Adoption pay and leave for teachers

Overview

You will want to know your adoption pay and leave employment rights as a teacher. 

Check to see if your school has a specific policy for adoption pay and leave. This should outline many of the key details you are looking for.

In addition, you will want to check the GOV.UK and ACAS adoption pay and leave guidance (this will be the most up-to-date information available) which we summarise below.

In this support article, we provide a summary of how to claim adoption leave and pay and link to adoption pay and leave policies from schools and academy trusts.

Adoption pay and leave

GOV.UK provides an overview on how adoption pay and leave works. It explains when you take time off to adopt a child or have a child through a surrogacy arrangement you might be eligible for:

• Statutory Adoption Leave
• Statutory Adoption Pay

There are rules on when and how to claim your paid leave and if you want to change your dates.

You may also be eligible to take shared parental leave and pay.

Statutory Adoption Leave is 52 weeks. It’s made up of:

• 26 weeks of ordinary adoption leave
• 26 weeks of additional adoption leave

Only 1 person in a couple can take adoption leave. The other partner could get paternity leave instead (see ‘paternity leave when adopting’ section below).

If you get adoption leave, you can also get paid time off to attend 5 adoption appointments after you’ve been matched with a child. Use the planner to work out the dates for your adoption leave.

Start date

Adoption leave can start:

• Up to 14 days before the date the child starts living with you (UK adoptions)
• When the child arrives in the UK or within 28 days of this date (overseas adoptions)
• The day the child’s born or the day after (if you’ve used a surrogate to have a child)

Pay

Statutory Adoption Pay is paid for up to 39 weeks. The weekly amount is:

• 90% of your average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks
• £151.97 or 90% of your average weekly earnings (whichever is lower) for the next 33 weeks

It’s paid in the same way as your wages (for example monthly or weekly). Tax and National Insurance will be deducted.

You may get more pay if your employer has a company adoption pay scheme. Your employer cannot offer you less than the statutory amount.

Statutory Adoption Pay starts when you take your adoption leave.

Eligibility

To get statutory adoption leave, you must:

• Be an employee
• Give the correct notice
• Give proof of the adoption or surrogacy, if your employer asks you for it

To get statutory adoption pay, you must:

• Have been continuously employed by your employer for at least 26 weeks by the week you were matched with a child
• Earn on average at least £120 a week (before tax)
• Give the correct notice
• Give proof of the adoption or surrogacy

How to claim

Within 7 days of being matched with a child you must tell your employer:

• How much leave you want
• Your leave start date
• The ‘date of placement’ – the date the child is placed with you

Your employer can ask for this in writing and for proof of the adoption.

Your employer must confirm your leave start and end dates within 28 dates.

Tell your employer you want to stop work to adopt a child and when you want your Statutory Adoption Pay to start. You must give them at least 28 days’ notice. They can ask for this in writing and for proof of the adoption.

Your employer must confirm within 28 days how much Statutory Adoption Pay you’ll get and when it will start and stop.

If they decide you’re not eligible, they must give you form SAP1 within 7 days of making their decision and explain why.

You must give your employer proof of adoption to qualify for Statutory Adoption Pay. Proof is not needed for Statutory Adoption Leave unless they request it.

The proof must show:

• Your name and address and that of the agency
• The match date – for example the matching certificate
• The date of placement – for example a letter from the agency
• The relevant UK authority’s ‘official notification’ confirming you’re allowed to adopt (overseas adoptions only)
• The date the child arrived in the UK – for example a plane ticket (overseas adoptions only)

Adoption pay and leave as a couple

ACAS explains that if you are in a couple, only one of you can get adoption leave and pay.

You should decide between yourselves who will get it. The partner who does not get adoption leave and pay might be able to get paternity leave and pay (see ‘Paternity leave when adopting’ section below).

Both of you might also be able to use shared parental leave and pay to take time off.

Paternity leave when adopting

GOV.UK explains you must give your employer proof of adoption to qualify for paternity pay. Proof is not needed for paternity leave unless your employer asks for it. Proof can be a letter from your adoption agency or the matching certificate.

You must have been continuously employed by your employer for at least 26 weeks by the ‘matching week’. For adoption this is either:

• The end of the week you’re matched with the child (UK adoptions)
• The date the child enters the UK or when you want your pay to start (overseas adoptions)

You must also meet the other eligibility conditions for paternity leave or pay.

Your period of paternity leave can start:

• On the date of placement
• An agreed number of days after the date of placement
• On the date the child arrive in the UK or an agreed number of days after this (overseas adoptions only)
• The day the child’s born or the day after if you’re working that day (surrogate parents)

Leave must be taken within 56 days of the date of placement or the child’s arrival in the UK (overseas adoptions).

You must use form SC4 (or your employer’s own version) for:

• Leave – within 7 days of your co-adopter or partner being matched with a child
• Pay – 28 days before you want your pay to start

For overseas adoptions the form and notice period is different. The process is explained on form SC5.

Adoption pay and leave policies for teachers

Adoption entitlements for employees

Thomas Mills High School in Suffolk has published guidance on adoption entitlements for its employees. 

It explains, for the primary adopters of children matched for adoption on or after 5 April 2015, the rights to adoption leave and pay mirror maternity leave and pay. Adopters also have the same criteria for entitlements to Shared Parental Leave and Pay. 

Some of the notification requirements will be different, for example, the relevant dates will be linked to the time of the match and the relationship is evidenced by providing details of the adoption agency.

Paternity leave and pay and Maternity Support Leave may be available to the partner of an individual who adopts, or the other member of a couple who are adopting jointly. 

Where a couple is adopting jointly, the couple may choose which one of them takes adoption leave and which takes paternity leave. 

Employees will be entitled to a total of 26 weeks’ ordinary adoption leave, followed immediately by 26 weeks’ additional adoption leave.

Employees may choose to start their leave:

• From the date of the child’s placement (whether this is earlier or later than expected)
• From a fixed date which can be up to 14 days before the expected date of placement (and no later than expected date of placement)

Adoption pay and leave policies

The Auriga Academy Trust has an adoption pay and leave policy for teachers. It explains male and female employees are eligible for adoption leave and pay provided they are notified that they have been matched with a child by an approved adoption agency. 

The right is for one parent to receive adoption leave and pay and the other adoptive parent is likely to have the right to paternity leave. 

To be eligible you must:

• Be the child’s adopter 
• Have agreement from the adoption agency that the child will be placed with you and the date of placement
• Be absent from work due to adoption leave
• Not be in receipt of paternity leave

You do not qualify for adoption leave and pay if you:

• Arrange a private adoption
• Become a special guardian or kinship carer
• Adopt a stepchild
• Adopt a family member or stepchild

The policy explains male and female employees who have been matched with a child by an approved adoption agency are entitled to take up to 52 weeks’ adoption leave regardless of number of hours worked and length of service. 

The right is for one parent to receive adoption leave and pay and the other adoptive parent is likely to have the right to paternity leave.

The Learning Alliance has an adoption pay and leave policy. 

The policy explains that employees who take adoption leave will also qualify for SAP providing that they have 26 weeks’ service calculated at the week in which notification of matching was given by the adoption agency and that their average weekly earnings in the 8 weeks ending with the week that the match was notified are not less than the lower earnings limits for NI contributions.

SAP is paid as follows:

• 6 weeks 90% of a week’s pay offset against payments made by way of SAP (or adoption allowance for employees not eligible for SAP)
• 33 weeks at the rate set by the government for the relevant tax year or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower
• Followed by 13 weeks’ unpaid leave

In order to take adoption leave and qualify for SAP, the employee must give the head teacher/manager written notification of their intention to take adoption leave no later than 7 days after they receive the official notification of a match with the child from the adoption agency. 

The notification should be in writing and detail: 

• The date the child is expected to be placed with them for adoption
• The date that they intend to start their adoption leave. Preferably the employee should give 28 days’ notice of the date that their Adoption leave will start, wherever possible. However, due to the nature of notifications and adoptions the employee must give as much notice as is reasonably possible in the circumstances if this is less than 28 days. Leave can start on any day of the week. The employee must also submit their original adoption matching certificate which will be supplied by the adoption agency. If the employee changes their mind about the start date they must give 28 days’ notice of their new intended start date wherever possible