Paternity, Co-Parent and Partner Leave Policy

This policy applies to you if your partner is pregnant or has recently given birth and you are a staff member at Oxford Brookes University. This policy also applies if you and your partner have adopted a child (including adopting a child through surrogacy and fostering to adopt arrangements) and your partner is taking Adoption leave.

The aims of this policy are to:

1. Set out the leave and pay you are eligible for
2. Explain what to do to access it
3. Provide you with access to more help and support as necessary

For additional leave and pay options, see the Shared Parental Leave policy.

You can find out more about your statutory rights regarding paternity, co-parent and partner leave at the government website’s Paternity pay and leave page.

To be eligible for paternity, co-parent and partner leave, you must be one of the following in relation to the child:

• The father, co-parent or partner of the person giving birth or adopting
• The child’s adopter
• The intended parent (if you’re having a baby through a surrogacy arrangement)
• The nominated carer of the mother / birthing parent (i.e someone providing close personal support to a birth parent who does not have a partner and is not being supported by the child’s father / co-parent). Normally only available to a member of the birth parent’s immediate family. (This is a university enhanced entitlement).

To be eligible for paternity, co-partner and partner pay, you must also meet the following eligibility criteria:

1. Have 26 weeks or more continuous service by either
   1. the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (EWC)
      or
   2. the week your partner was matched with a child for UK adoption
      or
   3. the date the child arrives in the UK or when you want your pay to start for overseas adoption.
2. Remain in employment up to the date the baby is born or child is placed with the adopter.
3. Have average earnings above the lower earnings limit in an 8 week ‘relevant’ period (This is particularly relevant if you work on a casual / hourly paid basis or have had a period of unpaid leave. Email payroll-pensions@brookes.ac.uk for further information if this applies to you.)
4. Have or expect to have responsibility for the child’s upbringing and be requesting this leave to either support the mother, birth parent or primary adopter or to care for the child.

Leave

Paternity, Co-Parent and Partner leave should only be taken from the date of the child’s birth or placement.

Up to two weeks leave can be taken. This will be pro rata if you work part time. An additional third week (pro rata at full pay) of leave can be taken in the case of multiple births/ adoption (for example twins / triplets ).

The leave should be taken within the first year of the child’s birth, or date of placement for cases of adoption. Beyond the statutory entitlement of taking the leave as separate one week blocks over the year, the University's enhanced entitlements allows you to take the leave as individual days.  The below examples indicate the different ways you could take Paternity, Co-parent and Partner leave over the 12 months:

• Entitled to two weeks (pro rata) leave or Entitled to three weeks (pro rata) leave (for multiple births)
• Two week block or Three week block
• Two separate one week blocks or Three separate one week blocks
• One week block & 5 individual days or Two week block & 5 individual days
• 10 Individual days or 15 individual days

* All amounts above would be pro rata for part time staff 

Pay

If you qualify for paternity, co-parent and partner pay, you will be eligible for up to two weeks leave at full pay (pro rata), or three weeks leave for multiple births / adoptions. This is an enhancement offered by the University compared to Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP). The two weeks of your leave and pay will include your Statutory Paternity Pay entitlement (if you are eligible).

If your average weekly wage is below the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL), you will not qualify for SPP or the University’s Paternity, Co-Parent and Partner Pay. You can contact your local Jobcentre Plus office to see if you may be able to get income support whilst on leave.

Terms and conditions

Your terms and conditions of employment will remain unchanged during paternity, co-parent and partner leave and any salary deductions such as pension, trade union subscriptions etc will be deducted as usual.

If you are employed on a fixed term contract or your employment ends during your paternity, co-parent and partner leave, your employment and payment of University Paternity, Co-Parent and Partner Pay will end on the expiry date of your fixed term contract / last day of service.  Statutory Paternity Pay will continue to be paid if you are eligible.

There are two steps you need to take when applying for Paternity, Co-parent and Partner leave and two separate timescales you need to adhere to:

1. Notice of entitlement to take paternity, co-Parent and Partner leave - At least 15 weeks before the baby’s due date  / date of placement, you should notify your line manager of your intention to take this leave by completing the notification of intention to take paid paternity, co-parent and partner leave form. By completing this form, you will be required to declare your eligibility and the legitimate purpose of the leave.  This declaration is a statutory requirement.
2. Notice of taking a period of paternity, co-parent and partner leave -  You are expected to give at least 28 days notice of each period of leave you wish to take in line with this policy.  Please speak to your line manager or the People Operations team if this is not possible, for example, if your baby is born sooner than expected.  You should complete the paternity, co-parent and partner leave application form for each period of leave you wish to take.

All forms should be sent to your line manager for authorisation and forwarded to the People Directorate following completion. The PD will then write to you to confirm your leave and pay arrangements.  You will also be sent a link to the appropriate statutory government form (SC3,4 or 5) which you will need to complete online. 

Regardless of length of service, you may take unpaid time off for up to two antenatal appointments.  On top of this statutory entitlement, consideration will be given for any reasonable requests for paid time off to attend antenatal appointments and classes supported by evidence of appointments (eg - using annual leave or accrued TOIL).

Parental Bereavement Leave  

In the event that your baby is stillborn after 24 weeks, or is born alive at any point in the pregnancy but later passes away, you are entitled to two weeks of Parental Bereavement Leave (PBL). This is an individual right and is in addition to any entitlement to Maternity, Paternity, or Shared Parental Leave.

All employees qualify for the leave from day one of employment. You will qualify for Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (SPBP) if you have at least 26 weeks of continuous service leading up to the week of the loss and meet the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) in the eight weeks prior to the loss.

This leave can be taken as a single block of two weeks or two separate blocks of one week, and must be taken within 56 weeks of the child’s passing. PBL cannot be taken at the same time as Maternity, Paternity, or Shared Parental Leave. Where an employee is entitled to both, PBL is usually taken immediately after the other period of leave has ended.

Bereaved Partners Paternity Leave

An employee is entitled to a single period of up to 52 weeks’ unpaid bereaved partners paternity leave (BPPL) where:

• the child’s primary carer has died;

• the employee’s relationship to the child is as described in section 4 for eligibility to paternity, co-parent and partner leave; and

• the employee has main responsibility for the upbringing of the child.

This leave must usually be taken within 52 weeks of the child’s birth or placement for adoption.

• Where the bereavement occurs within 13 days of the end of that 52-week window, the employee may still take up to 14 days’ leave, regardless.

For leave starting within eight weeks of the bereavement, notice must be given orally or in writing before the employee is due to start work on the first day of leave. For leave starting more than eight weeks after the bereavement, notice must be given in writing at least one week before the intended start date. 

All notice must include the bereavement date, the proposed start date of leave, and the child’s date of birth (or placement of adoption). Where leave is to start more than eight weeks after bereavement, the notice must also include the intended return date, a declaration that the leave is being taken to care for a child, and confirmation of the employee’s relationship to the child. Employees may vary the start date, subject to the same further notice requirements. Leave may be cancelled in writing with one week’s notice, or no notice where leave was due to start within eight weeks of the bereavement. Return dates can also be varied in writing. The notice period for changing a return date is determined by its proximity to the bereavement; return dates falling within the first eight weeks require only one week’s notice, while dates scheduled further out require a notice period of eight weeks.

If an employee would have been entitled to BPPL but the child has also died (or has been returned following adoption), they may still take up to eight weeks’ unpaid bereaved partners paternity leave in the 52-week eligibility window, provided they had not already taken BPPL before the child’s death.

During BPPL employees may take up to 10 Keeping in Touch (KIT) days in line with section 3.2 of the University’s Maternity Policy.

In the instances of both Parental Bereavement Leave and Bereaved Partners Paternity leave, the University’s provision of up to 5 days pay under the Bereavement Leave Policy will apply.

Neonatal Care Leave

All employees are eligible to accrue Neonatal Care Leave (NCL) where the following conditions are met:

• The baby needs at least seven consecutive days of neonatal care within the first 28 days after birth.
• The employee must be the baby’s parent, intended parent (for surrogacy), or partner of the baby’s mother, and have responsibility for raising the child (similar rules apply for adoption).
• The leave must be used to care for the baby.

NCL allows employees to accrue one week of leave for every seven consecutive days the baby receives neonatal care, up to 12 weeks in total. This is in addition to other family leave, such as Paternity, Co-parent and Partner Leave, and can be taken under a two-tier system:

Tier 1: Immediate, flexible leave

• Can be taken while the baby is still in neonatal care (but not before it is accrued, as described above), or during the first week after discharge. 
• Can be taken in non-consecutive weeks, and can be split around other pre-booked leave types. 
• As maternity leave cannot be interrupted, this is typically used by the partner of the mother, (or person other than the mother with parental responsibility), or where there is pre-booked shared parental leave.

Tier 2: Planned leave post-discharge

• Can be taken from the second week after discharge up to 68 weeks after birth.
• Must be taken in a single block.
• Requires formal notice.
• Is typically used by the mother after pre-booked maternity leave.

Notification of Neonatal Leave

Employees must notify their manager as soon as possible after the birth of their baby if they anticipate needing NCL, providing necessary medical documentation when available.

For Tier 1 NCL, notice can be given informally (phone / email), but must be given before the first day of absence, unless it is not reasonably practicable to do so. 

For Tier 2 NCL, formal written notice is required at least 28 days before leave starts (15 days for a single week of leave). 

All notification must include:

• Baby’s birth or placement date (for adoption)
• Date(s) care started
• Date care ended (if applicable)
• Dates and duration of leave to be taken 
• Confirmation of eligibility

Where agreed, and as appropriate to the circumstances, employees may nominate a close relative to support communication with the line manager, who must hold regular check-ins to assess needs and support options. 

Neonatal Care Pay

Employees are eligible to receive Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (SNCP) for every uninterrupted seven days of neonatal care the baby receives up to a maximum of 12 weeks if they meet the NCL eligibility criteria above, and the following additional conditions:

• They have been employed for a continuous period of at least 26 weeks before the ‘Relevant Week’, and are still in employment during it.
• Their gross weekly earnings meet the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) over the period of eight weeks ending with the ‘Relevant Week’.
• They provide the required notice and medical evidence of neonatal care.

If entitled to other statutory family leave payments (e.g., paternity), the ‘Relevant Week’ is the same as the qualifying week for that payment. Otherwise, it is the week before the baby’s first admission to neonatal care.

SNCP is paid at the statutory weekly rate (check current rates on the government website), or 90% of average weekly earnings, if this is less.

If eligibility for SNCP begins after neonatal care starts, the employee will receive pay for any subsequent seven-day periods of care. 

Rights and Protections

Employees on PBL, BPPL or NCL retain all contractual benefits (except pay) and have the same employment protections as other family-related leave, such as protection from dismissal or detriment for taking the leave.

Support in exceptional circumstances

It is appreciated that any of these circumstances would be an exceptionally difficult time for you and your family. Any absence from work related to this would be treated compassionately. Any absence beyond the provision of this policy will be handled in line with sickness absence and / or compassionate leave arrangements. Employees are also encouraged to review the University's Shared Parental Leave Policy, which may provide a more financially beneficial provision in some circumstances.   

Please see section 10 below for further support available to you during this time.

When managing your paternity, co-parent and partner leave request, we process personal data collected in accordance with our data protection policy. Data collected from the point at which we receive a notice of entitlement to take this leave is held securely and accessed by, and disclosed to, individuals only for the purposes of managing their request for leave in line with this policy.

Employees can also access the Employee Assistance Programme which can provide access to counselling and many other confidential services.  UNISON and UCU, the People Management Team, and your line manager can also be approached for support.

You may also wish to review the following sources of information:

• Miscarriage Association
• Tommy’s information on Stillbirth
• Dad-to-be and early fatherhood