Paternity and co-parent leave policy

1. Purpose and Scope

1.1  Registers of Scotland (RoS) is committed to helping its employees to balance their family and work commitments.

1.2  This policy applies to all employees who have or expect to have responsibility for bringing up their child.

The must be one of the following:

• are the father of the child, and or are married to, the civil partners or partner of the motheror birth parent - this includes same-se partners
• are adopting a child with someone who is taking adoption leave/pay, or
• are the intended parents of a baby through a surrogacy arrangement

1.3  This policy sets out both Ordinary (statutory) and Occupational paternity/co‑parent leave and pay available to RoS employees who meet the eligibility criteria.

1.4  This policy should be read in conjunction with paternity / co-parent leave procedure.

1.5  We would advise that you read this policy in conjunction with the shared parental leave policy. Some rights contained in this policy will be rescinded should maternity leave be curtailed and one or both parents opt into (and are eligible for) the shared parental leave scheme.

2. Guiding principles

This section outlines the principles of the paternity / co-parent leave policy.

2.1  Paternity / co-parent leave will not impact your terms and conditions of employment.

2.2  Employees are entitled to 2 weeks ordinary (statutory paternity) / co-Parent leave and 2 weeks RoS occupational paternity / co-Parent leave from day one of their employment with RoS. The maximum entitlement is therefore to take up to 4 weeks’ paternity / co-Parent leave.

2.3  Employees will be eligible to be paid full pay for both Ordinary and RoS Occupational paternity / co-Parent leave if they have 26 weeks' continuous service by the end of the 15th week before the week in which their child is expected. In respect of an adopted child, employees must have 26 weeks' continuous service by the week in which they are notified of having been matched with their child for adoption. This means that employees   will receive full pay for the time that they are on paternity / co-Parent leave.

2.4  If an employee does not meet the qualifying criteria for ordinary (statutory) or occupational paternity/coparent pay, RoS will provide the employee with the relevant form so that they can make a claim directly through Jobcentre Plus in line with government guidance.

2.5  Paternity / co-parent leave is granted in addition to your normal annual holiday entitlement.

2.6  Both ordinary (statutory) and occupational paternity / co-parent leave must be taken in either 1 week or 1,2,3 or 4 consecutive weeks.

2.7  If the employees child is born early, they must take their leave from the time of the birth but within 52 weeks of the expected date of childbirth.

2.8  Ordinary paternity / co-parent leave can start either from the date the child is born or placed for adoption.

2.9  If employees wish to take the two weeks additional occupational paternity / co-parent leave that RoS offer, they must inform their line manager.

3. Roles and responsibilities

3.1 Strategic People Authority is responsible for the content of this policy, its approval and review.

4. Approval and review

4.1 This policy will be reviewed and approved by Strategic People Authority (SPA) every 24 months, unless earlier review is appropriate.

Approval and review