Adoption leave frequently asked questions

• You must formally provide 28 days’ notice to your line manager & HR Services before you wish to be paid Statutory Adoption Pay, unless the time between the child being matched and placed is less than that.  

• You must submit a request for adoption leave in writing at least 7 days before a ‘match’ is made with a child by the Adoption Agency. 

• Please notify your line manager & HR Services via email – a prior discussion with your line manager is advised.  

• The notification must include: 

• • When you would like your leave to start (adoption leave can commence from the date the child starts living with you or 14 days before this date)

• • the ‘date of placement’ - the expected or actual date the child is placed with you (supported by a copy of the Matching Certificate of the child, naming you as the adoptive parent). 

After you have submitted your notification, HR Services will: 

• Acknowledge receipt of your adoption leave notification 

• Schedule a meeting with you to review your adoption leave arrangements.  

• Confirm your entitlement to adoption leave and pay. 

• Confirm the agreed start date for your adoption leave. 

Yes, by giving 28 days’ written notice or as much notice as reasonably practicable. 

If you experience any changes to circumstances, please inform your line manager and HR Services as soon as reasonably practicable.  

Yes. You and your manager should agree on what level of contact is reasonable before your adoption leave begins. The level of contact will depend on your circumstances and preferences. This includes updates about important changes in the workplace and any vacancies or promotion opportunities that arise while you are on leave.  

A KIT day is any day during adoption leave when you perform work, regardless of the number of hours worked. Even a short activity, such as attending a one-hour training session, counts as a full KIT day, however you will only receive payment for the hours worked.  

You can take up to 10 KIT days during your adoption leave, with prior agreement from your line manager. These can be taken at any time during your leave. It’s usually best to use KIT days during the Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) period or the unpaid part of your leave, as this is when they tend to be most helpful and financially beneficial. 

KIT (Keeping in Touch) days are flexible, and you can use them in ways that work best for you and your line manager. People often use them to: 

• Attend training or professional development 

• Join team meetings or activities 

• Work on specific tasks or projects 

A KIT day form must be completed by your line manager and submitted to Payroll for processing. A form can either be submitted once each day is worked or once all KIT days have been worked. The Payroll Team will only process the pay once the day has been worked.

If you’d decide to return to work before the end of your 52 weeks, please let your line manager and HR Services know in writing at least 8 weeks before your planned return date. HR Services will then write to you to confirm your return to work.  

Yes, you should provide as much notice as possible for adoption appointments. After the first appointment, you may be asked to provide proof, such as an appointment card or confirmation letter. 

Please discuss your annual leave arrangements with your line manager and confirm the agreement in writing. Please follow the locally agreed process for recording leave. 

Yes. You must take any annual leave you have already built up before your adoption leave starts. For example, if you begin adoption leave three months into the leave year, you would normally take about 25% of your annual leave before you go. Your manager may also let you take more leave than you’ve accrued, depending on the needs of the team and what works for both of you. 

While annual leave should normally be taken in the year it is accrued, if you can’t take all your annual leave due to adoption leave, you can carry the remaining leave (including bank holidays and concessionary days) into the next leave year and it is not limited by the usual carryover rules in the Conditions of Service. You will need to use this carried over leave straight after your adoption leave ends.  

Please see below table that gives a breakdown of pension contributions during the  different pay periods:  

Please refer to the Pensions webpage for further information.

You will need to ensure any required updates on your laptop are installed, by leaving your device on for a while before accessing University data, if that device has been off for a while. Please refer to the IT Services Posture Check FAQ’s for further information. 

Yes. If you wish to change your working pattern, please discuss this with your manager well in advance of your return. You may wish to refer to the Flexible Working Policy for further information.  

Staff who take maternity/adoption/shared parental leave are expected to resume their normal academic duties upon their return. However, the absence may have impacted their career trajectory, making it harder for them to progress in the normal way.

Therefore, any member of staff who has been absent from work for an extended period as a result of family leave should be given the following assistance to help them to re-establish their academic profile:

• All RTE staff who return from extended family leave (maternity, adoption or shared parental leave) in excess of four months to automatically receive a period of time to focus on their research.
• RTE staff returning from extended family leave should receive a period equivalent to four months of term time to help them to re-establish their academic profile. In exceptional circumstances a Dean may agree a longer period. A phased return over a maximum of four weeks may also be agreed.
•  The purpose of this time is to give the employee time to rebuild their research profile following their period of leave. Exact details of activity, e.g. focusing on outputs, funding or other research activities should be agreed between the employee and the Dean and the employee is not expected to carry out any teaching related activity or other associated leadership roles.
• If a member of staff is completing the New Lecturers’ Programme (NLP), this should recommence at the end of the four-month period.  PDRs should take place as normal if the window falls in the four-month period.
• Schools are encouraged to think creatively about how to do this and to avoid the use of casual contracts, e.g. to cover teaching, wherever possible.
• Schools are also required to discuss what support any member of staff might need on return from extended family leave and ensure that this is put into place. A Research Mentor could be allocated if appropriate.  This might be support that is required initially on return or support that is needed on a more ongoing basis.  A record of the discussion and the support provided should be retained by the school and may be audited for best practice.
• Schools may wish to allocate some funding to the member of staff to support them during the four-month period.
• Some objectives for the period should be agreed at the outset but as this is a period of readjustment, it may not always be possible for colleagues to complete the agreed objectives within the agreed timescale.
• This arrangement has been designed to facilitate flexibility for both the Dean and the employee, but there is an explicit requirement that Deans should ensure they are acting within the spirit of the policy at all times.
• Audits and reviews of support for staff returning from extended family leave may take place to monitor the effectiveness of this arrangement in terms of support provided.