1. ABOUT THIS POLICY
1.1. The purpose of this policy is to set out the arrangements for bereaved partner's paternity leave (BPPL), which is a type of leave intended to help employees deal with the death of a partner who is the primary carer for their child, either during the first 52 weeks after the child's birth, or the first 52 weeks after their placement for adoption. For compassionate leave in other circumstances, please see our Compassionate Leave Policy.
1.2. Where you have sufficient length of service, and your partner was in paid work before the birth or adoption placement, you may be eligible for shared parental leave and pay under our Shared Parental Leave Policy. This is likely to be more beneficial than BPPL.
1.3. This policy does not form part of any contract of employment or other contract to provide services, and we may amend it at any time.
2. WHO DOES THIS POLICY APPLY TO?
2.1. This policy applies to employees. It does not apply to Umbrella/PEO workers who are not employees (and who are otherwise called ‘limb (b) workers’), agency workers, or self-employed contractors.
3. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS POLICY?
3.1. The board of directors (the Board) has overall responsibility for the effective operation of this policy.
3.2. Any questions you may have about the day-to-day application of this policy should be referred to the HR Department in the first instance.
3.3. This policy is reviewed annually by the Head of the HR Department.
4. ELIGIBILITY FOR BPPL
4.1. You are entitled to BPPL if:
4.1.1. a child's primary carer has died within 52 weeks of the child's birth or the date the child was placed for adoption;
4.1.2. you are either the child's father or the partner of the child's primary carer; and
4.1.3. you are taking leave to care for the child.
4.2. The primary carer means either:
4.2.1. the child's mother.
4.2.2. in an adoption case, a person with whom the child has been placed for adoption (and if the child was placed jointly with you, the person who you have jointly chosen to be entitled to adoption leave).
4.2.3. in a surrogacy case, the person who is the intended parent (and in a case where you are both intended parents, the person who you have jointly chosen to be entitled to adoption leave).
5. LENGTH OF BPPL
5.1. BPPL is a single period of leave that can start at any time after the bereavement and can last up to 52 weeks after the date of birth or adoption placement.
5.2. If the bereavement takes place in the last two weeks of that 52-week period, you can take BPPL for up to two weeks after the bereavement.
6. STARTING BPPL WITHIN EIGHT WEEKS OF BEREAVEMENT
6.1. To start BPPL in the first eight weeks after the bereavement, please tell the HR Department as soon as possible, but in any event before you are due to start work on the first day of BPPL.
6.2. You must then provide the information set out in Error! Bookmark not defined.8 below, no more than eight weeks after the bereavement, and at least one week before your return to work (whichever is earlier).
6.3. You can change the start date for BPPL in the first eight weeks if you notify us before the the old or new start date, whichever is earlier.
6.4. BPPL can be cancelled if you tell us at any time before the start date, and can be re-booked by giving notice under Error! Bookmark not defined.6.1 or, if you wish to start BBPL more than eight weeks after the bereavement, a week's written notice under Error! Bookmark not defined.7.1
7. STARTING BPPL MORE THAN EIGHT WEEKS AFTER BEREAVEMENT
7.1. To start BPPL more than eight weeks after the bereavement, please give the HR Department at least a week's written notice, including all the information set out in Error! Bookmark not defined.8 below.
7.2. BPPL can be cancelled with a week's written notice, and can be re-booked by giving a week's written notice.
8. WRITTEN NOTICE
8.1. The information required in writing under Error! Bookmark not defined.6 or Error! Bookmark not defined.7 is as follows:
8.1.1. the date of bereavement;
8.1.2. the child's date of birth or placement for adoption;
8.1.3. the date you started BPPL;
8.1.4. the date you intend to return to work; and
8.1.5. confirmation that you meet the eligibility conditions in Error! Bookmark not defined.4.
9. PAY
9.1. If you are entitled to statutory paternity pay (SPP) and have not yet received it, you may claim it during your BPPL. SPP is payable for a maximum of two weeks at a rate set by the government each tax year.
9.2. Otherwise, BPPL is unpaid.
10. TERMS AND CONDITIONS DURING BPPL
10.1. With the exception of terms relating to pay, your terms and conditions of employment remain in force during BPPL.
10.2. Holiday entitlement will continue to accrue during BPPL and can be carried over to the next holiday year as set out in our Holidays Policy.
10.3. If you are a member of the workplace pension scheme, we shall make employer pension contributions during any period of statutory paternity pay based on your normal salary, in accordance with the pension scheme rules. Any employee contributions you make will be based on the amount of any pay you are receiving, unless you inform the Human Resources Department that you wish to make up any shortfall.
11. KEEPING IN TOUCH
11.1. We may make reasonable contact with you from time to time during your BPPL.
11.2. You may ask or be asked to work (including attending training) for up to ten "keeping-in-touch" days (KIT days) during your BPPL. This is not compulsory and must be discussed and agreed with the HR Department.
11.3. You will be paid at your normal basic rate of pay for time spent working on a KIT day.
12. CHANGING YOUR RETURN-TO-WORK DATE
12.1. If you want to change the date you intend to return to work, you must let us know in writing as follows:
12.1.1. if your old return date was eight weeks or less after the bereavement, please give one week's notice before the earlier of the old or new return date.
12.1.2. if your old return date was more than eight weeks after the bereavement, please give [eight] weeks' notice before the earlier of the old or new return date.
12.2. Your return to work date cannot be later than 52 weeks after the date of birth or placement for adoption. If you need more time off, you may request holiday or parental leave.
13. FORM OF NOTICE
Download the staff handbook PDF to view this section:
orbital-policies-staff-handbook-paye.pdf
