Maternity Leave and Pay
Subject to eligibility, pregnant employees are entitled to a total of 52 weeks’ maternity leave. This is broken down as follows:
– 26 weeks’ Ordinary Maternity Leave
– 26 weeks’ Additional Maternity Leave
Employees will be subject to Compulsory Maternity Leave whereby they will not be permitted to work for 2 weeks’ after your baby has been born (4 weeks for factory workers).
 
The Company does not operate an occupational maternity scheme and therefore Statutory maternity entitlements will apply. Whether an employee may be entitled to receive statutory maternity pay will be assessed upon receipt of their MATB1. Should an employee qualify for SMP it is paid over a 39-week period and this is paid as follows:
– The first six weeks of maternity leave are paid at 90% of their normal weekly earnings;
– The remaining 33 weeks are paid at the prescribed rate of statutory maternity pay.
Pregnant employees are entitled to paid time off to attend ante-natal appointments.
 
Adoption Leave and Pay
Subject to eligibility, an employee who is the ‘main adopter’ of a child is entitled to a total of 52 weeks’ adoption leave. This is broken down as follows:
– 26 weeks’ Ordinary Adoption Leave
– 26 weeks’ Additional Adoption Leave
 
The Company does not operate an occupational adoption scheme and therefore Statutory adoption entitlements will apply. Should an employee qualify for statutory adoption pay it is paid over a 39-week period and this is paid as follows:
– The first six weeks of adoption leave are paid at 90% of their normal weekly earnings;
– The remaining 33 weeks are paid at the prescribed rate of statutory adoption pay.
Pregnant employees are entitled to paid time off to attend adoption appointments.
 
Paternity Leave and Pay (birth or adoption)
Subject to eligibility, employees are entitled to take up to two consecutive weeks of leave as paternity leave. Employees are entitled to receive statutory paternity pay. This is paid at the statutory rate.

Shared Parental Leave (SPL)
Parents of children (or adopted children) may, subject to eligibility, be entitled to choose how they share parental leave in the child’s first year. If eligible, employees are entitled to take SPL and be paid for SPL in line with the statutory provisions. For further details, please refer to your line manager.

Shared Parental Leave – Pay
Subject to eligibility, employees are entitled to take up to 52 weeks’ shared parental leave.
 
The Company does not operate an occupational shared parental scheme and therefore Statutory shared parental entitlements will apply. Should an employee qualify for statutory shared parental pay, it is paid for up to 39 weeks and is paid at the statutory rate.
 
Parental Leave
To take a period of parental leave in relation to a child, you must:
have at least one year’s continuous employment;
have or expect to have responsibility for the child; and,
be taking the leave to spend time with or otherwise care for the child.
 
Employees who fulfil the criteria are entitled to take up to 18 weeks’ parental leave in relation to each child for whom they are responsible.
 
You can only take parental leave:
before the child’s fifth birthday; or
in the case of a child entitled to a disability living allowance, before the child’s 18th birthday; or,
in the case of an adopted child, before the fifth anniversary of the date of placement or, if sooner, the child’s 18th birthday.

Unless the leave is to be taken in respect of a child entitled to a disability living allowance, you:
can only take parental leave in blocks of a week’s leave or a multiple of a week’s leave; and,
are only entitled to take four weeks’ parental leave each year in relation to each child. A year for this purpose begins on the date when you became entitled to take parental leave in relation to the child in question.
 
Parents must give 21 days’ written notice to take parental leave and it must be taken in blocks of multiples of one week (part weeks, including single days or part days, count as whole weeks) up to a maximum of four weeks in any one year. Parents of disabled children must give 21 days’ written notice and have the additional flexibility to take leave in days without them being counted as whole weeks, although part days count as full days.
 
Leave can be postponed by Active for up to six months where the business cannot cope, except when a father gives the above advance notice to take leave immediately after the date when the child is born or when the partner of an adoptive parent gives the above advance notice to take leave immediately after the date when the child is placed for adoption. In circumstances where leave is postponed, Active will consult with you in order to try to agree a suitable alternative leave date.