Section 4: Family Friendly Policies

4.1 Entitlement to statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay

Stipendiary office holders are entitled to statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay in the same way as employees, by virtue of their payment of National Insurance contributions. This applies to office holders on freehold and Common Tenure.

Statutory Maternity Pay

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is payable for 39 weeks, at two different rates:

for the first 6 weeks, 90% of normal weekly earnings;
for the remaining 33 weeks £124.88 per week or 90% of normal weekly earnings, whichever is the lower.

For a woman to be eligible for SMP, the following conditions must be satisfied.

She must have been continuously employed for at least 26 weeks at the end of the Qualifying Week (the fifteenth week before the Expected Week of Childbirth (“EWC”). For office holders paid through NCIs’ Clergy Payroll Services the number of weeks on the payroll is, in practice, treated as continuous service for this purpose
Her normal weekly earnings are at least the lower earnings limit (“LEL”) for National Insurance purposes (£97 from 6 April 2010)
She must give at least 28 days’ notice (or as much notice as is reasonably practicable) of the date she intends SMP to start
She must still be pregnant 11 weeks before the start of her EWC, or have already given birth
She must supply, no more than 3 weeks after the birth, a certificate from a midwife or doctor confirming the date of her EWC
She must have ceased to work.

Diocesan Maternity Pay

Subject to the eligibility below, clergywomen and licensed lay workers who express an intention to return to work and who have completed at least one year’s service at the beginning of the 14^th week before the Expected Week of Childbirth (EWC), will receive 39 weeks’ paid maternity leave on full stipend.

To qualify for Diocesan Maternity Pay it is necessary to:

have one year’s continuous service at the beginning of the 14th week before the EWC
be in paid service at the time maternity leave begins
stop work at the earliest after the start of the 11th week before the EWC
give notice to the diocesan office in writing of the intention to take maternity leave before the end of the 15^th week before the EWC. The Commissioners’ Clergy Payments Department should then confirm the date in writing, including the date when the clergywoman or licensed lay worker is expected to return to work. The clergywoman/licensed lay worker can change her mind about the dates but should give 8 weeks’ notice of any changes, which should again be confirmed by the Commissioners’ Clergy Payments Department in writing
give an undertaking of the intention to return to work after the birth
be pregnant at the 11^th week before the EWC, or have had the baby.

Women whose babies are stillborn, or who miscarry after the 24^th week of pregnancy, still qualify for the full scheme terms.

The payment of Diocesan Maternity Pay includes any entitlement to SMP.

4.2 Adoption policy and leave

Statutory adoption pay

This mirrors SMP, except that the rate of pay is 39 weeks at the prescribed rate set by the Government each tax year or 90% of the individual’s normal weekly earnings whichever is the lower.

The qualifications for statutory adoption pay are

the individual must be the child’s adopter
the individual must have continuous service for at least 26 week ending with the week the adopter is notified of being matched with a child
the individual must have agreed the date of placement with the adoption agency
over the eight weeks ending with the date on which the adopter is notified of the match, the individual must have had normal weekly earnings of at least the LEL
the individual must have ceased to work.

Within 7 days’ of being matched with a child, the adopter must notify the employer of the expected date of placement and the date the individual intends the adoption leave to start.

The diocese will follow the Child Support Agency recommendations and give clergy and licensed lay workers who intend to return to work up to 39 weeks’ adoption leave on full pay, followed by a further period of unpaid additional adoption leave, subject to the conditions and eligibility criteria.

Either partner may receive Adoption Pay, but not both.

In addition to paid adoption leave, clergy or licensed lay workers may wish to take an additional 13 weeks’ unpaid adoption leave after the end of the period of paid adoption leave.

4.3 Ordinary parental leave

Following the birth of a child, eligible Office Holders are entitled to take up to 18 weeks ordinary parental leave before the child’s 18th birthday. The right is available to both men and women and both full and part-time Office Holders.
The maximum amount of OPL that may be taken in any one year in respect of a child is 4 weeks. OPL may not be taken in blocks of less than one week except where the child is disabled in which case it may be taken one day at a time.
Application for parental leave must be made in writing to the HR Officer 21 days before the commencement of the leave and evidence of parenthood or parental responsibility must be produced upon request.
You will not receive any payment for any parental leave taken;
If any Office Holder is returning from a parental leave break of 4 weeks or less than he/she is entitled to return to the job which he/she left before his/her absence. If, however, the leave period is 4 weeks or above, then he/she would return to his/her previous position, unless it is not reasonably practical. In which case he/she will undertake a position which is suitable and appropriate;

Eligibility:

All parents (biological or adoptive) will have a right to parental leave subject to the following conditions:

The Office Holder must have a minimum of one year’s continuous service with the employer before the tie the leave is taken.
The Office Holder must have or expect to have parental responsibility for the child in question.
The leave must be taken with the purpose of caring for the child.

Definition of parental responsibility:

A person has parental responsibility for a child if he/she is the natural parent of the child (where the father is not married to the mother he must be registered as the child’s father) Adoptive parents are also deemed to have parental responsibility as from the date of placement of the child with them. Step parent may acquire parental responsibility for their spouse of civil partner’s child by means of an agreement with the child’s natural parents. A child’s guardian may also have parental responsibility. Foster parents are not eligible for parental leave.

4.4 Shared parental leave

Eligible Office Holders will be entitled to shared parental leave, enabling mothers and their partners to choose how they share time off work after the child had been born. As the shared parental leave provisions are complex, if an Office Holder wishes to take shared parental leave, he/she should clarify the relevant procedures with the HR Officer to ensure that they are followed correctly. The mother and the partner should ensure that they are each liaising with their own employer to ensure that requests for shared parental leave are handled as smoothly as possible.

The amount of shared parental leave to which an individual is entitled will depend on when the mother brings her maternity leave period to an end and the amount of leave that the other parent takes in respect of the child. Shared parental leave must be taken in blocks of at least one week. The Office Holder can request to take shared parental leave in one continuous block (in which case the Board is required to accept the request as long as the Office Holder meets the eligibility and notice requirements), or as a number of discontinuous blocks of leave (in which case the Office Holder needs the Board's agreement). A maximum of three requests for leave per pregnancy can normally be made by each parent.

The first two weeks following birth are the compulsory maternity leave period and are reserved for the mother. This means that the mother cannot curtail her maternity leave to take shared parental leave until two weeks after the birth and the maximum period that the parents could take as shared parental leave is 50 weeks between them (although it will normally be less than this because of the maternity leave that mothers usually take before the birth).

However, the mother's partner can begin a period of shared parental leave at any time from the date of the child's birth (but the partner should bear in mind that he/she is entitled to take up to two weeks' ordinary paternity leave following the birth of his/her child, which he/she will lose if shared parental leave is taken first). The mother and partner must take any shared parental leave within 52 weeks of birth.

Mother’s Eligibility:

If she has at least 26 weeks continuous employment ending the 15th week before the EWC and remains in continuous employment with the organization until the week before any period of any SPL she takes.
Has at the date of the child’s birth the main responsibility (apart from the partner) for the care of the child.
Is entitled to SMP in respect of the child
Complies with the relevant maternity leave curtailment requirements (or has returned to work before the end of SML) and shared parental leave notice and evidence requirements
For the mother to be eligible for SPL the partner must
The partner must have been employed or have been a self-employed earner in at least 26 of the 66 weeks immediately preceding the expected week of child birth
Have average weekly earnings of at least the maternity allowance threshold for any 13 of those 66 weeks and
Have at the date of the child’s birth the main responsibility apart from the Mother for the care of the child.

Partner’s Eligibility:

At least 26 weeks continuous employment ending with the 15th week before the EWC and remain in continuous employment with the organization until the week before any period of SP that he or she takes.
Has at the date of the child’s birth the main responsibility, apart from the Mother for the care of the child and complies with the relevant SPL notice and evidence requirements.

For the Partner to eligible for SPL the mother must:

Have been employed or have been a self-employed earner in at least 26 of the 66 weeks immediately preceding the expected week of child birth
Have average weekly earnings of at least the maternity allowance threshold for any 13 of those 66 weeks and
Have at the date of the child’s birth the main responsibility apart from the Mother for the care of the child.
Be entitled to SML, SMP or maternity allowance in respect of the child and
Comply with the relevant maternity leave or pay curtailment requirements or have returned to work before the end of SML.

Notice periods:

The notices that the parents must give to the relevant employer to be able to take shared parental leave are made up of three elements. They are:

a "maternity leave curtailment notice" from the mother setting out when she proposes to end her maternity leave (unless the mother has already returned to work from maternity leave);
a "notice of entitlement and intention" from the Office Holder giving an initial, non-binding indication of each period of shared parental leave that he/she is requesting; and
a "period of leave notice" from the Office Holder setting out the start and end dates of each period of shared parental leave that he/she is requesting.

Office Holders are advised that, if they have already decided the pattern of shared parental leave that they would like to take, they can provide more than one type of notice at the same time. For example, the mother could provide a maternity leave curtailment notice, notice of entitlement and intention and period of leave notice at the same time. Similarly, the partner could provide his/her notice of entitlement and intention and period of leave notice at the same time.

4.5 Paternity leave

A father may be granted up to 2 weeks' paternity leave which must be arranged via your immediate Manager subject to the following guidelines.

Eligibility

To quality for paternity leave, you must:

Have responsibility for the child's up bringing, be the biological father of the child or the mother's husband or partner; be the adoptive father of the child
Have worked continuously for the Board for at least 26 weeks into the 15^th week before the expected week of the child's birth.

The Board reserves the right to ask you to provide a self-certification as evidence that you meet the requirements.

Duration of paternity leave

Eligible staff can either take 1 or 2 weeks consecutive weeks' paternity leave, but not odd days. One period of leave only is allowed irrespective of whether it is a multiple birth. You can start your leave from the date of the baby's birth or from another date that you give notice of, as long as that date is after the birth.

The leave can start on any day of the week but must be completed within 8 weeks of the actual birth (or if the baby is born early, between the actual date of birth and up to 8 weeks after the expected week of the birth).

Notification of paternity leave

You must inform the HR Officer in writing of your intention to take leave in or before the 15^th week before the expected week of childbirth. You must include in your letter:

The week the baby is due;
Whether you want to take 1 or 2 weeks leave;
When you want your leave to start.

Providing you give the Board at least 28 days’ notice in writing, you can change your mind about the start date for leave.

Returning to Work

Where you are returning from paternity leave as an isolated period, or where the paternity leave was the last of two or more consecutive periods of leave (that do not include, parental leave of more than 4 weeks or additional adoption leave), you should be allowed to return to the job in which you were employed before your absence.

Where you are returning from other periods of leave, you have the right to return to a job that is suitable and appropriate.

Statutory paternity pay

Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) is paid at the rate of SPP or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is the lower. However it is Diocesan Policy to pay your full stipend during Paternity Leave.

4.6 Dependants’ care leave

The Employment Relations Act 1999 (ERelA) introduced a statutory right to unpaid dependants’ care leave. The Act defines a ‘dependant’ and the ‘unexpected or sudden problems’ for which leave would be granted.

All clergy are entitled to short period(s) of paid leave (usually no more than a few days) to assist in dealing with emergency situations or to make alternative arrangements in instances such as:

providing assistance when a dependent is injured, falls ill or gives birth
to make care arrangements for a dependent who is ill or falls ill
in consequence of the death of a dependent
due to the unexpected disruption or termination of current care arrangements

A dependant is clearly defined in law as: “a person whose support and maintenance is contingent upon the aid of, or being sustained by, another person, such as a child supported by his or her parents.” Thus

a child
a spouse or civil partner
a parent
a dependant may also be anyone who reasonably relies on the individual for assistance in cases of illness and/or injury

Individuals must let the HR Officer know as soon as possible of their need to be absent from work and give an idea of how long they will need to make suitable arrangements for cover so that appropriate pastoral and/or practical support can be offered and/or arranged.

The amount of time off which is `reasonable’ will depend on each set of circumstances.

Where prolonged absence is required individuals should talk to their Area Bishop, as it may be appropriate for an agreed period of special leave, compassionate leave, unpaid leave, or temporary change in working days/arrangements.

4.7 Childcare vouchers

The Church Commissioners operates a Childcare Voucher Scheme through the provider Edenred, whereby their salary can be sacrificed in return for childcare vouchers. These vouchers are exempt from National Insurance contributions and therefore represent a saving for the employer who use them to purchase childcare. Further information is available at

www.churchofengland.org/clergy-office-holders/clergypay/childcare.aspx

Page last updated: Thursday 24th March 2022 10:16 AM