Adoptions are on the increase thanks to changes to the law allowing same sex couples to adopt. Similarly, many more women have been putting off having children until later in their life, leaving adoption as their only option if they are to become a mother. But still employment law solicitors are concerned that smaller companies are not entirely familiar with the law relating to adoption leave rights.
Adoption leave gives people who will be adopting a child paid time off to care for that child. Employees who are entitled to adoption leave are also entitled to statutory adoption pay for the first 39 weeks after adopting the child. Depending on the family set up, it could be that the adopter’s partner is entitled to take paternity leave.
Employment law solicitors generally say that adoption leave is comparable to maternity leave because adopters can take 52 weeks statutory leave. In fact, an adopting couple can decide between them which partner will take adoption leave and which will take paternity leave, regardless of their genders. This allows a great degree of flexibility.
The adoption leave has to begin either on the day of the placement itself or up to two weeks before that. It must not start after the expected date of placement.
Another similarity between adoption leave and maternity leave, say employment law solicitors, is that workers continue to accrue annual leave. Entitlement to adoption leave depends on the amount of time an employee has been with a company, and employment law solicitors strongly advise that to avoid potentially costly cases at the Employment Tribunal, companies should check staff entitlement.
Before adoption leave begins, employees are protected from dismissal on the grounds of their forthcoming adoption. One recent case was that of a woman who was dismissed shortly after she began preparations for adoption and with the help of employment law solicitors she proved that she had been the victim of unfair dismissal.