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Shared Parental Leave Procedure (Police Staff)

This procedure is part of North Yorkshire Police policy to which all Chief Constable personnel and the functions provided by the Police and Crime Commissioner are required to adhere.

Procedure Statement Shared Parental Leave enables eligible parents to choose how to share the care of their child during the first year of birth or adoption. Its purpose is to give parents more flexibility in considering how to best care for, and bond with, their child. This procedure sets out the statutory rights and responsibilities of staff members who wish to take Shared Parental Leave (ShPL) and Shared Parental Pay (ShPP). Process 1.0 Eligibility 1.1

In order to qualify for Shared Parental Leave and Pay, staff must: 

Be the mother or first adopter and either the father of the child or the spouse, civil partner or partner of the child's mother, or the second adopter.



Both people must share the main responsibility for the care of the child at the time of the birth or placement for adoption. There must always be two people utilising ShPL/ShPP for the scheme to be operational, but no more. Being a birth father is not a guarantee of access to ShPL or ShPP.



Staff members and line managers are encouraged to begin dialogue and discussion regarding ShPL and ShPP at the earliest possible opportunity.

1.2

Additionally staff must satisfy each of the following criteria:   

Staff must still be working for the organisation at the start of each period of ShPL; Mothers / adopters must have a minimum of 26 weeks' service at the end of the 15th week before the child’s expected due date/matching date; Fathers / partners must, have worked for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks leading up to the child’s expected due/matching date

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 

Staff must correctly notify the organisation of their entitlement and provide evidence if and as required. The mother/adopter of the child must have ended or given notice to reduce any maternity/adoption entitlements;

1.3

Both parties must duly qualify in order to use ShPL and ShPP.

2.0

Shared Parental Leave

2.1

Eligible staff may be entitled to take up to 50 weeks ShPL during the child’s first year in their family. The actual time allowed will depend on what entitlement to maternity/adoption leave has already been taken by the other party. If a reduced maternity/adoption leave entitlement is taken by the mother/first adopter for example, then staff may opt-in to the ShPL system

 

2.2

It is still legally compulsory for the mother to take at least 2 weeks maternity leave immediately following the birth of a child. ShPL cannot start until this requirement has been fulfilled.

2.3

The first adopter can take ShPL after taking at least two weeks of adoption leave.  The father/partner/spouse can take ShPL immediately following the birth/placement of the child,  The father/partner cannot take paternity leave or pay once they have taken any ShPL or ShPP so may wish to use these entitlements first.

2.4

Only when a mother/adopter gives notice to reduce their maternity /adoption entitlements can the partner begin the ShPL. This can be taken at the same time as the mother, therefore allowing both parties to be away from the workplace at the same time.

2.5

ShPL must be taken within the first year. Any ShPL not taken by the child’s first birthday or first anniversary of placement for adoption is void and cannot be carried over.

3.0

Notification

3.1

A staff member must give their line manager at least eight weeks notification of their entitlement and intention to take to ShPL by completing the relevant forms: Mother’s form Partner’s form

3.2

NYP may, request additional information in support of the application. If there is a justifiable requirement, this must be responded to within 14 days. Information requested may include :  

the name and business address of the partner’s employer (where the staff members partner is no longer employed or is self-employed their contact details must be given instead) in the case of biological parents, a copy of the child's birth certificate (or, where one has not been issued, a declaration as to the time and place of the birth).

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

in the case of an adopted child, documentary evidence of the name and address of the adoption agency, the date on which they were was notified of having been matched with the child and the date on which the agency expects to place the child for adoption

3.3

Any deliberate attempt to act in a fraudulent way is likely to be considered by NYP to be a disciplinary matter, of gross misconduct and investigated accordingly.

4.0

Continuous and Discontinuous Leave

4.1

Members of staff have the right to submit three distinct notifications specifying leave periods they would like to take.  

Each notification may detail a brand new period of leave or seek to amend an existing already agreed period of leave. A notification may contain either a single period of leave of a number of weeks, or two or more weeks of discontinuous leave [see below], where the staff member intends to return to work between periods.

4.2

ShPL can only be taken in complete weeks but may begin on any day of the week. For example if a week of ShPL began on a Tuesday it would finish on a Monday.

4.3

The staff member must book ShPL by giving the correct notification at least eight weeks before the date on which they wish to start the leave and (if applicable) receive ShPP.

Continuous leave notifications 4.4

Continuous leave means a notification of a number of weeks taken in a single unbroken period (for example, six weeks in a row). A continuous leave notification may not be challenged as long as it does not exceed the total number of weeks of ShPL available and the correct notice has been given.

Discontinuous leave notifications 4.5

A single notification may also contain a request for two or more periods of discontinuous leave, this means asking for a set number of weeks of leave over a period of time, with breaks between the leave where the staff member returns to work (for example, an arrangement where a staff member will take six weeks of ShPL and then work every other week for a period of three months).

4.6

All requests for discontinuous leave will be carefully considered. However, the organisation has the right to challenge and refuse them.  If the leave pattern is refused, the following options are available o either withdraw it, within 15 days of giving it and; o resubmit an alternative discontinuous leave notification or; o revert to taking the leave in a single continuous block.

4.7

Applications will be processed and response provided within14 days. All notices for leave will be confirmed in writing.

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4.8

Each request for discontinuous leave will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Agreeing to one request will not set a precedent for another staff member to be granted a similar pattern of ShPL.

5.0

Variations to Booked Leave

5.1

The staff member is permitted to vary or cancel an agreed and booked period of ShPL, provided that they advise the organisation in writing as soon as possible.

5.2

Any variation or cancellation made by the individual, will usually count as a new notification reducing the staff members right to book/vary leave by one of the three allowed notices. A change as a result of a child being born early, or as a result of the organisation requesting it be altered and the staff member being agreeable to the change, will not count as a notification.

6.0

Shared Parental Pay

6.1

Eligible staff may be entitled to take up to 37 weeks ShPP while taking ShPL. The amount of weeks available will depend on the amount by which the mother/adopter reduces their maternity/adoption pay period or maternity allowance period.

6.2

ShPP may be payable during some or all of ShPL, depending on the length and timing of the leave.

6.3

In addition to meeting the eligibility requirements for ShPL, a staff member seeking to claim ShPP must further satisfy each of the following criteria:   

 

6.4

the mother/adopter must be/have been entitled to statutory maternity/adoption pay or maternity allowance and must have reduced their maternity/adoption pay period or maternity allowance period; the staff member must intend to care for the child during the week in which ShPP is payable; the staff member must have average weekly earnings for the period eight weeks leading up to and including the 15th week before the child’s expected due date/matching date which are not less than the lower earnings limit in force for national insurance contributions; the staff member must remain in continuous employment until the first week of ShPP has begun; the staff member must give proper notification in accordance with the rules set out below.

Where someone is entitled to receive ShPP they must, at least eight weeks before receiving any ShPP, give their line manager written notice advising of their entitlement to ShPP. To avoid duplication, this should be included as part of the notice of entitlement to take ShPL, see separate form.

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6.5

NYP fundamentally believes that ShPL and ShPP are significantly different from Maternity Leave and Maternity Pay in that the latter is primarily for the recuperation and wellbeing of the mother following pregnancy and childbirth and the former is primarily for the care of the new born/adopted child. Therefore, any ShPP due will be paid at a rate set by the Government for the relevant tax year and will not include or be enhanced by any occupational pay element.

7.0

Terms and Conditions relevant during periods of ShPL

7.1

During the period of ShPL, the contract of employment continues in force and they are entitled to receive all their contractual benefits, except for salary.

7.2

Pension contributions will continue to be made during any period when the staff member is receiving ShPP but not during any period of unpaid ShPL. Staff member contributions will be based on actual pay, while the organisation’s contributions will be based on assumed pensionable pay.

7.3

ShPL can have an element of authorised unpaid leave and therefore can affect an individual’s pension. On return from any period of ShPL, if an employee has had a period of unpaid leave, they will have a choice whether or not to buy back pension lost due to that period of authorised unpaid leave. The Local Government Pension Scheme website (www.lgps2014.org) has an online calculator which will calculate the amount an individual will need to pay to buy back this pension. The calculator creates an application form which must be printed and signed. This completed application form must be provided to NYP within 30 days of returning to work. To complete the online calculator the individual must first have the figure for their lost pensionable pay, this can be requested from NYP Payroll. A flowchart showing the full process of buying back lost pension is available on the LGPS website.

7.4

Annual Leave continues to accrue during periods of ShPL. Staff are reminded that holiday should wherever possible be taken in the leave year in which it is earned. Where a ShPL period overlaps two leave years staff should consider how their annual leave entitlement can be used to ensure that it is not untaken at the end of the staff member’s holiday year.

7.5

Bank Holiday entitlement, in accordance with NYP maternity leave procedures, will also accrue during periods of ShPL.

8.0

Shared Parental Leave – Keep in Touch Days [SPLITs]

8.1

Staff can agree to work for the organisation (or attend training) for up to 20 days each during ShPL without bringing ShPL to an end or impacting on their right to claim ShPP for that week. Any work carried out on a day or part of a day shall constitute a day's work for these purposes and be paid accordingly.

8.2

Any work undertaken is a matter for agreement between NYP and the individual. Any SPLIT days worked do not extend the period of ShPL.

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8.3

Staff, with the prior agreement of NYP, may use SPLIT days to work part of a week during ShPL. NYP and the staff member may also use SPLIT days to effect a gradual return to work by the staff member towards the end of a long period of ShPL or to trial a possible flexible working pattern. For example; 



Use 20 SPLIT days to gradually increase the number of days worked over a period of 2 months, starting with a day a week for 2 weeks and ending up with 4 days a week for 2 weeks at week 7 and 8. Or use 12 SPLIT days to work a pattern of three days a week for 4 weeks, prior to the end of ShPL

9.0

Return to work following ShPL

9.1

If the individual is unable to attend work following the end of ShPL due to sickness or injury, the organisation's normal arrangements for sickness absence will apply.

9.2

On returning to work after ShPL, the staff member is entitled to return to the same job if the staff member’s aggregate total statutory maternity/paternity/adoption leave and ShPL amounts to 26 weeks or less. The same job is the one they occupied immediately before commencing maternity/paternity/adoption leave and the most recent period of ShPL, on the same terms and conditions of employment as if they had not been absent.

9.3

If the maternity/paternity/adoption leave and ShPL all amount to 26 weeks or more in aggregate, the staff member is entitled to return to the same job they held before commencing the last period of leave or, if this is not reasonably practicable, to another job which is both suitable and appropriate and on terms and conditions no less favourable.

9.4

If the individual also takes a period of unpaid parental leave of 4 weeks or less this will have no effect on the staff members right to return and the staff member will still be entitled to return to the same job as they occupied before taking the last period of leave if the aggregate weeks of maternity/paternity/adoption and SPL do not exceed 26 weeks.

9.5

If a parent takes a period of 5 weeks of unpaid parental leave, even if the total aggregate weeks of maternity/paternity/adoption and ShPL do not exceed 26 weeks, the staff member will be entitled to return to the same job they held before commencing the last period of leave or, if this is not reasonably practicable, to another job which is suitable and appropriate and on terms and conditions no less favourable.

Responsibilities Police Staff will have a responsibility to provide sufficient and accurate information for the provisions contained within this procedure to be put into legal effect. First Line Supervision must act without undue delay to meet the timescales necessary. They must engage with staff to achieve successful outcomes for both the organisation and individuals Safer Neighbourhood Commanders/Heads of Functions should demonstrate a consistent approach to supporting supervision and individual staff in utilising these provisions

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Command Team should demonstrate leadership and foresight in providing a working culture that promotes effective and productive work life balances for staff Definition of Special Terms North Yorkshire Police – collectively the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Chief Constable in their respective corporate capacities as the employer of staff (or, in the case of the Chief Constable in so far as Police Officers are concerned, deemed or de jure employer. North Yorkshire Police Personnel – Collectively, Police Service Personnel and Commissioner Staff as defined below. Police Service Personnel – Police Officers under the direction and control of the Chief Constable and Police Staff in the employment of the Chief Constable. Police Staff – collectively, Chief Constable’s Staff and Commissioner Staff. Chief Constable’s Staff – All staff in the employment of the Chief Constable. Commissioner Staff – All staff in the employment of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

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