Simon Cowell’s former girlfriend and X-Factor confidante Sinitta announced this week that she hopes to adopt her third child in 2011.
What some people don’t realise is that no matter whether the child being adopted is a baby or school-age, parents have the right to take adoption leave from work and could also be entitled to statutory adoption pay.
In order to receive either of these rights, there are certain criteria that adoptive parents must meet and these rules will differ depending on whether the child is adopted from abroad or within the UK.
In order to qualify for Adoption Leave, an employee must:
- Be newly matched with a child for adoption by a UK or overseas (see below) adoption agency (Adoption Leave and Statutory Adoption Pay are not available where a child is not newly matched for adoption, for example where a step parent is adopting a partner’s child).
- Have worked continuously for the Company for 26 weeks ending with the week in which the employee has been notified of being matched with a child for adoption.
- Have notified the agency that the employee agrees the child should be placed with the employee on the proposed date of placement.
Employees are entitled to take up to 52 weeks’ Adoption Leave, comprising 26 weeks’ Ordinary Adoption Leave (OAL) followed by up to 26 weeks’ Additional Adoption Leave (AAL).
An employee may choose to start their leave either from the date of the child’s placement (whether this is earlier or later than expected or from a fixed date which can be up to 14 days before the expected date of placement). Leave may start on any day of the week.
Only one period of leave is available irrespective of whether more than one child is placed for adoption as part of the same arrangement. If the child’s placement ends during the Adoption Leave period, you can continue Adoption Leave for up to 8 weeks after the end of the placement.
When adopting a child from overseas, parents may still be entitled to SAL if they have received notification that the adoption has been approved by the relevant UK authority (Official Notification) and provided they have given their employer notice in writing of:
- their intention to take adoption leave;
- the date they received Official Notification; and
- the date the child is expected to arrive in Great Britain.
What is interesting to note is that regardless of gender, when a couple adopt jointly and providing they meet the criteria, one can take SAL and the other can take Statutory Paternity leave – one parent cannot take both.
Some employers will also offer Enhanced Adoption Leave and pay, but this will depend on individual policies and on a discretionary basis.
If an adoptive parent takes or seeks to take SAL, then they will be protected by law against any treatment that would be detrimental to their career. This could include failure to be offered training opportunities or denied a promotion.
By Sarah Calderwood, employment specialist at law firm Slater Heelis, www.slaterheelis.co.uk/employment
