Shared parental leave

1. Contractual and other benefits

Apart from pay, you will continue to receive any contractual benefits which you would normally receive if you were at work throughout the ShPL period.

Continuity of service

If you return to work following ShPL (paid or unpaid) the period of absence due to ShPL will not affect your recognised continuous service for employment rights and service related benefits. where relevant, you will be entitled to receive an increment on your salary in accordance with your normal incremental date.

Annual leave

• You will continue to accrue annual leave during ShPL. Employees on ShPL who, as a result, are unable to take all of their annual leave entitlement in a particular year are allowed to carry forward any untaken annual leave to the following leave year. Prior to starting ShPL it is recommended that the employee discuss arrangements for using annual leave with their/his manager.
• Employees who are on ShPL on a Public/Statutory or Customary holiday are allowed to take the day(s) of holiday at a mutually convenient time (i.e. agreed with their line manager).
• Annual leave cannot be taken during a period of ShPL. It must be taken either prior to, or following ShPL.

2. Further guidance on notice requirements

The notices that the parents must give to the relevant employer to be able to take ShPL are made up of a number of elements and this information must be provided on the relevant forms.

The notice periods set out below are the minimum required by the legislation. However, the earlier the employee informs the University of their intentions, the more likely it is that their wishes will be able to be accommodated, particularly if they want to request periods of discontinuous leave.

Employees are advised that, if they have already decided the pattern of ShPL that they would like to take, they can provide more than one type of notice at the same time. For example, the birth parent could provide a Maternity Leave Curtailment Notice, Notice of Entitlement and Intention and Period of Leave Notice at the same time. Similarly, the partner could provide their Notice of Entitlement and Intention and Period of Leave Notice at the same time.

Birth parent's notice curtailing maternity leave

Before the birth parent or partner can take ShPL, the birth parent must eittheir return to work before the end of their Maternity Leave (by giving the required 8 weeks' notice of their planned return) or provide their employer with a Maternity Leave Curtailment Notice. The Maternity Leave Curtailment Notice must be in writing and state the date on which Maternity Leave is to end. That date must be:

• after the compulsory Maternity Leave Period, which is the 2 weeks after birth;
• at least 8 weeks after the date on which the birth parent gave the Maternity Leave Curtailment Notice to their employer; and
• at least 1 week before what would be the end of the additional Maternity Leave Period.

The birth parent must provide their Maternity Leave Curtailment Notice at the same time they provide their Notice of Entitlement and Intention that confirms the amount of shared parental leave the birth parent and partner intend to take.

Form: Maternity Leave Curtailment Notice

Revocation of Maternity Leave Curtailment Notice

The birth parent can withdraw their Maternity Leave Curtailment Notice in limited circumstances. The withdrawal of a Maternity Leave Curtailment Notice must be in writing and can be given only if the birth parent has not returned to work. The birth parent can withdraw their Maternity Leave Curtailment Notice if:

• it is discovered that neither the birth parent nor the partner are entitled to ShPL or Statutory ShPP and the birth parent withdraws their Maternity Leave Curtailment Notice within 8 weeks of the date on which the Notice was given;
• the Maternity Leave Curtailment Notice was given before the birth of the child and the birth parent withdraws their Maternity Leave Curtailment Notice within 6 weeks of the child's birth; or
• the partner has died

The form below should be used by a birth parent to revoke their curtailment of maternity notice:

Revocation of Maternity Leave Curtailment Notice

Employee's Notice of Entitlement and Intention

The employee, whether the birth parent or the partner, must provide the organisation with a non-binding Notice of Entitlement and Intention. The employee's Notice of Entitlement and Intention, which must be in writing and provided at least 8 weeks before the start date of the first period of ShPL to be taken by the employee, must set out certain information and incorporate declarations from both the employee and their partner.

Within 14 days of receiving a Notice of Entitlement and Intention from the employee, whether the birth parent or partner, the organisation can request from the employee:

• a copy of the child's birth certificate (or, if the child has not been born, a copy of the birth certificate within 14 days of the birth - if the birth certificate has yet to be issued after this period, a signed declaration stating the date and location of the child's birth will suffice); and
• the name and address of the other parent's employer (or a declaration that the other parent has no employer)

The employee has 14 days from the date of the request to send the organisation the required information.

The following form should be used by the birth parent to provide a Notice of Entitlement and Intention if their partner does not work for the University:

Notice of Entitlement and Intention to take Shared Parental Leave (birth parent)

The following form should be used by the partner to provide a Notice of Entitlement and Intention if the birth parent does not work for the University:

Notice of Entitlement and Intention to take Shared Parental Leave (Partner)

The following form should be used by the birth parent and partner to provide their Notice of Entitlement and Intention if they both work for the University:

Notice of Entitlement and Intention to take Shared Parental Leave (Shared)

Variation or Cancellation of Notice of Entitlement and Intention

The employee can vary or cancel their proposed ShPL dates following the submission of a Notice of Entitlement and Intention, provided that they provide the organisation with a Written Notice. The Written Notice must contain:

• an indication as to when the employee intends to take ShPL (including the start and end dates for each period of leave);
• details of any periods of ShPL that have been notified through a Period of Leave Notice;
• details of any periods of Statutory ShPP that have been notified in relation to periods where ShPL was not to be taken; and
• a Declaration signed by the birth parent and the partner that they agree to the variation

Any indication of leave intended to be taken that the employee provides in a Variation of Notice of Entitlement and Intention is non-binding until they provide a Period of Leave Notice in relation to that period of leave. There is no limit on the number of Variations of Notice of Entitlement and Intention that the employee can make.

The form below should be used to vary a Notice of Entitlement of Intention:

Variation of Notice of Entitlement and Intention to take Shared Parental Leave

Employee's Period of Leave Notice

To take a period of ShPL, the employee must provide the organisation with a Written Notice setting out the start and end dates of each period of ShPL requested in that Notice.

A Period of Leave Notice must be given not less than 8 weeks before the start date of the first period of ShPL requested in the Notice. The Notice may be given at the same time as a Notice of Entitlement and Intention and can be a request for a continuous period of leave or discontinuous periods of leave.

The form below should be used to provide a Period of Leave Notice:

Period of Leave Notice to take Shared Parental Leave

Variation or Cancellation of Period of Leave Notice

The employee can vary or cancel their proposed ShPL dates following the submission of a Period of Leave Notice, provided that they provide their employer with a Written Notice not less than 8 weeks before any Period of Leave varied or cancelled by the Notice is due to commence by completing form. The Written Notice can:

• vary the start date or the end date of any period of ShPL or cancel a Request for Leave;
• request that a continuous period of leave become discontinuous periods of leave; or
• request that discontinuous periods of leave become a continuous period of leave.

The form below should be used to vary a Period of Leave Notice:

Vary a Period of Leave Notice to take Shared Parental Leave

Limit on Number of Requests for Leave

The employee can provide a combined total of up to 3 Period of Leave Notices or Variations of Period of Leave Notices per pregnancy, although the organisation may waive this limit in some circumstances.

Continuous Period of Shared Parental Leave

If the employee submits a Period of Leave Notice requesting one continuous Period of Leave, they will be entitled to take that Period of Leave.

Discontinuous Periods of Shared Parental Leave

The employee may submit a Period of Leave Notice requesting discontinuous periods of leave. For example, the birth parent and partner could request a pattern of leave from their respective employers that allows them to alternate childcare responsibilities.

If the employee submits a Period of Leave Notice requesting discontinuous Periods of Leave, the organisation, in the 2 weeks beginning with the date the Period of Leave Notice was given, can:

• consent to the pattern of leave requested;
• propose an alternative pattern of leave; or
• refuse the pattern of leave requested.

If agreement is reached within those 2 weeks, the employee is entitled to take the leave on the dates agreed.

If no agreement has been reached within that 2-week discussion period, the employee is entitled to take the leave as one continuous Period of Leave. In that event, the employee must choose a start date for the leave that is at least 8 weeks from the date on which the Period of Leave Notice was originally given. The employee must notify the organisation of that date within 5 days of the end of the 2-week discussion period. If the employee does not choose a start date within 5 days of the end of the 2-week discussion period, the Period of Continuous Leave will start on the date of the first Period of Leave requested in the Period of Leave Notice.

Alternatively, if the organisation has refused the request or no agreement has been reached during the 2-week discussion period, the employee may withdraw a Period of Leave Notice requesting discontinuous Periods of Leave. The employee can withdraw a Period of Leave Notice at any time on or before the 15th day after the Period of Leave Notice was given. A Notice for Discontinuous Leave that has been withdrawn before it is agreed does not count towards the total number of requests for leave that an employee can make.