Family friendly leave

This benefit is for eligible employees of Bracknell Forest Council.

Maternity leave

Eligible staff who are pregnant can take up to 52 weeks of maternity leave. If you meet the service and earnings criteria, you will qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) and enhanced pay.

Statutory Maternity Pay

Birth parents qualify for SMP if they meet both of the following conditions:

  • have worked for Bracknell Forest Council for 26 weeks before their 'qualifying week'
  • earn at least the qualifying rate of National Insurance based on average earnings for the 8 weeks before the qualifying week

Occupational Maternity Pay

Occupational Maternity Pay is available for eligible staff. It is usually paid between weeks 7 and 18. During this period, you will receive 50% of your average week’s pay plus SMP.

Paternity and maternity support leave

Eligible staff can take up to 2 weeks off for paternity support leave, maternity support leave or both. The amount of pay you can get depends on your terms and conditions.

Maternity support leave boosts the pay for eligible staff on paternity leave. This means one week of leave is paid at full pay.  

Adoption leave

Statutory Adoption Pay gives working parents who adopt a child under 18 the legal right to paid time off immediately after the adoption.

You may be eligible for Statutory Adoption Leave or Statutory Adoption Pay if you are:

  • adopting a child
  • fostering a child permanently and becoming their legal parent (fostering to adopt)

The adoption pay for the primary adopter mirrors the maternity pay policy.

Shared parental leave

Eligible staff can share up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay between birth parents or primary adopters.

To take shared parental leave, you must:

  • take leave within the first year after birth or adoption
  • give formal notice if you plan to shorten your maternity or adoption leave and when you intend to take shared parental leave

You can submit up to 3 separate leave requests.

Your rights during leave include pension contributions and annual leave accrual.

Neonatal pay and leave

You qualify for neonatal pay and leave if your baby gets neonatal care for 7 or more consecutive days within the first 28 days of life.

You can take up to 12 weeks of paid leave. This is separate from maternity, paternity, or adoption leave.

You can add leave to the end of other parental leave entitlements.

Parental leave

You can take up to 18 weeks of unpaid parental leave for each child until they turn 18.

To take unpaid parental leave, you must:

  • take it in blocks of one week (unless the child is disabled)
  • give 21 days’ notice, subject to approval based on service needs

Time off for dependents

Staff can take reasonable unpaid time off to deal with emergencies involving dependents.

Time off for dependents:

  • covers illness, injury or unexpected incidents involving a child, partner or close relative
  • is usually short-term (1 to 2 days) and you do not need to give advanced notice

Foster carer's leave

If you're a foster carer, you may qualify for paid or unpaid leave. This leave helps you prepare for and care for foster children.

Leave may include time off for training, meetings or settling-in periods.

This applies to all employees of Bracknell Forest Council, except for:

  • school-based staff (see separate school policy)
  • casual workers

Check with HR for entitlements if you're not employed on National Joint Council or Soulbury terms.