Interr Paternity Leave Policy and Procedure Contents Policy... 2 Introduction... 2 Procedure... 2 Eligibility for Leave... 2 Leave Entitlement... 2 Failure to Qualify for Leave... 2 Commencement Date... 3 Changing the Commencement Date... 3 Paternity Pay... 3 Notification... 4 Failure to Provide Notification... 4 Grant of Leave... 4 Keeping in Touch (KIT) Days... 4 Earlier Than Expected Childbirth... 5 Multiple Births... 5 Death of a Baby During or After Birth... 5 Antenatal Appointments... 5 Annual Leave... 5 Return to Work... 5 Changing the Return to Work Date... 5 Resignation During Paternity Leave... 5 Return to Work Where Parental Leave is Taken... 5 Flexible Working Requests... 5 Contractual Benefits... 6 Employment Rights... 6 Failure to Follow Procedure... 6 Appeals Procedure... 6 Policy Review and Assessment... 6 March 2016 Page 1 of 6 V1.5
Introduction Policy The Company is committed to ensuring that as far as possible employees are able to combine their career and family responsibilities. This policy sets out the company s policy for supporting this and for allowing employees their full rights. From 1 st April 2011 employees will also be entitled to Additional Paternity Leave. Additional Paternity Leave allows eligible employees to take up to 26 weeks leave to care for their new child, possibly with additional statutory paternity pay. From 5th April 2015 an employee can now, if eligible, to share the remainder of their partner s maternity leave if their partner ends their maternity leave early. Full details can be found in the company s Shared Parental Leave and Pay Policy and Procedure. Eligibility for Leave Procedure The employee must satisfy the following conditions, as well as the notification process, in order to qualify for either Ordinary or Additional Paternity Leave. The employee must have been with the company for at least 26 weeks by either: the end of the 15th week before the start of the week when the baby is due, the end of the week the employee is notified that they are matched with their child. The employee must also be either the: biological father of the child, mother's husband or partner (including same-sex relationships), child's adopter, husband or partner (including same-sex relationships) of the child's adopter. In addition to the requirements above, Additional Paternity Leave is only available to qualifying employees if: the mother, co-adopter, has returned to work and any maternity leave has ended, the mother is entitled to statutory maternity leave, statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance. Leave Entitlement Ordinary Paternity Leave Employees have the right to take either one or two week s paternity leave. This must be taken in one block only i.e. either lasting one or two consecutive weeks. Employees cannot take it as odd days or as two separate weeks. A week is based on a usual working pattern. For example; if an employee only works Mondays and Tuesdays, a week would be two days or if you work Monday to Friday, a week would be five days. Additional Paternity Leave The employee will be able to take between 2 and 26 weeks additional paternity leave, in a single block, within the child s first year to enable him or her to care for the child. Failure to Qualify for Leave If the employee does not qualify for Ordinary Paternity Leave, the Company will make every effort to give the employee some time off either as unpaid leave or annual leave. The employee should follow the annual leave procedure in this case. March 2016 Page 2 of 6 V1.5
Commencement Date Ordinary Paternity Leave can start on any day of the week but not before the baby is born. It has to finish within 56 days of the baby's birth. If the baby is born before the week it was due, it must finish within 56 days of the first day of that week. An employee can start Ordinary Paternity Leave after a period of parental leave has ended. In the case of adoption, Ordinary Paternity Leave will commence from the date of placement for adoption. Additional Paternity Leave can begin any time from 20 weeks after the baby was born until the child s first birthday, or 20 weeks after the child was placed with the employee for adoption until one year after the child was placed for adoption. The Company reserves the right to amend the dates of the paternity leave depending on the needs of the business. However, the Company will not act unreasonably in amending those dates and will ensure that the paternity leave requested is fully completed by no later than fifty-six days after the birth or date of placement for adoption. Changing the Commencement Date Ordinary Paternity Leave An employee can change the date that the Ordinary Paternity Leave starts on the basis that 28 days' notice is provided. Additional Paternity Leave The employee is entitled to change the dates of Additional Paternity Leave, by writing to the HR Department with at least 6 weeks notice prior to the original planned date. If the employee fails to do this, and it is not reasonably practical for the Company to accommodate the request to change the date, then the Company can insist that the employee takes the original dates. Paternity Pay Ordinary Paternity Pay In addition to qualifying for Ordinary or Additional Paternity Leave and in order to qualify for Ordinary or Additional Paternity Pay the employee must: have continued to work for the Company without a break up to the date the child is born or placed for adoption, be earning an average of at least 112 a week (before tax). SPP will be paid at the prevailing statutory rate which is currently 139.58 per week (or 90% of average weekly earnings if this is less than the prevailing statutory rate). SPP is paid for a maximum of 2 weeks. Employees at head office level or above will be paid for the first week on full pay and the 2nd week will be paid at the prevailing statutory rate (if two weeks leave is taken). Senior Management and Directors will be paid on full pay. All other employees will be paid at a flat rate laid down by statute or 90% of average weekly earnings if this is less. Additional Paternity Pay If the mother has not taken her full entitlement to statutory maternity pay when she returns to work, the outstanding amount transfers to the father who is taking Additional Paternity Leave. Additional Statutory Paternity Pay will be paid on the basis that: the employee is taking Additional Paternity Leave, the employee is not working for the purposes of caring for their child, during their partner's Statutory Maternity Pay, Maternity Allowance or Statutory Adoption Pay period. The current rate is 139.58 a week or 90 per cent of the employee s average weekly earnings, if that is less. Additional Statutory Paternity Pay will last 39 continuous weeks from the birth of the child or placement date for adoption. Any leave taken after the 39 th week is unpaid. March 2016 Page 3 of 6 V1.5
Notification Ordinary Paternity Leave In order to exercise the right to Ordinary Paternity Leave an employee must make a request for paternity leave in writing either: at least 15 weeks before the beginning of the week when the baby's due, within seven days of being told by the adoption agency that the employee has been matched with a child. The request should be in writing using a Statutory Paternity Pay/Paternity Leave form, available from the HR department and should confirm: the week the baby is expected, or the date the employee is matched for adoption, whether the employee wishes to take one or two weeks leave, when the employee want the leave to start. Additional Paternity Leave An employee needs to comply with the following to be eligible for Additional Paternity Leave: submit a written request providing at least 8 weeks notice of when Additional Paternity Leave is to be taken, which should include, o when the baby was due, or placement for adoption, o the actual date of the baby s birth, or placement for adoption, o the dates of when the employee wants to start and finish Additional Paternity Leave, o that the employee is taking leave to care for the child, o the employee s relationship with the child. the mother must also make a declaration to confirm: o their name and address, o date they intend to return to work, o their NI Number, o confirm that the employee is the child s father or the mother s spouse or partner or civil partner (or in the case of adoption that the employee is married to or the partner or civil partner of the adopter), o their consent to the Company processing this data. The company does have the right to ask the employee to provide the baby's birth certificate within 28 days of receiving the Additional Paternity Leave request. Failure to Provide Notification If the employee fails to provide reasonable notice to the Company without a valid reason then the employee may be at risk of losing their entitlement. Grant of Leave Upon receipt of a written request the Company will confirm with the employee by telephone the start and end dates of the employee s leave and pay. In the case for Additional Paternity Leave, this confirmation will also be made in writing. Keeping in Touch (KIT) Days During Additional Paternity Leave an employee can carry out up 10 KIT days of work without terminating their Additional Paternity Leave or Pay. Both the employer and employee have to agree for an employee to work a KIT day, and employee will not jeopardise their employment if they refuse to work a KIT day. The employee and Interr will agree on how much the employee will be paid for the KIT day on a case per case situation. March 2016 Page 4 of 6 V1.5
If the employee works more than 10 days for the company during this time the Additional Paternity Leave or Pay will come to an end. Earlier Than Expected Childbirth As long as the employee provides the initial required notice, provisions will be made within the Operations team to accommodate absence due to an early birth. Multiple Births In the case of multiple births, the employee is only entitled to one period of Ordinary Paternity Leave. Death of a Baby During or After Birth In unfortunate situations where the baby is stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy or born alive and then later dies the employee is still entitled to take Ordinary Paternity Leave. Antenatal Appointments Paid time off only applies to pregnant employees. However, employees that wish to accompany their partner to antenatal and medical appointments can take either unpaid leave or annual leave subject to operational requirements. Employees should refer to the annual leave policy and follow the annual leave procedure to ensure this absence is authorised. Annual Leave Employees cannot take annual leave during any period of paternity leave but may be able to extend their time off by taking a period of annual leave immediately before or after Ordinary or Additional Paternity Leave. Employees will not be allowed to carry over any untaken annual leave entitlement if the Additional Paternity Leave spans over two different holiday years. Return to Work The employee will need to contact the Operations team a week before their return date to discuss rota allocation. Changing the Return to Work Date The employee can return to work earlier than planned as long as the employee provides at least 6 weeks notice. Resignation During Paternity Leave If an employee resigns during paternity leave then notice should be given in line with the employment contract in writing to the HR department. Return to Work Where Parental Leave is Taken If an employee needs to take more time off to look after their child, they may be entitlement to parental leave. Please refer to the Parental Leave procedure for more details. An employee can take a certain amount of parental leave without it impacting on their right to return to work. If an employee takes more than that amount they will be able to return to the same job unless this is not reasonably practical. If this is the case the employee must be offered alternative work that is suitable and with terms and conditions as if they have not been absent. Flexible Working Requests If the employee is a parent of a child aged 16 or under, or if the child is disabled under 18, the employee is entitled to request a flexible working pattern. Upon receipt the Company will consider the request and respond to the employee in writing. March 2016 Page 5 of 6 V1.5
Contractual Benefits The employee will be entitled to the benefit of their normal terms and conditions of employment during the period of Ordinary or Additional Paternity Leave, except for the terms relating to salary and wage. Employment Rights You will not be subject to any detriment by the Company because you took or sought to take paternity leave. It must be noted that the provision of false information claiming an entitlement to paternity leave which does not rightly exist, is likely to be treated as Gross Misconduct and could lead to dismissal. The Company reserves the right to require confirmation of the birth by inspecting the birth certificate or of adoption by inspecting the adoption agency papers. Failure to Follow Procedure Any leave taken without following the stated procedure and not authorised by the manager will be considered as unauthorised absence. The employee may be suspended pending a full investigation that may result in formal disciplinary action being taken. Appeals Procedure Managers should be advised that decision regarding paternity leave should be applied as consistently as possible. Any employee who believes that this policy is not being fairly applied may seek redress initially in writing to the Human Resources Department and thereafter through the Grievance Procedure. Policy Review and Assessment This policy may be amended by Interr at any time in order to take into account changes in legislation and best practice. Mick Tabori March 2016 March 2016 Page 6 of 6 V1.5