Policies and procedures

Our Special Leave Policy's designed to give you the support you need when there are changes or emergencies in your home life.

• Healthcare for under five's –  in the first five years of your child's life, you can take up to five days' paid leave to cover immunisation and other planned healthcare appointments.
• Caring for a dependant – if you need time off to make arrangements for the provision of care for a dependant, you can take up to five working days' paid leave in any 12-month period and reasonable unpaid leave after that. 

Or maybe it's a planned event you need time-off for.

• Foster care – if you want to become a foster carer, you can take up to three working days’ paid leave to cover the preparation and assessment process. Once you become a foster carer, you can take up to one working day's paid leave and up to four working days' unpaid leave in any 12-month period to attend urgent meetings about the placement of a child.
• Maternity leave – we offer an enhancement of up to 63 weeks off which can start 11 weeks before the expected week of childbirth. 
• Maternity, and adoption pay – Up to 39 weeks' pay (14 weeks* at normal pay plus up to 25 weeks at Statutory Maternity Pay rate or 90% of normal salary, whichever is lowest). (*This is reduced to eight weeks if you don't return to work for at least three months after your maternity leave.)
• Partner support leave and pay – if your partner's going to have a baby or is going to be the main adopter of a child, you can be eligible for up to one week at normal pay plus one week at statutory paternity pay rate. We also offer Shared Parental Leave.
• Shared parental leave and pay – if you or your partner have a baby, or you adopt a child, you may be eligible to enhanced shared parental leave and pay (up to 14 weeks’ full pay, followed by 25 weeks at the statutory rate).