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Policy and procedure
Ordinary parental leave
In Summary
In accordance with UK legislation, employees who are the birth or adoptive parents have the option to take up
to 18 weeks of ordinary parental leave for each of their children.
Ordinary parental leave is unpaid time off work to look after a child or to make arrangements for a child’s
welfare; the leave is intended to cover matters which can be foreseen.
Employees may take up to 18 weeks of leave in total for each child up until the child’s 18th birthday, and will
need to have one year of continuous service to be eligible for this leave.
Employees are required to give 21 days’ written notice of any ordinary parental leave request.
A maximum of four weeks of ordinary parental leave can be taken for each child in a 12 month period.
Ordinary parental leave must be taken in blocks of at least one week, except if the child has a disability when
the leave may be taken one day a time.
Procedure Name:
Version No:
Owner:
Ordinary parental leave
1
Samantha Riley
Effective date:
Issued by:
Review date:
November 2015
Human Resources
November 2016
3
4
Contents
1. Purpose
2. Scope
3. Eligibility
4. Notification
5. Responsibilities
6. Breaches of the policy/procedure
7. Confidentiality
8. Further information
Procedure Name:
Version No:
Owner:
Ordinary parental leave
1
Samantha Riley
Effective date:
Issued by:
Review date:
November 2015
Human Resources
November 2016
4
5
1. Purpose
1.1. The University is fully committed to promoting equality of opportunity and enabling working parents to
balance work and family responsibilities.
1.2. In accordance with UK legislation, parents of children up to the age of 18 have the option to take ordinary
parental leave.
2. Scope
2.1. Ordinary parental leave is available to all employees at the University, subject to relevant eligibility
requirements.
3. Eligibility
3.1. In order to qualify for ordinary parental leave employees will need to be the birth or adoptive parent of the
child and have one year of continuous service with the University at the date the leave is to be taken.
3.2. Parents may take up to 18 weeks of leave for each child up until the child’s 18th birthday. Ordinary parental
leave is unpaid.
3.3. Employees may take the leave in blocks of a minimum of one week, except where the child has a disability in
which case the leave may be taken one day at a time.
3.4. Parents may only take four weeks’ leave in respect of a child in any year. For the purposes of ordinary parental
leave a year is the period of 12 months beginning when the employee first becomes entitled to ordinary parental
leave; each 12 month period begins on the anniversary of that date.
4. Notification
4.1. Employees must inform their Manager/Head of Department of their intention to take ordinary parental leave
at least 21 days prior to the start of the period of leave.
4.2. If the timing of the leave would be particularly disruptive to the team/department (for example, the leave is
requested during a peak workload period, or at the same time as a number of other employees’ pre-existing leave)
the leave may be postponed for up to six months. However, if the employee wishes to take ordinary parental leave
immediately following the birth of their child or placement of a child for adoption then the leave cannot be
postponed.
4.3. If the Manager/Head of Department wishes to postpone the leave they must write to the employee within
seven days of the original request confirming the reason for the postponement and proposing alternative dates to
take the leave.
Procedure Name:
Version No:
Owner:
Ordinary parental leave
1
Samantha Riley
Effective date:
Issued by:
Review date:
November 2015
Human Resources
November 2016
5
6
4.4. The Manager/ Head of Department should keep a record of the ordinary parental leave and complete the
relevant parental leave record form (on the HR section of the intranet). The completed form should then be sent
to the link HR Adviser who will write to confirm the periods of leave, and will ensure that the relevant pay
deductions are made.
5. Responsibilities
5.1. Manager/Head of Department
5.1.1. Managers/Heads of Departments are responsible for ensuring employees are aware of the policy and
procedures, and that any requests submitted are in line with the notice and information requirements detailed in
this policy.
5.1.2. Managers/Heads of Departments are responsible for ensuring that HR receive adequate notice of any leave
periods and return to work dates so that colleagues receive the correct pay.
5.2. Human Resources
5.2.1. HR Advisers will work with individuals1 and departments to provide guidance as required.
5.3. Individuals
5.3.1. Individuals are responsible for ensuring that they are familiar with the policy and procedures, and that they
submit any requests for ordinary parental leave in line with the notice and information requirements detailed in
this policy.
6. Breaches of the policy/procedure
6.1. All individuals are responsible for ensuring that University policies and procedures are adhered to and
implemented in a consistent and fair way. Where queries or issues arise, the link HR Adviser should be contacted
for guidance.
7. Confidentiality
7.1. Information shared for the purposes of ordinary parental leave will be classed as confidential information.
1
The word ‘individual(s)’ refers to employees
Procedure Name:
Version No:
Owner:
Ordinary parental leave
1
Samantha Riley
Effective date:
Issued by:
Review date:
November 2015
Human Resources
November 2016
6
7
8. Further information
8.1. Further information is available from link HR Advisers.
Procedure Name:
Version No:
Owner:
Ordinary parental leave
1
Samantha Riley
Effective date:
Issued by:
Review date:
November 2015
Human Resources
November 2016
7