Employment Law Solicitors And Adoption
Since the law was changed to allow same sex couples to adopt, more and more have done so. More women have also been adopting children as their only route into motherhood after having put off having children to pursue a career. All the same, many employment law solicitors are concerned that few small businesses are fully aware of the law relating to adoption leave.
When a person adopts a child, adoption leave allows them paid time off to care for him or he. Any employee who is entitled to take adoption leave will also be entitled to 39 weeks of statutory adoption pay. Depending on the family situation, paternity leave may be applicable to the adopter’s partner.
Employment law solicitors generally say that adoption leave is comparable to maternity leave because adopters can take 52 weeks statutory leave. One interesting fact is that an adopting couple can choose which partner will take adoption leave and which the paternity leave, regardless of gender. This gives adopters plenty of flexibility.
Adoption leave must begin either on the day when the child is placed with the adopter or on any day up to two weeks before that. It may not start after the expected date of placement.
Another fact about adoption leave, according to employment law solicitors, is that whilst on leave, workers must continue to accrue annual leave. Not everyone is entitled to take adoption leave, but employment law solicitors emphasise that companies should be careful to check their employees’ entitlement because refusal to grant the leave to someone who is entitled could result in being taken to the employment tribunal.
Before adoption leave, an employer cannot sack a worker purely because of their forthcoming adoption. One recent case was that of a woman who was dismissed shortly after she began preparations for adoption and with the help of employment law solicitors she proved that she had been the victim of unfair dismissal.
Tags: Adopting Children, Adoption Help, Adoption Law, Child Adoption, Employment Companies, employment law solicitors, Employment Leave, Employment Tribunal, Family Situation, Flexibility, Having Children, Interesting Fact, Maternity, Motherhood, Partner, paternity, Same Sex Couples, Small Businesses, Statutory Adoption, unfair dismissal