Frequently Asked Questions

Adoption Leave Questions

Who is eligible for adoption leave?
What information does the Trust require?
Am I entitled to time off for appointments?
How much service do I need to be entitled to take Adoption Leave?
What Adoption pay do I get?
 - You have a choice of how adoption leave is paid.
What if I don’t qualify for Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP), and are there any other benefits?
 - Occupational Adoption Pay
When can I start my Adoption Leave?
 - For children adopted from Great Britain
 - For children adopted from Overseas
 - What happens if the placement does not go ahead or ends during leave
 - Entitlement to Adoption Leave for those on Fixed Term Contracts
 - Rotational Training Contracts
Are there any arrangements for me to keep in touch during my Adoption Leave?
What happens to my Annual Leave?
What happens to my Pension?
 

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Who is eligible for adoption leave?
Regardless of length of service, 52 weeks adoption leave (with or without pay) and the right to return to their job, is available to all employees wishing to adopt a child and have primary care responsibilities for that child.

The agreement for time off after adoption should cover circumstances where the child is initially unknown to the adoptive parents. If there is an established relationship with the child, such as fostering prior to adoption, time for official meetings only should be considered.

If the Trust employs both adoptive parents, the period of leave and pay may be shared. One parent should be identified as the primary carer and take adoption leave, with the other parent being entitled to take paternity/partner leave and pay.

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What information does the Trust require?
It is important that you speak to your Manager as soon as possible; keeping them informed of progress at each stage of the adoption process, ie, once you have been approved as an adopter, when you have been matched with a child(ren) and the expected date of placement.

You must give your manager notification within at least 7 days of being notified of being matched with a child(ren) for purposes of adoption. If you change your mind about the date on which you want to start your leave, you must give 28 days notice, unless this is not reasonably practical.

In addition, we must also have a copy of your Matching Certificate or any other appropriate documents relating to your adoption leave period, eg, confirming that you have been matched with a child, the expected date of placement and when your leave is likely to start. Please note: if we do not receive this documentation, you will not receive any adoption pay.~

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Am I entitled to time off for appointments?
Yes, in addition to adoption leave you are entitled to reasonable time off to attend meetings about the child(ren) to be adopted. Please give your manager as much notice as possible when arranging leave. Your manager may ask for evidence of appointments, eg, letter, appointment card etc.

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How much service do I need to be entitled to take Adoption Leave?
All employees, regardless of length of service and hours worked are entitled to 52 weeks adoption Leave (with or without pay) and a right to return to their job.

You must be newly matched with a child for adoption by an approved adoption agency. Adoption leave and pay is not available in circumstances where a child is not newly matched for adoption, eg, when a step parent is adopting a partner’s child(ren).

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What Adoption pay do I get?

To qualify for Statutory Adoption Pay from the Trust (SAP) you must have at least 26 weeks service with the Trust, ending with the week in which you are notified of having been matched with the child.

Your average weekly earnings should be at or above the lower earnings limit (i.e. where you have to start paying NI contribution) in order to qualify for SAP and for us to pay you we must receive your Notification to Take Adoption Leave (AL1) form together with:

In the case of adoption of children from Great Britain: your Notification to Take Adoption Leave form and Matching Certificate
Or
In the case of children adopted from overseas: a copy of the official notification, evidence of the date on which it is expected that the child will enter Great Britain or, where the child has already entered Great Britain the date of entry together with evidence that the child has entered Great Britain within 28 days of that date.

In addition, you must be in the EEC at the start of and during your Adoption Leave, and must not work for any other employer during the SAP pay period.

Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) is a weekly payment made to an adoptive parent who is on adoption leave for up to a total of 39 weeks.
The amount of SAP is paid at the standard rate applicable at the time or 90% of average gross weekly earnings which ever is the lower.
Pay Services will monitor and assess your pay in order to calculate your pay entitlements. The pay assessment period depends entirely on your matching date, as detailed on the Matching Certificate/ Official Notification. However, the paydays used are the set period assessed as follows:

i) Date matched;
ii) Find the Saturday on or after this date;
iii) Find the date of the last normal payday on or before that Saturday. (This is the last day of the set period);
iv) Count back 8 weeks from the above date and come forward one day;
v) Find the date of the payday before the above date and come forward one day. (This is the first day of the set period);
vi) Add together the earnings between the first and last day of the set period.

Pay Services will issue an adoption payment schedule detailing the payments you will receive during your adoption leave. The schedule will show the gross payments (before deductions of tax, pension, NI) due for each pay day. Your payslip will be sent to your home address whilst you are on leave.

You have a choice of how adoption leave is paid.

You can either receive it as indicated in appendix 1a/1b or you can have it paid in equal instalments. Equal instalments are calculated by totalling the amount of occupational and statutory adoption pay you will receive, and then paying it in equal amounts during your period of paid adoption leave. To receive equal instalments, you must indicate on the AL1 form whether you intend to take 26 or 39 weeks paid leave.

How you wish to receive your adoption pay should also be indicated on the Adoption Schedule (AL2) form.

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What if I don’t qualify for Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP), and are there any other benefits?
If you don’t qualify for SAP, you may qualify for other benefits, such as Income Support. Please contact your local Jobcentre Plus or benefits office for further information. You are still entitled to take up to 52 weeks leave.

Depending on your continuous NHS service you may be entitled to Occupational Adoption Pay, please refer to Appendix 1a & 1b.

If you do not qualify for SAP, but you are entitled to OAP, Pay Services will send you an exclusion letter and deduct the amount of SAP from your salary. If you are not entitled to SAP or Income Support from the Inland Revenue this amount will be refunded. You must produce documentation to confirm that you are not eligible. Please contact Pay Services direct for clarification.

Once you have adopted, you may also be entitled to the Working Tax and Child Tax Credits. Please contact your local Inland Revenue & Customs office for further information, or go to www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits, Tel: 0845 300 3900.

Occupational Adoption Pay

Occupational Adoption Pay (OAP) is paid by the Trust and is in addition to Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) providing this does not exceed full pay if it does, payment will be reduced to equal full pay.

If you have at least one year’s continuous NHS Service at the qualifying week, you are entitled to the NHS Occupational Adoption Leave, please refer to Appendix 1.

Please note; if you receive OAP on the condition that you are returning to work and do not return to work with the Trust or another NHS employer within one year of beginning your Adoption Leave, you will be liable to repay your OAP to the Trust.

If you require any assistance with your pay, please contact Pay Services

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When can I start my Adoption Leave?

For children adopted from Great Britain:

You can start your Adoption leave on any day of the week.

• You can choose to start your adoption leave 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.

For children adopted from Overseas:

You can start your adoption leave:

• On the date that the child(ren) enter(s) Great Britain
  (If you are at work on this day, adoption leave can begin the next day)
• A pre-determined date, specified in writing that is no later than 28 days after the date on which the child(ren) enter(s) Great Britain.

Only one period of leave is available irrespective of whether more than one child is placed for adoption (as part of the same adoption arrangement).

You are required to inform the Trust of your intention to take adoption leave within 7 days of being notified by your adoption agency that you have been matched with a child for adoption, unless this is not reasonably practicable. To do this you need to complete the Notification to take Adoption Leave form and submit your Matching Certificate. You need to detail when the child is expected to be placed with you and when you want to start adoption leave.

What happens if the placement does not go ahead or ends during leave

In the event that

• The adoption agency notifies you that the child will not be placed, or
• The child dies, or
• The child’s placement ends

Your adoption leave will normally end 8 weeks after the end of the week in which the disruption occurs.

Payment of SAP continues for 8 weeks after the end of the week in which the disruption occurs, or at the end of the 39 week SAP period, which ever is sooner.

If the placement is delayed and you have already begun your adoption leave, you cannot stop adoption leave and start again later.

Entitlement to Adoption Leave for those on Fixed Term Contracts

If your contract is due to expire before the qualifying week, your contract will end naturally at the fixed date.

If your contract is due to expire after the qualifying week but before the end of the 39 week period, then your contract should be extended to allow the 39 weeks adoption leave period, (with or without pay).

Therefore, all employees are entitled to 39 weeks adoption leave (with or without pay) if their contract date expires after the matching date.

If you have at least 1 year’s continuous service with the NHS at the qualifying week and your contract runs beyond the 39 weeks period of adoption leave, you will receive 39 weeks paid adoption leave (including SAP). You must return to work and complete your contract or you will have to repay any adoption pay received, which you are not entitled to.

If you are unsure of your entitlements please speak to your Manager.

Rotational Training Contracts

If you are on a planned rotation of appointment with one or more NHS employers as part of an agreed programme of training, you have the right to return to work in the same post or in the next planned post irrespective of whether the contract would otherwise have ended if adoption had not occurred. In such circumstances your contract will be extended to enable you to complete the agreed programme of training.

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Are there any arrangements for me to keep in touch during my Adoption Leave?
From the start of your adoption process it is important to keep in touch with your Manager. This will help us to understand and support you during adoption.

You will be allowed to work a maximum of 10 Keeping-in-Touch (KIT) days without losing your adoption pay or bringing your adoption leave to an end. KIT days are by mutual agreement with your manager, there is no requirement for you to undertake this work, nor is there a requirement for your manager to provide work. You must not exceed the 10 day maximum as this will result in the loss of one weeks SAP for each week that you undertake a KIT day that exceeds the 10 day maximum.

Before going on leave, you and your manager should discuss and agree any voluntary arrangements for keeping in touch during your adoption leave period, including; any voluntary arrangements that you may find helpful to keep in touch with developments at work and, nearer the time of return, to help facilitate your return to work; keeping your manager in touch with any developments that may affect your intended date of return.

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What happens to my Annual Leave?
Returning to work: You will accrue your normal annual leave entitlement throughout the paid and unpaid adoption leave period. However, this does not include bank holidays as you have no statutory entitlement to be paid for them.

As much annual leave should be taken before starting adoption leave and if your adoption leave period ends within the current leave year you may want to request annual leave in the initial weeks to phase your return.

Where the adoption leave period runs from one holiday year to another, you can only carry over a maximum of one working week. In these circumstances, it is best practice to add your leave entitlement (accrued to that date and to be accrued during your absence) to the start of your adoption leave so that you do not lose this right.

If you are unable to take your annual leave due to sickness then the normal carry over provisions of one working week will apply, any other leave remaining is lost.

In the event of a situation arising whereby you are prevented from taking your leave entitlement due to the needs of the service, your manager will contact a senior member of the HR Department to seek advice on your specific case.

The taking of annual leave must be agreed with your manager in the usual way.

Not returning to work: If you are not returning to work following your adoption leave, you will receive an annual leave entitlement calculated up to the date on which you advise the Trust your Adoption Leave period will end.

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What happens to my Pension?

Pension remains payable throughout a period of adoption leave. Contributions are based on pay actually received during the period of paid adoption leave. During unpaid adoption leave, contributions are based on the rate of pay immediately prior to unpaid leave.

If you have a period of unpaid leave, outstanding pension contributions will be deducted from your pay when you return to work and deductions will be over the same period as unpaid leave, ie, if you are on unpaid leave for 3 months, deductions will be made over 3 months etc.

When applying for adoption leave, if you state your intention not to return to work, or if having taken adoption leave, you fail to return, your pension contributions will cease from the time adoption payments commenced. However, as all people taking adoption leave have the right to a minimum of 39 weeks paid statutory adoption leave, you can choose to extend your pensionable service for this period and pay contributions. If you wish to do this, you should inform Pay Services.

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