Improved rights for adoptive parents
Employees adopting a child have improved rights if the date on which it's expected the child will be placed with them for adoption falls on or after 1st April 2007.
The amount of statutory adoption leave employees are entitled to take has not changed. All employees adopting a child who have worked for their employer for 26 continuous weeks by the time they are notified they've been matched with the child for adoption are entitled to a year's adoption leave. During Ordinary Adoption Leave, employees have the right to all their normal terms and conditions of employment except wages or salary. During Additional Adoption Leave, some terms of the contract don’t necessarily apply;
The new rights are:
- an increased period of Statutory Adoption Pay, paid for 39 weeks instead of 26. Statutory Adoption Pay is paid to an adopter by their employer at a flat rate (currently £108.85 a week) or 90% of the adopter’s average weekly earnings if this amount is lower;
- the right for employers to make reasonable contact with an adopter during adoption leave;
- where the employer and the employee agree, the right for the employee to go into work for up to 10 ‘Keeping in Touch Days’ during adoption leave without losing any leave or pay entitlements.
There’s no change to the amount of notice adopters have to give their employer about when they want to start adoption leave or when they’ll be coming back to work. However, if the employee changes their mind about the date they intend to come back to work from leave, they must give the employer at least 8 weeks’ notice before the new date (or before the date the return was originally planned, if this is earlier).
Guidance
Details of the rights applying to adoptions under the law of the UK before and after 1st April 2007 are set out in two separate versions of the guidance booklet ER 35 Adoptive parents: a guide for employers and employees. The booklet also includes information on adoptions from overseas.
Employees wishing to take adoption leave
- Employees can download a Certificate of notification of matching with a child for adoption which they can give to their employer as evidence of being matched with a child for adoption under UK law.
- They can fill in and give their employer the self-certificate of entitlement to adoption leave and pay in respect of a child adopted from overseas
. - Download a leaflet detailing the new rights for employees who are having a child placed with them for adoption on or after 1st April 2007.
- They can work out their adoption leave and pay entitlements using the adoption leave and pay tool on the Directgov * web-site.
Employees wishing to take paternity leave in respect of an adoption
- Employees can fill in and give their employer the self-certificate of entitlement to paternity leave and pay in respect of a child placed for adoption under UK law or in respect of a chid adopted from overseas .
- They can use the tool for adoptive parents wishing to take paternity leave to work out their leave and pay entitlements.
Employers
- Employers can use the interactive tool at nibusinessinfo.co.uk to work out what they need to do if an employee wants to take adoption leave.
- Download a leaflet detailing important changes to employment legislation including the new adoption rights for employees who are having a child placed with them for adoption on or after 1st April 2007.
- A similar tool to help employers work out what they need to do if an employee wants to take paternity leave is also available.