Employees have the right to up to 52 weeks' maternity or adoption leave. Ordinary maternity leave covers the first 26 weeks and additional maternity leave the following 26 weeks. Eligible employees receive Statutory Maternity Pay or Statutory Adoption Pay for up to 39 weeks. After 26 weeks' service the Company enhances this to full salary for the first 16 weeks, followed by the statutory rate for the remaining statutory period.
Partners who qualify may take up to 2 weeks' paternity leave on full pay, and parents who are eligible may share up to 50 weeks of leave through Shared Parental Leave, with pay in line with the Company's statutory parental pay arrangements. Employees also have the right to reasonable time off for antenatal and adoption appointments, and to unpaid time off for dependants in an emergency.
New parents returning to work are offered a return-to-work interview, a phased return where helpful, and consideration of flexible working requests. Compassionate leave for the death of a close family member is normally up to 5 working days on full pay, with further unpaid or annual leave available where needed.