Adoption Leave 

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Adoption Leave

Summary

Under the Paternity & Adoption Leave Regulations 2002, any eligible employee who has adopted a child, or is one of two people who have jointly adopted a child, has the right to take up to 26 weeks' ordinary adoption leave, followed immediately by up to 26 weeks' additional adoption leave. Employees will also be eligible for Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) during their ordinary adoption leave periods, subject to meeting the qualifying conditions.

Statutory Adoption Pay

An employee who qualifies for adoption leave, and who has average weekly earnings equal to or greater than the lower earnings limit (LEL) for National Insurance Contributions (NICs) purposes (£97.00 a week, as from 4th April 2010), will normally qualify for up to 26 weeks' SAP during his or her ordinary adoption pay period. The adoption pay period is the period that begins on the day immediately following the day on which an employee begins his or her ordinary adoption leave. The rate of SAP is £124.88 a week or 90% of the employee's average weekly earnings at the time, whichever is the lower of those amounts, payable for a maximum of 39 weeks.

An employer who has lawfully paid SAP to an employee may claim back 92 per cent of the amount paid by deducting the amount in question from the payments of employees' and employers' NICs made to the Collector of Taxes at the end of each tax month. Employers who are eligible for small employers' relief may recover 100% of the amount of SAP paid, plus an additional amount in compensation (currently 4.5 per cent) for the employer's portion of NICs paid on SAP.

Key Facts

• The right to adoption leave has been available to eligible employees since April 2003.
• To qualify for adoption leave, an employee must have been continuously employed for 26 or more weeks by the end of the week in which he or she was formally notified (by an approved adoption agency) of being matched with a child for adoption.
• An eligible employee is entitled to 26 weeks' ordinary adoption leave, followed immediately (unless the child's placement for adoption with the adopter has already been disrupted) by up to 26 weeks' additional adoption leave.
• If two people have been jointly matched with a child for adoption, only one of them may take adoption leave. The other partner may, however, qualify for paternity leave.
• To exercise their right to adoption leave, eligible employees must inform their employers of their intentions within seven days of having been notified by their adoption agency that they have been matched with a child for adoption (and may be required to produce evidence in the form of a "matching certificate" supplied by the relevant adoption agency.
• Employers who have been correctly notified of an employee's intention to take adoption leave must respond within 28 days advising the employee of the date on which his or her full entitlement to adoption leave comes to an end.
• During and after adoption leave, employees have the same rights as employees on maternity leave, including the (qualified) right to return to work in the original or substantially equivalent jobs.
• An employee who is dismissed, selected for redundancy, or subjected to any other detriment, for exercising or asserting his or her rights under the Paternity & Adoption Leave Regulations 2006, may complain to an employment tribunal and will be awarded substantial compensation if his or her complaint is upheld.
• Employees with average weekly earnings equal to, or greater than, the current LEL for NIC purposes will qualify to be paid up to 39 weeks' statutory adoption pay during their adoption pay periods.