Paternity Leave Policy

Transcription

1 Paternity Leave Policy Aim of the Policy The Kelda Group is committed to treating all colleagues fairly and consistently, and recognises the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance. The following company paternity provisions meet, and in some respects exceed, the normal statutory provisions. Should you require any further advice or guidance, please contact HR. Objectives of the Policy All colleagues who expect to have responsibility for the upbringing of a newly born or adopted child and who satisfy the eligibility criteria set out below have a statutory right to a period of paid paternity leave. In addition to the statutory entitlement, the company provides an enhanced scheme which operates under the same qualifying rules. Ordinary Paternity Leave is the right to take one or two weeks consecutive leave in the first eight weeks following the birth of the child, providing an colleague has 26 weeks continuous service in the 15 th week before the expected week of childbirth or the expected date of adoption. Scope of the Policy The Paternity Leave Policy applies to all colleagues in Kelda Group Ltd and its wholly owned group companies in the UK. Arrangements under TUPE may differ slightly please refer to your local agreements. Definitions Table EWC EDA KIT days OPL OPP SOPP SMP MA Expected week of childbirth Expected date of adoption Keeping in touch days Statutory ordinary paternity leave Ordinary paternity pay Statutory ordinary paternity pay Statutory maternity pay Maternity allowance 1

2 Process and Application Section 1: The Process The chart below guides you through the different steps to the paternity leave process. You will be fully supported each step of the way by your manager, Kelda Payroll and Human Resources. It is expected that your manager will maintain regular communication with you during any period of Paternity leave. The flow chart below highlights the essential meetings that are recommended, as a minimum, to take place. It may be that you and your manager meet on a more regular basis through informal 1:1 s. Step 1 Inform your manager in writing of your intention to take paternity leave and complete form SC3 or SC4 in cases of adoption (can be obtained from Kelda Payroll). Notification needs to be prior to 15 weeks before the due date. Step 2 Commence paternity leave. Step 3 Return to work. Your manager will meet with you to welcome you back. Pay will be calculated once you have taken paternity leave and confirmed the dates of leave with Kelda Payroll on your return to work. Please note the SC3 and SC4 forms CANNOT be submitted retrospectively. 2

3 Section 2: Ordinary Paternity Leave Am I eligible for Ordinary Paternity Leave? To qualify for Ordinary Paternity Leave (OPL) / Ordinary Paternity Pay (OPP), colleagues must: have 26 weeks continuous service in the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (EWC) or the expected date of adoption (EDA); have, or expect to have, responsibility for the upbringing of the child; and be the biological father of the child; or be married to, the partner, or civil partner of the child s mother or adopter; and must not be taking adoption leave in respect of the child. The definition of a partner (who is not married to, or the civil partner of the mother) is someone who lives with the mother in an enduring family relationship and is not a relative. Colleagues will be treated as having satisfied the conditions for OPL / OPP if they would have been satisfied but for the fact that: the child is born before the 15th week before its EWC; the child was stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy or has died; the child s mother has died. How much Ordinary Paternity Leave am I entitled to? All colleagues who satisfy the terms of eligibility are entitled to Statutory Ordinary Paternity Leave (SOPL) for a period of either: 1 week; or 2 consecutive weeks. It is entirely up to you how long you take. When can I take my Ordinary Paternity Leave? The leave must be taken during the 8 weeks immediately following the birth of the child, or if the baby is premature, the EWC, or the date on which the child is placed for adoption. It is up to you when you decide to commence your paternity leave. Who do I need to inform and by when? In or before the 15th week before the EWC, or as soon as is practicable; or in the case of adoption no more than 7 days after the date on which the adopter is notified of having been matched with a child, you should provide the company with the following information: written notification that you intend to be absent from work for reason of the birth, or placement for adoption of a child for which you will be responsible, and a declaration that you meet the eligibility criteria as specified; the EWC or EDA, and if the birth has already occurred the date of birth of the child; the length of the period of leave; the date on which the period of leave should begin; A completed form SC3 (Becoming a Parent) or SC4 (Becoming an Adoptive Parent). All forms are available from Kelda Payroll. 3

4 Please note that Paternity Pay cannot be calculated without this notification. You are also required by the company to provide a copy of the mother s MATB1 form. If you wish to vary either the length of, or the start date of your OPL you must give 28 days notice before the original specified date. Within 28 days of the birth you must inform the Company of the actual date of birth of the child. Section 3: Ordinary Paternity Pay What will I receive? Legislation states that eligible colleagues are entitled to one whole week, or two consecutive weeks Statutory Ordinary Paternity Pay (SOPP), at the current rate or 90% of the colleague s average weekly earnings if they are less than SOPP. The company pays enhanced Ordinary Paternity Pay (Company Paternity Pay), which is paid in addition to SOPP. Details of the SOPP rates for the current year can be found in the Statutory Information Reference Guide. Company Paternity Pay Week 1 normal salary inclusive of SOPP entitlement; Week 2 SOPP only or 90% of average weekly earnings if they are less than SOPP. Please refer to Section 6 (Holidays) and Section 7 (Benefits) for confirmation of the impact of Ordinary Paternity Leave on your other terms and conditions of employment. Please refer to Section 8 (Regular Deductions) for confirmation of how Ordinary Paternity Leave will impact on any regular deductions from your salary. Section 4: Shared Parental Leave From 5 th April 2015, eligible colleagues are entitled to share the mothers maternity leave and pay by transferring these to Shared Parental Leave and Pay. Please refer to the Company s Shared Parental Leave Policy for further information. Your partner will need to refer to their company s Shared Parental Leave Policy. Paternity leave can only be taken prior to Shared Parental Leave commencing. Section 5: Holiday Entitlement How many holidays will I accrue while on Paternity Leave? You will continue to accrue your holiday entitlement as normal during Paternity Leave. If you are full time, you will accrue your normal holiday entitlement and will accrue time off in lieu for any bank holidays that fall within your Paternity Leave period. These will be added to your holiday entitlement. If you are part-time your holiday entitlement will be calculated as normal and will be inclusive of bank holidays. When can I take my annual leave? Holidays may be added to the beginning or the end of your Paternity Leave. 4

5 What happens if I return to part time hours? If you return to work on a part-time or job share basis your annual leave will be accrued on a pro-rata basis from the date of return and will be calculated in hours rather than days. Your manager and the HR team will discuss with you in detail the changes to your contractual terms and conditions. More details on part-time working are available on SAM. Section 6: Benefits How will Paternity Leave impact on my terms and conditions? During any periods of OPL you will continue to be an colleague and there will be no break in service. During both OPL you will continue to receive any contractual benefits that you normally receive, e.g. company car, health care, contractual annual leave etc., except for remuneration, i.e. salary. What will happen to my shift allowance / contractual overtime? If you receive any contractual payments on top of your basic salary, for example contractual overtime or shift allowance, you will receive these contractual payments during OPL. These payments will be included in the calculation of your Company Paternity Pay. You will receive these contractual payments on top of your Statutory Paternity Pay. What will happen to my company vehicle? If you have a company vehicle (either Reward User or Business Needs User) you will continue to receive this benefit throughout your OPL. When will my car allowance stop? If you are in receipt of a car allowance (as an alternative to a company vehicle) you will continue to receive the allowance throughout Ordinary Paternity Leave. What will happen to my company van? A Company van is only available to you for business travel and commuting. Therefore, if you have a company van, you may be required to return it on the day you commence your Paternity leave. Dependent upon the duration of your Paternity Leave and/or whether the van is needed elsewhere in the business, your line manager may agree to you retaining the van, however, this must not be used for any private purpose during your Paternity Leave. Pay for Performance (Bands 4-6) Any period of OPL will not affect any quarterly performance award. Performance in the Round (Blue Green Pay Zones) Any period of OPL will not affect any quarterly performance award. Progression Plans (Please note this does not apply to KWS, Kelda Retail or Kelda Organic Energy) Any period of OPL will not affect any progression plan increase and as such your progression plan will be placed on hold until you return to work. If you are at one of the four developing levels for the role, you will remain at your current level until such time as you return to work. 5

6 Annual Incentive Plan (Indigo Pay Zone and above) Any period of OPL will not affect your quarterly performance assessment or your bonus payment. Annual Incentive Plan (Band 3 and above) Any period of OPL will not affect your quarterly performance assessment or your bonus payment. Mobile Phone Bills If you have a work mobile phone and intend to use it for personal use during your period of OPL, you must make appropriate arrangements to reimburse the company for the cost. If you are not able to access your phone bill whilst you are on leave, you should ask your manager to provide you with a copy on a monthly basis. Section 7: Regular Deductions Regular deductions will not be affected during any period of OPL. What happens to the regular payments / deductions from my salary? Pension Contributions If I do not participate in Pension Saver You will continue to pay pension contributions while you are receiving any Company Paternity Pay and Statutory Ordinary Paternity Pay. If I participate in Pension Saver If you participate in Pension Saver, you will pay pension contributions as normal during any period of Ordinary Paternity Leave. Hospital Funds/Union Subscriptions Assuming you are eligible for Statutory Paternity Pay, payments will continue to be deducted from your salary. Private Medical Insurance (Band 3 and Indigo Pay Zone and above) Cover will continue during any period of OPL. Fuel Provision through Company credit card (Band 2 and Violet Pay Zone and above) This will continue to be provided during any period of OPL. Car Loan Assuming you are eligible to receive Statutory Paternity Pay, payments will continue to be deducted from your salary. 6

7 Water Bill Saver If you participate in Water Bill Saver, you will continue to receive free water and sewerage services from the company unless you choose to opt out of the scheme under the lifestyle change rules. Water Bill Saver payments are different to other deductions as they are paid through salary sacrifice and cannot be offset against Statutory Paternity Pay. Cycle to Work Scheme (Cyclescheme) You will continue to participate in Cyclescheme during your paternity leave. Leeds Credit Union If you have savings products with Leeds Credit Union, assuming you are eligible to receive Statutory Paternity Pay, deductions will continue. If you would like to review these payments during your Paternity Leave please contact Kelda Payroll for more information. Childcare Vouchers You will continue to receive childcare vouchers during your Paternity Leave unless you choose to opt out of the scheme under the lifestyle change rules. Section 8: Working arrangements Can I request a change in my working arrangements? Yes you can, provided you meet the criteria. For more information on flexible working and the process please refer to SAM. Section 9: Unforeseen Events If things do not go to plan what support is available and what will happen? In the unfortunate event that things do not go to plan, your manager and HR will be available to guide you on what support is available through the Occupational Health Department. Section 10: Childcare For information on childcare vouchers please refer to SAM. Am I entitled to any leave for childcare? As a parent, there is a range of authorised leave available. For more detailed information on Authorised Leave, please refer to SAM. Section 11: Useful Information and Contacts What other benefits are available that may support me during my paternity leave? Favourites is an colleague benefits package for colleagues in the Kelda Group. The scheme provides access to a range of products from retail vouchers to insurance schemes and savings on family days out and holidays. To see the full range of discounts and benefits please visit:- 7

8 Please enter keldagroup as the unique code. Useful Contacts Kelda Payroll or Pensions Team or Occupational Health or Addresses Payroll: Kelda Payroll, Yorkshire Water Services, Western House, Western Way, Halifax Road, Bradford, BD6 2LZ Internal Kelda Payroll Mailin External Other useful websites:- provides comprehensive information on all employment matters and colleague rights at work. Version Control Last Update: 1 st October 2017 Next Review Update: 1 st April 2018 Next Board Approval December 2017 Policy Owner: Employee Relations & Reward 8