Pay... 5 Average Weekly Earnings... 6 Maternity Allowance (MA)... 6 National Insurance Contributions... 7 Right to Return to Work... 7 Exercising the Right to Return to Work... 8 All Employees... 8 Shared Maternity Leave 9 Resignation. 9 Ante-natal Care... 9 Fertility Treatment... 9 Stillbirths or Miscarriages Premature Birth Maternity - Relationship with Sickness Pregnancy Related Illness Maternity Sickness Guidance Medical Review Procedure Annual Leave.13 Flexible Working Paternity Leave 15 Maternity Support Leave Statutory Paternity Leave and Pay Additional Paternity Leave and Pay Antenatal Care Parental Leave Adoption Leave Health and Safety.21 Risk Assessment Protective Measures Period of Protection Leave on Health and Safety Grounds Paid Leave of Absence - Contact with Rubella Working with VDU's 23 Discriminatory Practice. 23 Communication during Maternity Leave Maternity Policy August 2011 ii

3 Keeping in Touch Days (KIT) Redundancy during Pregnancy/Maternity Leave Temporary Employees 25 Manager's Role Managing Maternity Summary.. 25 Further Advice. 26 Glossary.. 27 Appendix 1 Form TA01.28 Appendix 2 - Letter Mat LP Standard letter sent Via Children s Services HR Support Team to acknowledge notification of Maternity Leave... Appendix 3 Form TA Request for Maternity Support Leave and Statutory Paternity Leave ana Pay... Appendix 4 Form Mat LP 3 37 Manager s Record of Maternity Entitlements... Appendix 5 Form TA Maternity/Adoption Leave Return Notification Appendix Maternity Rights Flowchart... For Employees who do not have One Years Continuous Service at the 11 th Week before EWC... Maternity Rights Flowchart For Employees who have One Years Continuous Local Government Service at the 11 th Week before EWC... Appendix 7 Employee Guide to Maternity Benefits What am I entitled to? What do I have to do to qualify? When can I go on leave? Returning to Work Health and Safety Appendix 8 46 Employee Guide to Paternity Leave Maternity Support Leave Who is entitled to Maternity Support Leave What you should do Statutory Paternity Leave and Pay Leave Pay Requesting Statutory Paternity Leave and Pay If you qualify for both types of leave Antenatal Care Flexible Working Childcare Arrangements Appendix 9 Additional Paternity Leave and Pay..49 APL&P...49 Eligibility..51 How to Request APL&P Maternity Policy August 2011 iii

4 Form APL&P - Acknowledgement of Notification...53 Form APL&P1 Part A 56 Form APL&P1 Part B 56 Form APL&P - Mothers Declaration..58 Frequently Asked Questions Appendix 10 Keeping In Touch Day Pro Forma.61 Maternity Policy August 2011 iv

5 Introduction This guidance document is intended to assist Headteachers and Governing Bodies in managing the new maternity provisions and is applicable to all Teaching Staff. Background The Government is committed to helping working parents to balance work and family life in a way that is both compatible with, and beneficial to, business efficiency. The Work and Families Act 2006 has included scope to give employed fathers and partners of new mothers a right to up to 26 weeks additional paternity leave once the mother or partner has returned to work. From 6 April 2010 new regulations give parents of children due, or matched for adoption, on or after 3 April 2011 greater flexibility in how they use maternity and paternity provisions through the introduction of Additional Paternity Leave and Pay. Mothers will benefit by having the choice between taking their full maternity leave and returning to work early, allowing their spouse or partner to take leave instead. For further information please contact Children s Services HR Advice Team or Children s Services HR Support Team, Fawcett Street. Maternity Policy August

6 Maternity Leave and Pay - Summary All pregnant employees are entitled to 52 weeks maternity leave, regardless of their length of services or hours worked. This must be taken as a continuous block. The maternity leave is split into two parts, which attract different employment rights. The first 26 weeks leave is referred to as ordinary maternity leave (OML) the subsequent 26 weeks period is referred to as additional maternity leave (AML) Employment rights during ordinary maternity leave (OML) During ordinary maternity leave the employee is entitled to benefit from all their normal terms and conditions of employment with the exception of pay. This period is counted as continuous service for calculation of statutory employment rights, pension rights and other contractual payments relating to their length of service. This means that this period is included in the entitlement to sick pay. On return from OML an employee is entitled to return to the same job on the same terms and conditions as before her leave began. If there has been a re-grading or pay award applied to her post during the period she was on OML then she is entitled to receive these benefits as if she hadn t been away. OML also includes 2 weeks compulsory maternity leave, which immediately follows the birth of the employee s baby and the employee is not permitted to work or return to work during this period. Employment rights during additional maternity leave (AML) The right to benefit from all normal contractual terms and conditions of employment in the ordinary maternity leave period does not necessarily continue throughout the additional maternity leave. Continuity of employment is preserved through additional maternity leave for the purpose of calculating entitlement to statutory employment right (such as redundancy, unfair dismissal rights, notice requirements). The period of additional maternity leave will be treated by the school as continuous for the purpose of calculating contractual sick pay. However some benefits such as pensions will be different during the additional maternity leave period. If there is a period of unpaid maternity leave during this time that unpaid period of leave may not be treated as continuous service and instead the service before and the service after this additional maternity leave period will be joined together. Employees are given the option to make pension contributions during such a period of unpaid leave so that the period counts in full for pension purposes. For further advice on this, please contact Paul Burrell, Teachers Pension Officer. Maternity Policy August

7 Maternity Pay Detailed below are your entitlements to pay, conditional upon your length of service at the end of the qualifying week i.e. at the end of the 15 th week before the EWC, and having earnings above the lower earnings limit for National Insurance (NI) The main provisions are: Employees with less than 26 weeks continuous service (at the end of the 15 th week before the expected week of confinement (EWC), i.e. the qualifying week) 52 weeks leave (26 weeks Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML) plus 26 weeks Additional Maternity Leave (AML) which begins straight after OML) (leave can start as early as 11 weeks before the birth and be taken up to 52 weeks after the baby is born) Payment is the employee s entitlement to Maternity Allowance (MA) or other benefits Employees with 26 weeks continuous service (at the end of the qualifying week) but less than 1 year s service (at the beginning of 11 th week before the EWC) 52 weeks leave (26 weeks OML plus 26 weeks AML which begins straight after ordinary maternity leave) (leave can start as early as 11 weeks before the birth and be taken up to 52 weeks after the baby is born) Payment is the employee's entitlement to Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) or Maternity Allowance (MA) or other benefits SMP is paid as follows: 6 weeks at 90% of average weekly pay 33 weeks at lower rate SMP or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower than lower rate SMP. Employees with at least 1 year s continuous service (at the beginning of 11 th week before EWC) 52 weeks leave (26 weeks OML plus 26 weeks AML which begins straight after ordinary maternity leave) (leave can start as early as 11 weeks before the birth and be taken up to 52 weeks after the baby is born) 39 weeks maternity pay: 4 weeks at 100% of a week s pay 2 weeks at 90% of a week's pay Maternity Policy August

8 12 weeks at 50%* of a week's pay plus SMP/MA or other benefits (not to exceed full pay) if returning to work and, 21 weeks SMP or entitlement to MA or other benefits. *The 12 weeks half pay entitlement can be paid in equal instalments over the remaining 33 weeks of maternity leave. The main maternity provisions are also shown in the flowcharts at Appendix 5. Continuous Service Will also include service gained with Local Authorities (LA), other than Sunderland City Council where you have moved from one LA to another with your work, but have not had a break in service. Managing Maternity The Scheme in Detail Initial Obligations on the Employee An employee is required to notify her Headteacher / Line Manager in writing at least 28 days before her absence begins or as soon as is reasonably practicable, of the following: ( Form TA01 shown in appendix 1 should be used for this purpose) (i) (ii) (iii) that she is pregnant the expected week of childbirth (EWC). She should be asked to provide a certificate of confinement (MATB1) from her Doctor or Midwife or other certificate signed by her Doctor or midwife which she will be able to obtain after she reaches the 20th week before the baby is due and is usually issued around the 14 th week before the baby is due. the date of the beginning of her ordinary maternity leave (this cannot be earlier than the 11 th week before EWC) Initial Obligations of the Headteacher / Line Manager Headteachers / Line Managers may, however, hear informally either from the employee herself or through colleagues that she is pregnant. As soon as the Headteacher / Line Manager is aware that an employee is pregnant then they have a responsibility to actively manage the situation and to consider any health and safety issues. Children s Service HR Support Team will write to the employee within 28 days of receiving the notice confirming the date she wishes to start ordinary maternity leave. The letter must inform the employer of their expected date of return from maternity leave assuming they will take their full entitlement of 52 weeks from the start of leave Maternity Policy August

9 and confirm notice requirements if she wishes to return earlier. (Standard Letter Mat LP2 shown in Appendix 2). Maternity Leave - Starting Leave It is up to the employee to determine when she starts her maternity leave and pay period. However, to ensure they receive their full entitlement to statutory maternity pay, as it is only paid in complete weeks, employees should return to work on the same day of the week as their first day of maternity leave. For example, if an employees last day at work prior to their maternity leave is a Thursday they should return to work at the end of their leave on a Friday. Maternity leave cannot, however, start before the 11th week before the EWC. The maternity leave and pay period is, however, triggered if after the beginning of the 4th week before the EWC the employee is absent from work either wholly or partly due to a pregnancy related reason. Provided that there are no health and safety implications, or pregnancy related illness, an employee may work up until the date the baby is born. If the actual date of childbirth occurs before the date notified by the employee or the employee miscarries and this is after the 24th week of pregnancy then the maternity leave and pay period will automatically be triggered. The employee must notify her Headteacher / Line Manager as soon as reasonably practicable that she has given birth. Maternity Pay If an employee does not return for 3 months then she may be required to refund the money paid. This decision is at the Council's discretion. Such cases should be referred to the Governing Body who, in conjunction with the Children s Service HR Advice Team, will make the decision on a case-by-case basis. Payments made to the employee by way of SMP are not refundable. Statutory Maternity Pay To qualify for SMP employees must: (i) (ii) have been continuously employed by Sunderland City Council for at least 26 weeks continuing into the 15th week before the baby is due (i.e. qualifying week) have average weekly earnings in the eight weeks up to and including the qualifying week (or the equivalent if monthly paid) of not less than the lower earnings limit for the payment of National Insurance contributions applicable in the qualifying week Maternity Policy August

10 (iii) (iv) leave work after the 15 th week before the baby is due (unless the baby is born early) gave her Headteacher / Line Manager advance notification of her intentions Statutory maternity pay is a weekly benefit paid through the payroll system and will start on the day the employee s maternity leave starts. Average Weekly Earnings In deciding whether an employee qualifies for SMP and if so at what rate it is necessary to calculate an employee's average weekly earnings. For SMP purposes (for Occupational Maternity pay see. "A weeks pay") generally earnings should be averaged over the 8 weeks up to and including the last pay day before the end of the qualifying week. The calculation may differ from this, depending on an employee's pay period. Children s Services, Payroll Section will advise on this. Statutory maternity pay is payable for up to 39 weeks and is not dependent upon the employee returning to work after the baby is born. There are two weekly rates of statutory maternity pay. The initial rate is 90% of the employee's average weekly earnings and is payable for the first 6 weeks. The second rate is the lesser of lower rate SMP or 90% of her average weekly earnings and is paid for the subsequent 33 weeks. Maternity Allowance (MA) Some employees may not be entitled to SMP but will be able to claim maternity allowance from the Benefits Agency. Employees who are not entitled to SMP should be given a completed form SMP1 (obtainable from the payroll section) together with her MATB1. It is the employee's responsibility to submit a claim for Maternity Allowance to the Benefits Agency. The employee should obtain form MA1 from her social security office or maternity clinic, complete the form and send all three forms to her benefits agency, as soon as possible. To qualify for MA employees must have paid standard rate NI contributions in respect of at least 26 weeks in the 66-week period ending with the week before the week in which the baby is due. Entitlement to MA and the rate payable is determined by the Benefits Agency who also makes the payments direct to the employee. Maternity Policy August

11 MA can be paid for up to 39 weeks. Headteachers / Line Managers should ask the employee to keep them informed of her entitlements to MA or other benefits as this may affect her occupational maternity pay where applicable. Managers should also ensure that the payroll section is kept updated. Employees not entitled to either SMP or MA may be entitled to other benefits for the period beginning 6 weeks before the week the baby is expected until 2 weeks after the birth. This will be determined by the Benefits Agency and will be automatically considered if the claim for maternity allowance has not been allowed. National Insurance Contributions During paid maternity leave employees will continue to have deductions made from their pay for National Insurance (NI). No NI contributions will be made during unpaid leave so an employee will, therefore, have a gap in their contributions. Right to Return to Work The law requires that all women take Compulsory Maternity leave immediately after the birth of their baby, which is 2 weeks from the date of birth. Subject to subsequent reorganisations or redundancy situations arising, an employee has the right to return to the job in which she was employed under her original contract of employment and on terms and conditions not less favourable than those, which would have been applicable to her if she had not been absent. Job for this purpose, means the nature of the work, which she is employed to do, and the capacity and place in which she is so employed. Where it is not practicable by reason of redundancy for the School to permit her to return to work in her job as defined above; the employee shall be entitled to be offered a suitable alternative vacancy where one exists, provided that the work to be done in that post is suitable to her and appropriate to the circumstances, and that the capacity and place in which she is to be employed and her terms and conditions of employment are not substantially less favourable to her than if she had been able to return to the job in which she was originally employed. Suitable alternative employment may also be offered if exceptional circumstances other than redundancy (e.g. a general reorganisation), which would have occurred if the employee had not been absent, necessitate a change in the job in which she was employed prior to her absence. The work to be done should be suitable to her and appropriate to the circumstances and the capacity and place in which she is to be employed on her terms and conditions of employment should not be less favourable to her than if she had been able to return to the job in which she was originally employed. Maternity Policy August

12 Exercising the Right to Return to Work All Employees If the employee intends to return to work before the end of her ordinary or additional maternity leave she must give her Headteacher / Line Manager 21 days notice of her return. If the employee only wishes to take the 26 weeks ordinary maternity leave, she must give her Headteacher / Line Manager 21 days notice of her return to work in writing, because she will be returning to work before her full maternity leave entitlement has ended. If the employee attempts to return to work earlier than the end of her ordinary maternity or additional maternity leave without giving the 21 days notice, her Headteacher / Line Manager may postpone her return until 21 days notice has been given. The Headteacher / Line Manager may not postpone her return to a date later than the end of her additional maternity leave. Where an employee has provided 21 days notice of an early return to work and subsequently changes their mind and wishes to return even earlier they must give 21 days notice of the new date of return. Where an employee has changed their mind and wishes to postpone their early return to work they must give notice 21 day s before the original early return date. The Governing Body in consultation with the Children s Services HR Advice Team should consider any requests for unpaid leave in excess of the 52-week leave period. An employee may postpone her return to work at the end of the maternity leave period by submitting a Doctor's statement stating that she will be incapable of work, before the notified date of return or if no date of return has been notified the expiry of the maternity leave period. The sick pay scheme will apply to this absence. If an employee cannot return to work due to an interruption, such as industrial action she should return when work resumes or as soon as is reasonably practicable. In the case of an interruption of work, such as industrial action or for some other reason and no date of return has been given an employee may exercise her right to return to work by giving 7 days notice in writing that she intends to return at any time before the end of 14 days from the end of the interruption. A date for return should be agreed between the employee and her Headteacher / Line Manager. The Headteacher/Line Manager should inform Payroll of the employees return to work date following maternity leave at the earliest opportunity. This should be the Maternity Policy August

13 date the maternity leave ends and not the date the employee is returning to the work place following annual leave (form TA06 shown in Appendix 5 should be used for this purpose). Transfer of maternity leave If an employee proposes to return to work early without using her full 52 week allowance to maternity leave by giving proper notification of an early return in accordance with the procedure set above, she may be eligible to transfer up to 26 weeks of her outstanding maternity leave (and outstanding statutory maternity pay) to her spouse, civil partner or partner, or the father of her child, to be taken as additional paternity leave (and additional statutory paternity pay) on her return to work. The earliest that additional paternity leave may commence is 20 weeks after the date on which the employee s child is born and it must end no later than 12 months after the date of birth. The minimum period of additional paternity leave is two consecutive weeks and the maximum period is 26 weeks (6 months). The employee must therefore have at least two weeks of her maternity leave that remains unexpired. If the employee does wish to transfer part of her maternity leave entitlement in this way, she will be required to submit a written and signed declaration form to the school, which may also make additional enquiries to verify its employee s entitlement to additional paternity leave and pay. Resignation If you decide whist on maternity leave that you do not intend to return to work, the date you make that decision will be treated as your leaving date. Once you have returned to your post following maternity leave, the normal resignation notice periods for teachers apply. Ante-natal Care Any pregnant employee has the right to paid time off to attend antenatal care. Antenatal care is not restricted to medical examinations; for example, it could include relaxation and parent craft classes. After their first visit employees should be asked to produce their appointment card when asking for time off. Requests for paid time off for antenatal care should not be unreasonably refused. Fertility Treatment Employees who are undergoing fertility treatment will be allowed reasonable time off to attend appointments. Maternity Policy August

14 Stillbirths or Miscarriages Mothers whose babies are stillborn or who miscarry after the 24th week of pregnancy are still entitled to their period of leave and payments as described. The maternity leave and pay period will be triggered if the employee gives birth or miscarries before the intended (notified) date for starting her leave. Where this occurs before the 24th week the Headteacher / Governing Body should, in consultation with the Children s Services HR Advice Team, give sympathetic consideration to the circumstances and consider sick leave/compassionate leave as appropriate. Premature Birth Where a baby is born prematurely, the Headteacher / Line Manager in consultation with the Children s Services HR Advice Team will consider the individual circumstances of the case in deciding whether further support is appropriate. Maternity - Relationship with Sickness Maternity leave will not be treated as sick leave and will not therefore be taken into account for the calculation of the period of entitlement to sickness leave. Paid maternity leave and authorised unpaid maternity leave shall be regarded as continuous service for the purpose of Sunderland City Council s occupational sickness schemes. Pregnancy Related Illness An employee's maternity leave and pay will automatically be triggered by absence, either wholly or partly because of pregnancy, any time after she has reached the 4th week before the EWC. Under the normal sickness absence reporting procedures employees are required to give the reasons for their absence and this requirement still applies. Deciding whether an employee's absence is connected with pregnancy or childbirth may be problematic. Problems may arise when an employee is absent for only an odd day due to a pregnancy-related absence. Under the terms of legislation this will trigger the maternity leave and pay period even though the employee maybe fit to return to work after that days absence. Further concerns may arise over whether the reason for absence is in fact pregnancy-related. There are some conditions which are clearly due to pregnancy, others which are not and some conditions which are due to pregnancy in some expectant women but not others, such as back pain, diarrhoea and vomiting, high blood pressure and anaemia. Maternity Policy August

15 Consideration should be given to the individual circumstances of each case and in difficult cases the decision as to whether the maternity leave and pay period is triggered should be taken in consultation with the Children s Services HR Advice Team who will seek medical advice where necessary from the Occupational Health Unit. Maternity Sickness Guidance This guidance is to be followed when an employee fails to return to work from maternity leave due to sickness and in particular where an employee on maternity leave provides her employer with 21 days notice to return to work early and subsequently fails to return to work on the new date and submits a doctors certificate as required. The employee will then qualify for sick pay as opposed to the reduced SMP payments she would receive under the current maternity scheme. Following legal advice from the City Solicitor, it is clear that failure to pay sick pay in such circumstances could lead to a claim of Unlawful Deduction of Wages and possibly Sex Discrimination. Sick pay must be paid even where an individuals SMP entitlement has not expired. This is explicitly stated in the Burgundy Book (Teachers Conditions). Upon receipt of an employee s sick note the employee is requested to attend a medical review at the Occupational Health Unit. The purpose of the medical review is to establish the reasons why the employee felt unable to return to work following maternity leave. In these circumstances, appointments at the Occupational Health Unit will, where possible, take place within 4 weeks from the submission of the employee s sick note. An early appointment with the Occupational Health Unit is required as it is important to determine, at an early stage, any sickness and welfare issues the employee may have following maternity leave in order for the School to provide the appropriate support and guidance. Maternity Policy August

16 Medical Review Procedure The employee informs their Headteacher / Line Manager that they are unable to return to work following maternity leave due to sickness. After the self-certification period the employee subsequently submits a sick note. The sick note will trigger the Headteacher / Line Manager to submit a normal referral form to the Occupational Health Unit requesting that an appointment for a medical review is required within the next 4 weeks. This referral must be sent to Children s Services HR Advice Team A letter should be sent to the employee explaining the reason for the medical review and requesting their attendance at the appointment. This should detail the employee s responsibility to contact Occupational Health if any special arrangements are required, such as home visits or a different time or day. If the employee fails to attend the appointment and did not the contact Occupational Health Unit (as above), the employee should be contacted as soon as possible to determine the reason for non-attendance. A subsequent appointment should be made for the employee and a second letter should be sent informing them of the new appointment, requesting their attendance and explaining that under the terms and conditions of their employment they are required to attend these appointments. If the employee attends the appointment, the Occupational Health Unit will be able to advise on progress and likely date of return. Any further action should be carried out in accordance with the schools attendance management policy. If the employee fails to attend the second appointment without reasonable explanation sick pay will be suspended (the employee must be notified of this in writing). At this stage consideration will need to be given as to whether further action should be taken in accordance with the disciplinary procedure. Please seek advice from Children s Services HR Advice Team. This guidance is also included in the Attendance Management Policy. Maternity Policy August

17 Annual Leave Under the statutory right the entitlement to annual leave for teachers is 24 days (4.8 weeks) under the Working Time (Amendments) Regulations This is not an additional entitlement to annual leave on top of the current school closure arrangements. 1. Teachers do not have a contractual entitlement to paid annual leave nor a specified annual leave year (see below); 2. Teachers are entitled to 24 days statutory annual leave under the WTR; 3. A teacher who takes maternity leave must be able to take the 24 days statutory annual leave at a time outside of her maternity leave. A local authority may not treat any part of the maternity leave period i.e. ordinary maternity leave (OML) or additional maternity leave (AML), as annual leave; 4. Annual leave entitlement can be offset by any period of school closure that has taken place in the leave year in question, i.e. both before and after the maternity leave period; 5. A teacher should be advised prior to commencing her maternity leave that she has a statutory entitlement to 24 days annual leave and that this should be taken either before or after the maternity leave period during school closure periods. On her return from maternity leave, a teacher must be allowed to take any outstanding leave during term time during that leave year if there are insufficient school closures to accommodate her leave in that leave year; 6. Where the return from maternity leave is so close to the end of the leave year that there is not enough time to take all her annual leave entitlement, a teacher must be allowed to carry over any balance of her leave to the following leave year. A teacher can be required to take this during the remaining periods of school closure after the 24 days annual leave for that leave year has been accommodated; 7. It is not possible for either the teacher or the authority to decide to carry over the annual leave into the next leave year if there is time to take the leave in the current leave year i.e. in school closures or in term time; 8. It will not usually be possible for a teacher to obtain payment in lieu of untaken annual leave instead of taking leave during the leave year (see below). However, there are transitional arrangements in place which allow payments in lieu of the extra eight days annual leave under the WTR, until April 2009 (see DTI link below for further information). Maternity Policy August

18 9. As an employee has 24 days leave under the WTR, the accrual of leave is not affected by what stage of maternity leave an employee is at or whether they are receiving pay. Leave year is the 1 September to the 31 August, in line with the academic year. DTI Flexible Working Employees have the right to apply to work flexibly, e.g. part time, job share, term time working or some other working pattern, if they have children under the age of 6 years or a child with disabilities under the age of 18 years. Some employees may wish to consider this as an option following their return to work after maternity leave. The Governing Body of the School has a duty to consider such requests. For further detailed guidance, please refer to the Flexible Working Policy for. Returning from Maternity Leave and Childcare Arrangements Sunderland City Council has introduced a Childcare Benefit Scheme to help employees meet their childcare costs. Briefly, the Scheme operates under a salary sacrifice principle. If your application is accepted, Sunderland City Council will make a payment to your childcare provider each month. This payment can be anything up to a (current) maximum of 55 per week, which is the most the Government will allow under this type of scheme. This equates to a calendar monthly payment of up to 243. Sunderland City Council will pay this directly to your childcarer and reduce your gross pay by the same amount. This figure is then deducted from the bill you receive from your childcare provider. Sunderland City Council has joined forces with Fideliti to provide this Scheme. The vouchers can cover children up to the age of 16 and can be used to pay registered and approved childcarers such as day nurseries, out-of-school clubs, childminders, school holiday clubs and pre-school play groups. If you want to find out more please contact the childcare team on or visit the Fideliti Website at In addition to this Sunderland s Families Information Service (FIS) can provide parents and families with information, help and support on a wide range of issues including childcare options and financial support which may be available. They can also provide information about returning to work and services which are available to parents and families. If you want to find out more please call or visit to search the online directory to find services in your area. Maternity Policy August

19 Paternity Leave Maternity Support Leave Under the Green Book there is an entitlement to 5 days paid maternity support leave for the nominated carer of an expectant mother at or around the time of the birth. Part time employees have a pro rata entitlement. A nominated carer is the person nominated by the mother as their primary provider of support at or around the time of the birth, although usually the father, the role may be undertaken by a relative or someone who has a caring relationship with the mother and/or child but who is not the father. The purpose of granting the leave is to meet the needs of the employee in addressing problems or commitments outside work, which are likely to have a bearing on the employee's well being and abilities to perform their duties. Employees requesting maternity support leave should complete form (attached as Appendix 3), provide a copy of the mother's MATB1and give as much notice as possible. Managers should satisfy themselves through discussing the situation with the employee that the employee is the nominated carer. The detail of when the leave will be taken should be mutually agreed between the Manager and the employee. The 5 days may be taken together as one period or separately. Requests for maternity support leave should not be unreasonably refused. Statutory Paternity Leave and Pay There is a right to 2 weeks paternity leave and statutory paternity pay for employees in order to care for the new baby and support the mother. Employees who have 26 weeks continuous service with Sunderland City Council by the end of the 15 th week before EWC and from the 15 th week before the baby is due up to the date of birth shall qualify for statutory paternity leave i.e. 41 weeks of continuous service before the baby is due. They must be the biological father of the child or be married to or be the partner of the child s mother and expect to have responsibility for the upbringing of the child. If the baby is born earlier than the 14 th week before it is due and, but for the birth occurring early, the employee would have been employed continuously for the 26 weeks, then they will be deemed to have the necessary length of service. Employees will be entitled to two weeks paternity leave, taken either one-week or in two consecutive weeks. Part time employees have a pro rata entitlement. Maternity Policy August

20 Leave can start on any day of the week on or following the child s birth but must be completed within 56 days of the actual date of birth of the child or if the child is born early within the period from actual date of birth up to 56 days after the expected week of birth. I.e. 8 weeks. Only one period of leave is provided per pregnancy. Therefore if the employee s partner gives birth to twins the entitlement will still only be two weeks leave. Statutory paternity pay is paid at the lower rate of Statutory Maternity Pay (or 90% of average weekly earnings if less). Employees are required to inform their Headteacher / Line Manager of their intention to take statutory paternity leave and pay at the same time as they request Maternity Support Leave and the employee must give the following information: the expected week of childbirth the length of leave requested, whether 1 or 2 weeks the date the leave will start a copy of the mother s MATB1 To qualify for Statutory Paternity Pay they must give their request for leave and pay to their Headteacher / Line Manager at least 28 days before they want it to begin, or as soon as is reasonably practicable. Employees will be able to change the date on which they wish their leave to start if necessary. A qualifying employee will be entitled to paid leave if the baby is still born after 24 weeks of pregnancy. If the baby is born alive at any point in the pregnancy but dies later, the employee will be entitled to paid paternity leave in the usual way. In addition to the qualifications for leave, to qualify for statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) an employee must have average earnings at or above the Lower Earnings Limit for National Insurance at the end of his qualifying week. The employee does not have to have paid National Insurance to qualify. Employees who do not qualify for SPP should be given form SPP1 and they maybe able to claim other benefits from the Benefits Agency. Employees will be entitled to return to the same job on Terms and Conditions not less favourable than would have applied if they hadn t been absent. If an employee is off sick they should postpone their paternity leave, but the 56-day period within which they must take their leave cannot be extended. Maternity Policy August

21 Employees who qualify for both statutory paternity leave and maternity support leave will be entitled to one weeks leave at normal pay and one weeks leave paid at the lower rate of SMP (or 90% of average weekly earnings if less). Any statutory payments received will be offset against normal pay during the first week of absence (so that normal pay is not exceeded). Requests for maternity support leave and Statutory Paternity Leave should be submitted to Children s Services, HR Support Team, Fawcett Street on the Form shown in Appendix 3. An employee guide to Paternity Leave is provided at Appendix 7. Additional Paternity Leave and Pay Fathers and partners of mothers of children due on or after 3 April 2011 may be entitled to additional paternity leave and pay if the mother returns to work early and they satisfy the relevant eligibility criteria. Additional Paternity Leave Where a mother returns to work before taking her full entitlement to maternity leave (currently 52 weeks) her partner or the child's father may take additional paternity leave for between two and 26 weeks (6 months). The earliest that additional paternity leave can commence is 20 weeks after the date on which the child is born, and it must end no later than 12 months after that date. Additional paternity leave must be taken as a single block in multiples of complete weeks. The minimum period is two consecutive weeks and the maximum period is 26 weeks. During the period of additional paternity leave, all of an employee s terms and conditions of employment are maintained, except those relating to the payment of salary. Salary may be replaced by statutory paternity pay for some of the additional paternity leave period if the employee is eligible to receive it (see below). The remaining period of additional paternity leave is unpaid. Pension contributions will continue to be made during any period when the employee is receiving statutory paternity pay but not during any period of unpaid additional paternity leave. Employee contributions will be based on actual pay, while employer contributions will be based on the salary that the employee would have received had they not gone on additional paternity leave. Maternity Policy August

22 Additional Statutory Paternity Pay There will be an entitlement to additional statutory paternity pay where the mother has not taken her full 39 week entitlement to statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance. The period during which additional statutory paternity pay will be payable is the period during which the mother would have received statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance had she not returned to work (including self-employed work). For an employee to qualify for additional statutory paternity pay the mother must have at least two weeks of her statutory maternity pay period or maternity allowance period that has not expired. Entitlement to additional statutory paternity pay will be unaffected by the birth of more than one child as a result of the same pregnancy. The earliest that additional paternity leave and pay can begin is 20 weeks after the baby is born. Eligibility and Notification of APL&P In order to be eligible for additional paternity leave an employee must satisfy the following criteria; The Employee must be the father of the child or the spouse, civil partner or partner of the child's mother, The Employee must have, or expect to have, the main responsibility for the upbringing of the child (apart from the mother s responsibility), The Employee must have been continuously employed by Sunderland City Council for at least 26 weeks, ending with the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth, and remain in continuous employment with Sunderland City Council until the week before the first week of the additional paternity leave. The Employee must remain in continuous employment with Sunderland City Council until the week before the first week of additional paternity leave. The mother must be entitled to one or more of maternity leave, statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance. The Employee must give written notice of his or her intention to take additional paternity leave to his or her Headteacher/Line Manager at least eight weeks before the chosen start date. Notice must be given in writing and must specify the date the child was expected to be born and the actual date of birth, and the intended start date and end date of additional paternity leave (form APL&P1 Part A should be used for this purpose). The employee must also make a written and signed declaration to their Headteacher / Line Manager not less than eight weeks before the chosen start date stating that the purpose of the period of leave is to care for the child and that they satisfy the relationship eligibility conditions for additional paternity leave (form APL&P1 Part B should be used for this purpose). At the same time the Mother must make a written and signed declaration stating their name, address and national insurance number, the date they Maternity Policy August

23 intend to return to work following maternity leave, that the employee satisfies the relationship eligibility conditions, that they consent to Sunderland City Council processing the information contained in the declaration and that the employee is to their knowledge the only person exercising the entitlement to additional paternity leave in respect of the child (form APL&P Mother s Declaration should be used for this purpose). The employee must also if asked by their Headteacher/Line Manager provide a copy of the child s birth certificate and the name and address of the Mother s employer (or self-employed business address) within 28 days of the request. In order to be eligible for additional statutory paternity pay an employee must satisfy the following criteria in addition to those stated above: The Employee must have average weekly earnings of at least the lower earnings limit for national insurance purposes over the eight-week period ending with the 15 th week before the expected week of birth. The Mother must be entitled to statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance and have returned to work. The Mother must have at least two weeks of their maternity pay period which has not expired. Within the Mother s declaration they must also state that they are entitled to statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance, the start date of their maternity pay period, the date on which they intend to return to work, that the employee is to their knowledge the sole applicant for additional statutory paternity pay and that they consent to the Council processing the information contained in the declaration (form APL&P Mother s Declaration should be used for this purposes). Once an employee has provided written notification of their intention to take additional paternity leave and pay, their Headteacher / line manager must respond in writing within 28 days acknowledging the employee s intentions and confirming the relevant start and end dates of additional paternity leave and pay (form APL&P Acknowledgement of Notification can be found in Appendix 9). If the employee wishes to change the date on which they are starting or ending their additional paternity leave, or wishes to cancel their additional paternity leave altogether, they must give written notice either six weeks before the date is cancelled or changed or six weeks before the new date, which ever is earliest. The Headteacher/line manager will respond in writing to any variations of the start or end date for additional paternity leave. Contact during Additional Paternity Leave The School reserves the right to maintain reasonable contact with the employee during the period of additional paternity leave. It is advised that a meeting takes place between the employee and their Headteacher/line manager prior to the start of Maternity Policy August

24 the period of leave to establish the level of workplace information the employee may wish to receive whilst on additional paternity leave. Keeping-In-Touch Days (KIT Days) An employee can agree to work for the School (or to attend training) for up to 10 days during additional paternity leave without that work bringing the period of additional paternity leave to an end and without loss of a week's statutory paternity pay. These are known as "keeping-in-touch" days. Any work carried out on a day shall constitute a day's work for these purposes. Work is defined as any work done under the contract of employment and may include training or any activity undertaken for the purposes of keeping in touch with the workplace. This provision is designed to facilitate an employee during the period of leave. Headteachers/ Line managers cannot insist that an employee carries out any work and the employee is protected from suffering a detriment or being dismissed for refusing to do so. Equally, an employee cannot insist on being given any work to do. Any work undertaken is entirely a matter for agreement between the School and the employee. Any keeping-in-touch days worked do not extend the period of additional paternity leave. Once the keeping-in-touch days have been used up, the employee will lose a week's statutory paternity pay for any week in which they agree to work for the School. It may also bring the additional paternity leave period to an end. Employees will be required to key-in (where applicable) when they attend work on a KIT day to ensure the hours worked are logged. They are also required to complete the form attached at Appendix 10 at the end of each KIT day to ensure they receive normal pay for hours worked, this form must be signed by the employee s manager and submitted to payroll. Returning to Work After Additional Paternity Leave The employee will have been formally advised in writing by the School of the end date of additional paternity leave. The employee is expected to return on the next working day after this date, unless they notify their Headteacher/line manager otherwise. If the employee is unable to attend work at the end of additional paternity leave due to sickness or injury, the schools normal arrangements for sickness absence will apply. If the employee wishes to return to work earlier than the expected return date, they must give the School at least six weeks' notice of the date of early return, preferably in writing. If the employee fails to do so, the School may postpone their return to such a date as will give the School six weeks' notice, provided that this is not later than the expected return date. If the employee decides not to return to work after additional paternity leave, they must give notice of resignation as soon as possible and in accordance with the terms Maternity Policy August

25 of their contract of employment. If the notice period would expire after additional paternity leave has ended, the School may require the employee to return to work for the remainder of the notice period. Further information and guidance on additional paternity leave and pay is provided at Appendix 9 Employee Guidance for Additional Paternity Leave and Pay. Antenatal Care Fathers-to-be, partners or nominated carers may be given reasonable paid time off for antenatal care e.g. to accompany the expectant mother when undergoing a medical examination. They should give their Headteacher / Line Manager as much notice as possible and provide evidence of their appointments in advance. Parental Leave Each employee with 12 months continuous service is entitled to 13 weeks unpaid leave, if the child was born or adopted after 15 December Also entitled to 13 weeks unpaid leave are parents of children who were born or placed for adoption between 15 December 1994 and 14 December 1999 or parents of disabled child under 18, and have either worked for their current employer continuously for one year by the time they want to take the leave, or have worked for a previous employer continuously for a year during the period 15 December 1998 and 9 January 2002 and are currently employed. The leave can be taken between the child s date of birth and 5 th birthday and can be taken immediately after either maternity or paternity leave. For further guidance, please contact Children s Services HR Advice Team. Adoption Leave Employees are entitled to adoption leave if they are newly matched with a child for adoption by an approved adoption agency. Employees will be entitled to 26 weeks ordinary adoption leave followed immediately by 26 weeks additional adoption leave, a total of up to 52 weeks leave. For further detailed guidance, refer to the Adoption Policy for. Health and Safety Under the European Union Directive pregnant employees must be given specific health and safety protection. These changes have become law in the U.K. through the Management of Health and Safety at Work (Amendment) Regulations Maternity Policy August