Stokers A5 Handbook Policies APR24

Terms and Conditions All the terms and conditions of employment remain in force during OAL and AAL, except for the terms relating to pay. In particular: • benefits in kind such as life insurance, health insurance and use of a company vehicle if applicable shall continue; • annual leave entitlement under the employee’s contract shall continue to accrue; and • pension benefits shall continue. During adoption leave, holiday entitlement will continue to accrue at the rate provided by the employee’s contract of employment. In some cases a period of adoption leave will last beyond the end of Stokers’ holiday year. Any holiday entitlement for the year that cannot reasonably be taken before starting adoption leave may be carried over to the next holiday year with prior permission from management. Any carried over holiday must be taken by the employee immediately before returning to work after adoption leave, unless the employee’s manager agrees otherwise. Carry over of holiday should be kept to a minimum, and ideally limited to one week’s holiday or less. Employees should discuss their holiday plans with their manager in good time before starting adoption leave. All holiday dates are subject to approval by the employee’s manager. During adoption leave, Stokers shall continue to make any employer contributions that the business usually makes for the employee into any relevant pension scheme. The contributions will be based on what the employee’s earnings would have been if they had not been on adoption leave, provided that the employee continues to make contributions based on (at least) the adoption pay they are receiving. If the employee wishes to increase their pension contributions to make up any shortfall from those based on their normal salary then they must contact the HR department to make the necessary arrangements. Keeping in Touch Stokers may make reasonable contact with the employee from time to time during their adoption leave. Employees may work (including attending training sessions) for up to 10 days during adoption leave without bringing their adoption leave or SAP to an end (“Keeping in Touch Days”). This is not compulsory and must be discussed and agreed in advance with the employee’s manager. Employees will be paid at their normal basic rate of pay for time spent working on Keeping in Touch Days, and

Adoption leave is disrupted if it has started but: • the employee is notified that the placement will not take place; • the child is returned to the adoption agency after placement; or • the child dies after placement. In case of disruption the employee’s entitlement to adoption leave and pay (if applicable) will continue for a further 8 weeks from the end of the week in which disruption occurred, unless the employee’s entitlement to leave or pay would have ended earlier in the normal course of events. Otherwise, employees are entitled to SAP if: • they have been continuously employed for at least 26 weeks at the end of their Qualifying Week and are still employed by Stokers during that week; • their average weekly earnings during the Relevant Period are not less than the lower earnings limit set by the government; and • they have given all of the relevant notifications detailed in this policy. SAP is paid at a prescribed rate which is set by the government for the relevant tax year, or at 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings calculated over the Relevant Period if this is lower. SAP accrues with each complete week of absence but payments shall be made on the next normal payroll date. Income tax, National Insurance and pension contributions shall be deducted as appropriate. If the employee leaves the business’s employment for any reason, they shall still be eligible for SAP if they have already been notified by an agency that they have been matched with a child. In such cases, SAP shall start on the later of: • 14 days before the Expected Placement Date; or • the day after the employee’s employment with Stokers ends. If the employee becomes eligible for a pay rise before the end of their adoption leave, they will be treated for SAP purposes as if the pay rise had applied throughout the Relevant Period. This means that the employee’s SAP will be recalculated and increased retrospectively, or that the employee may qualify for SAP if they did not previously qualify. If this happens, Stokers shall pay the employee a lump sum to make up the difference between any SAP already paid and the amount payable by virtue of the pay rise. Any future SAP payments will be increased if necessary.

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