Employees can take up to 52 weeks’ Statutory Adoption Leave. The first 26 weeks is known as ‘Ordinary Adoption Leave’, the last 26 weeks as ‘Additional Adoption Leave’.
Leave can start:
• On the date the child starts living with the employee or up to 14 days before the expected placement date (UK adoptions)
• When an employee has been matched with a child to be placed with them by a UK adoption agency
• When the child arrives in the UK or within 28 days of this date (overseas adoption)
• The day the child’s born or the day after (parents in surrogacy arrangements)
Adoption Pay
If the employee is taking adoption leave as the primary caregiver, they will be entitled to the same pay as the enhanced maternity leave if they have been an employee of the CISI for at least two years at the start of adoption leave.
The maximum entitlement to pay is 39 weeks. Employees will receive a higher rate of pay in respect of the first seventeen weeks and SAP for the remaining 22 weeks.
• Higher rate pay is 100% of your normal weekly salary
• SAP is a flat rate set by the Government each year
Standard Adoption Pay
Employees who are not eligible for the enhanced pay will receive statutory adoption pay subject to meeting the criteria below.
The maximum entitlement to adoption pay is 39 weeks.
Weeks of payment at the lower rate may be lost if the employee does any work for the CISI during their maternity leave apart from the ‘keeping in touch days’.
• Higher rate SAP is 90% of your average weekly earnings.
• Lower rate SAP is a flat rate set by the Government each year.
Adoption pay will be paid in the same way as your salary on or around the 24th of each month and is subject to tax and National Insurance.
For more information on Adoption leave and pay please contact HR.