Platinum Financial Planning Employee Handbook

You are encouraged to take any outstanding annual leave due to you before the commencement of OML. You are reminded that, as a general rule, holiday should normally be taken in the year that it is earned and therefore if the holiday year is due to end during maternity leave, you should try to take the full year’s entitlement before starting your maternity leave. Additional maternity leave (AML) - During the period of AML, your contract of employment again continues in force and, as is the case during the period of OML, you are entitled to receive all your contractual benefits, except for salary. Any benefits in kind will continue and contractual annual leave entitlement will continue to accrue. During the period of paid AML (i.e. when you are still receiving SMP), your pension contributions will be based on the amount of actual pay you are receiving whilst the Company’s contributions will be based on the salary you would have received had you not gone on maternity leave. You may wish to increase your own contributions to make good any shortfall whilst you are in receipt of less than your usual salary. However, unless the pension scheme rules or your contract of employment provide otherwise, the Company will not make contributions during any period of unpaid AML. Subject to the pension scheme rules, you may make member contributions during this time. Full details of the Maternity Policy can be found online or obtained from the Operations Manager. Paternity Leave - The Company implements the paternity leave rights set out in current legislation that is in force from time to time. Paternity leave is additional to both parental leave and time off to deal with family emergencies (see the sections on Parental Leave and Time Off for Dependants). It is also additional to paid annual leave entitlement. In order to qualify for the right to take paternity leave, you must have worked for the Company for a continuous period of 26 weeks by the week that falls 15 weeks before the week in which the child is expected to be born. In respect of an adopted child, the period is calculated as at the week in which the child’s adopter is notified of having been matched with the child for adoption. Assuming you are eligible, you can take up to 2 weeks paternity leave. You may take this in a single block of either one or 2 weeks. Odd days cannot be taken. Paternity leave can start either from the date the child is born or from a chosen number of days or weeks after the date of childbirth (or, in respect of an adopted child, from the date of placing for adoption). It can start on any day of the week, but it must be completed within 8 weeks of the date of childbirth (or date of placement for adoption). If the child is born early, it must be completed within the period from the date of childbirth up to 8 weeks after the expected date of childbirth. During paternity leave, most employees will be entitled to statutory paternity pay. If you wish to request to take paternity leave, you must inform the Operations Manager in writing of your request no later than the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth. You must provide written details of when the child is due, whether you wish to take one or 2 weeks’ paternity leave and when you want your paternity leave to start. Full details of the Paternity Policy can be found online or obtained from the Operations Manager.

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