Paternity Leave and Pay Procedures

Transcription

1 Paternity Leave and Pay Procedures 1. Introduction The Paternity Leave and Pay Policy gives an overview of the ordinary paternity leave (OPL) and additional paternity leave (APL) provisions. These procedures support the implementation of that policy and provide further guidance. 2. Ordinary Paternity Leave and Pay Procedure for applications Staff members intending to take paternity leave should provide a copy of the certificate of expected childbirth (MATB1 form). This certificate is provided by the midwife after the 21 st week of pregnancy. For adoption a copy of the matching certificate from the adoption agency must be provided. The member of staff needs to complete the checklist in section A of the relevant Open University Paternity Leave request form to assess whether they are eligible for contractual paternity leave and pay or statutory paternity leave and pay only. The request form should be passed to their Head of Unit (or delegate) as soon as possible (normally at least one month prior to the expected date of childbirth or placement). The Head of Unit should authorise the form if the member of staff is eligible and forward it together with a copy of the MATB1 or Matching Certificate to the Staff Payments Office. A copy of the form should also be given to the member of staff and a copy sent to HR. If a copy of the MATB1 or Matching Certificate is not provided at this time, then this should be forwarded as soon as it is obtained. A copy of the Birth Certificate should be provided after the baby is born for the Unit records. Change of start date If a member of staff wishes to change the start date of their leave they must give 28 days notice or if this is not reasonably practicable, as soon as is reasonably practicable. N.B. confirmation of the actual date of birth should be provided as soon as is reasonably practicable. Returning to work Members of staff returning to work following ordinary paternity leave will return to the same job on the same terms and conditions of employment as if they had not been absent, unless a redundancy situation has arisen. Page 1 of 5

2 3. Additional Paternity Leave and Pay This entitlement applies across the United Kingdom and will continue to do so for those babies that have a due date before 5 April After this time, Additional Paternity Leave and Additional Statutory Paternity Pay will be abolished and replaced by Shared Parental Leave and Shared Parental Pay. Procedure for applications Employees are required to notify the University of their intention to take additional paternity leave a minimum of 8 weeks before the start of the leave (unless this is not reasonably practical). This notification should be provided by completing the relevant HMRC form (see HMRC website in Useful References section). The forms are: SC7 (for births), SC8 (for UK adoptions) or SC9 (for overseas adoptions). Additional paternity leave can not start any earlier than 20 weeks after the child is born (or placed for adoption/enters the country). The University will confirm the employee s entitlement to additional paternity leave in writing within 28 days of receipt of the application. Details of entitlement to additional statutory paternity pay will be provided in writing by the Staff Payments Office. In support of their application, employees will be asked to provide a copy of the Birth Certificate (or evidence of adoption) upon application. Altering an application If an employee becomes ineligible for APL (for example if their partner has not returned to work) then they must inform the University as soon as possible. Where the leave is withdrawn less than 6 weeks before the start date or after APL has begun and the Unit cannot accommodate the change, the member of staff may be required to take a period of APL anyway. Before a period of APL has begun, an employee may cancel the leave or amend the dates of the APL by giving a minimum of 6 weeks notice in writing. Where this notice requirement is not met and the Unit cannot accommodate the change, the member of staff may be required to take a period of APL anyway. In either of the above two circumstances advice should be sought from Human Resources. Any amendments will be confirmed in writing to the employee within 28 days. If an employee on APL wishes to return to work earlier than the agreed end date of the APL, a minimum of 6 weeks notice in writing of the amended date is required. Special Circumstances Where the mother or main adopter dies within 12 months from the date of the child s birth or placement, the provisions still apply but are modified. The member of staff may be entitled to a longer period of APL starting earlier with different notification requirements. Where the child dies or the placement ends during APL, or after the member of staff has applied for APL, different arrangements will apply. In either of these events, further advice should be sought from Human Resources. The Shared Parental Leave regime will apply to England, Wales and Scotland only Page 2 of 5

3 Terms which Apply During Additional Paternity Leave Non-pay Contractual Benefits An employee will continue to receive all of their non-pay contractual benefits, such as holiday accrual, throughout the whole of the additional paternity leave period. Holidays accrued must be taken in accordance with the employee s terms and conditions. Annual Leave Employees should consider the amount of annual leave they have remaining and discuss how best to utilise this with their line manager. Work undertaken during Additional Paternity Leave Keeping in Touch Days Managers can make reasonable contact with employees during their additional paternity leave (e.g. to let them know about any changes happening at work). The kind of contact which will be maintained should be agreed with the employee beforehand. Also employees can carry out up to 10 days work during their additional paternity leave period without losing their entitlement to ASPP or bringing their additional paternity leave to an end. Any work on any day will constitute a day s work for this purpose. This can include training or any activity undertaken for the purposes of keeping in touch with the workplace. Employers do not have the right to require an employee to work during the additional paternity leave period, nor does the employee have the right to insist that the employer provides any days of work during that period. Any work carried out under this provision will not have the effect of extending the total duration of the additional paternity leave period. KIT days will be paid at either full day or half day rate. Consultancy payments for University staff During Additional Paternity Leave Where a member of staff undertakes consultancy work for the University (i.e. work outside their contract of employment) during their additional paternity leave period, they will lose their right to receive ASPP. A Keeping In Touch (KIT) day cannot be used to undertake the consultancy work. Returning to work Members of staff returning to work following additional paternity leave will return to the same job on the same terms and conditions of employment as if they had not been absent, unless a redundancy situation has arisen. Staff combining additional paternity leave with other statutory leave may have differing entitlements. In this instance please contact Human Resources. 4. Antenatal Appointments / Other Statutory Rights Who can take leave for antenatal appointments? All qualifying employees, and qualifying agency workers, are entitled to take unpaid time off to accompany an expectant mother to two of her ante-natal appointments if they are: a) the baby s father; b) the expectant mother s spouse, her civil partner, or partner (of either sex) in an enduring relationship; or Page 3 of 5

4 c) intended parents of a child in a surrogacy arrangement if they expect to be entitled to and intend to apply for a parental order in respect of that child. The leave is available therefore, to those who have a relationship with the pregnant woman or her unborn child. The University will pay for up to two appointments at the basic rate of pay. It is expected that no more than half a day of pre-authorised absence from work will be required for each ante-natal appointment. The University will support up to a maximum of six and a half hours for each paid appointment, in order to allow for travel and waiting time, plus attendance at the ante-natal appointment. Any additional time and / or appointments may be taken as annual leave. Qualifying agency workers may take the statutory time off as unpaid leave and should notify their employment agency directly. Further details in relation to adoption can be found in the Adoption Leave and Pay Policy Notification Requirements Any employee who wishes to apply to take paid leave to accompany at an ante-natal appointment is required to provide the following details to their line manager, in writing: a) that the employee has a qualifying relationship with a pregnant woman or her expected child; b) that the employee s purpose in taking time off is to accompany a pregnant woman to an ante-natal appointment; c) that the appointment in question is made on the advice of a registered medical practitioner, registered midwife or registered nurse; and d) the date and time of the appointment. The request for time off should provide reasonable notice of the appointment and may be used to attend scans, tests or other routine appointments, as necessary. Further guidance in relation to the right to take Shared Parental Leave and Shared Parental Pay will be available from early Other Statutory Rights For information on other statutory rights i.e. Agile working and parental leave please refer to the relevant HR policy. 5. Pension Arrangements During additional paternity leave members of the pension scheme will: continue to pay member pension contributions which will be based on the level of actual pay received (the University will make up any shortfall resulting from a reduction in earnings during paid additional paternity leave); continue to build up pensionable service while in receipt of any form of additional paternity pay. During unpaid additional paternity leave pensionable service will be suspended, and there will be a gap in the pensionable service record unless the individual elects to make up the contributions on their return to work. Life cover or incapacity benefits are unchanged whilst on suspended membership during additional paternity leave. Page 4 of 5

5 A gap in the pensionable service record arising from suspended membership whilst on additional paternity leave can be made up on return to work, as long as the individual elects to do so within six months of returning from additional paternity leave. In these circumstances the contributions due would be based on the salary earned on return to work, and the University would pay the usual employer contribution. The arrears are due over the same period as the length of suspended membership. Useful References Paternity Leave and Pay Policy HMRC website Forms (for additional paternity leave) Ordinary Paternity Leave Request Form Births Ordinary Paternity Leave Request Form Adoptions Maternity Leave and Pay Policy Adoption Leave and Pay Policy Agile Working Policy Parental Leave Policy Business Link Advice Page 5 of 5