Stokers A5 Handbook Policies APR24

SHARED PARENTAL LEAVE POLICY

INTRODUCTION Stokers is committed to providing an environment where employees actively want to work, grow and return. As part of Stokers’ commitment, this policy aims to ensure that all employees are aware of the benefits and entitlements available to new parents and what actions need to be taken. POLICY Managers have a specific responsibility to ensure the fair application of this policy and all employees are responsible for supporting colleagues and ensuring its success. As the statutory shared parental leave scheme is quite technical and detailed, any employee or manager who has queries about the requirements of this policy should contact the HR department for support. This policy does not apply to agency workers, consultants or self-employed contractors. This is a policy document and therefore does not form part of any employee’s contract of employment. Stokers may amend this policy at any time. GENERAL PRINCIPLES The following definitions apply in relation to this policy: • Expected Week of Childbirth or EWC: the week in which the child is expected to be born. • Qualifying Week: the fifteenth week before, as applicable, the week in which: • the child is expected to be born; or • the employee was notified by an approved adoption agency of having been matched with the child. Shared parental leave (“SPL”) is a form of leave available to working parents after the birth of a child or the placement with them of an adopted child. It is available where the child is expected to be born or adopted on or after 5 April 2015. New parents and adopters may take SPL at the same time, or at different times, even if they are not both employed by the business, provided that no more than 52 weeks’ leave is taken between them in total. The child’s mother must still take 2 weeks of compulsory maternity leave following birth, which will be deducted from the amount of SPL available. Any other maternity leave and adoption leave will also be deducted. SPL is additional to the right to take 2 weeks’ paternity leave. Eligibility Employees will be eligible to take SPL if they are: • The child’s mother, with responsibility for the care of the child together with the child’s father (or partner, if the father is not the employee’s partner);

• The child’s father, with responsibility for the care of the child together with the child’s mother; • The partner of the child’s mother, with responsibility for the care of the child together with the child’s mother (where the child’s father does not share the care responsibility with the mother); • The adopter of a child, with responsibility for the care of the child; or • The co-adopter of a child, or the partner of the primary adopter of the child, with responsibility for the care of the child together with the co-adopter or partner. All of the following conditions must also be satisfied: • The employee must have been continuously employed by Stokers for at least 26 weeks by The end of the Qualifying Week; • The employee must still be employed by Stokers in the week before their SPL is due to start; • The other parent or adopter must have worked in at least 26 of the 66 weeks before the EWC or the week in which they were notified Notices Employees should discuss their intention to take SPL with their manager and the HR department as early as possible. This will allow time for the employee’s request to be fully considered, and, potentially, a pattern of shared parental leave to be agreed from the outset. However, in all cases, an employee wishing to take SPL must give the business the following 3 notices at least 8 weeks before the intended start date of their SPL. Notice 1: End Notice If an employee is on maternity leave or adoption leave, they must give at least 8 weeks written notice to Stokers to terminate that leave before they can take SPL (an “End Notice”). The End Notice must state the date that the employee’s maternity or adoption leave will end. If the employee is the child’s mother, they can submit the End Notice before or after the birth, but their maternity leave cannot end until at least 2 weeks after the birth. by an approved adoption agency of having been matched with the child (as applicable), and had average weekly earnings of at least £30 during 13 of those weeks; and • The employee and the other parent or adopter must comply with Stokers’ notice requirements (see below).

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