Internal, Adoption Policy, Version1, Page 1 of 6

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Internal, Adoption Policy, Version1, Page 1 of 6
or voluntary adoption agency to do this, then the adoption
process is similar to a UK adoption, and you are entitled
We want to support parents and this document outlines
to adoption leave and pay, if eligible.
Tesco’s policy regarding adoption leave. It is subject to
change from time to time so please ensure you are
NB: Each adoption can be different – the Matching
reading the most up-to-date version.
certificate is the document that gives the name and
address of the adoption agency, the name and date of
We are committed to ensuring that you are informed of
birth of the child, the date when you’re notified that you’d
your adoption rights and receive the support you need at
been matched with the child and the date the agency
work during your adoption leave and on your return to
expects to place the child. A copy of this will be taken and
work.
placed in your colleague file and the actual form will be
sent to Payroll.
Surrogacy
This policy is applicable to Tesco colleagues who are the
primary carer (the primary carer is the person who opts to
take adoption leave while their partner can take paternity
leave) when adopting one or more children. It’s is to be
used as a reference to provide an overview of the key
facts.
A surrogacy arrangement can be slightly different as the
woman who gives birth is legally the mum (and has the
right to keep the child - even if they’re not genetically
related) and the child’s legal father is the surrogate’s
husband/partner.
If you’re an intended parent in a surrogacy arrangement,
you can only take adoption leave and pay (assuming you
qualify) if the legal rights to the child are transferred to
you through a parental order or adoption.
You will have a number of meetings to attend with social
workers, before you are matched with a child. Where
possible these should be outside of your normal working
times (and we can arrange your shifts accordingly).
However, the primary carer is legally entitled to up to 5
days paid leave to attend these pre-adoption
appointments and the secondary carer will be legally
entitled to 2 unpaid days off work to attend pre-adoption
appointments
Your manager can request proof of attendance at these
appointments.
Notice to take adoption leave
You should provide your Matching Certificate and your
‘Notification of Adoption Leave’ form to your Personnel
Manager within 7 days of the date that you are told you
have been matched with a child. If this is not possible,
you should inform us as soon as you are able to.
Leave can start at any time after we have received these
documents but we need 28 days’ notice for any adoption
pay period to start.
If you can provide a parental order then this can be
accepted in place of a matching certificate.
You must notify Tesco in or before the 15th week before
the due date on the MatB1 that you intend to take
Adoption Leave and you must tell us the due date. You
then need to give us at least 28 days’ notice for any
adoption pay period to start.
We may then request that you provide us with a “parental
statutory declaration”
However, it may be that you’re not given a matching
certificate or parental order immediately after the birth of
the child. In the period between the birth of the baby and
the parental order being granted, you can provide a
“parental statutory declaration” (stating that you have
applied or intend to apply, with another person, for a
parental order and expect the court to make such an
order). Single people cannot apply for a parental order.
An intended parent must be the egg or sperm donor in
order to apply for a parental order, and in a relationship
where you and your partner are either husband and wife,
civil partners or living as partners.
Adoption leave and pay is only available to you if you’re
adopting through an agency in the UK as this is an
adoption that is legally recognised. If you are adopting a
child from overseas, and you are using your local council
Internal, Adoption Policy, Version1, Page 2 of 6
If you cannot apply for a parental order because neither
you or your partner are genetically related to the baby i.e.
donor egg and donor sperm or donor embryos were used,
then adoption of the baby is the only option available to
you and adoption leave can’t be given until you have a
matching certificate which may be a few months after the
birth of the child.
Other considerations
Appropriate support will be given to you if your adoption
fails after the placement.
You will be given the
opportunity to return to work as soon as possible if you
wish. If, however, you wish to remain on adoption leave
this will be discussed with you sympathetically.
Compassionate leave will be considered for you if you’re
a surrogate parent where the surrogate miscarries, the
baby dies or some other reason why the adoption does
not proceed.
Pay
In order to qualify for adoption pay you must earn at least
£112 a week in the two pay periods directly before the
date of the matching certificate (not the placement date).
What you may be paid while on adoption leave depends
on: 

your length of service; and
if you pay tax or National Insurance during the
specific eight week period we use to calculate pay
Payroll will calculate what adoption pay you are entitled to
and will write to you confirming this shortly after you have
started your adoption leave.
Adoption Pay
Exceptions
Length of
Service by the
date of the
matching
certificate
You don’t qualify for Statutory Adoption Leave or Pay if
you:
Less than 26
weeks
Not entitled to Statutory Adoption Pay
from Tesco. May be entitled to Adoption
Allowance from Jobcentre Plus (or the
Department of Work & Pensions).
26 weeks to 2
years
39 weeks’ pay:


arrange a private adoption
become a special
guardian or kinship carer


adopt a stepchild
adopt a family
member or
stepchild
Leave for the primary carer
First 6 weeks at 90% of average weekly
earnings calculated in the last 2
complete pay periods before the date on
the matching certificate
Only one period of adoption leave is granted per
adoption, regardless of how many children you adopt at
the same time.
Then, 33 weeks at the lower rate of
Statutory Adoption Pay. This is £139.58
or 90% of earnings whichever is lower.
Adoption leave is 52 weeks and the first 2 weeks
immediately after the placement are compulsory.
2 years+
The earliest you can start your adoption leave is 14 days
before the child starts living with you permanently (their
placement date) (for overseas adoptions you can start
their adoption leave when the child arrives in the UK or
within 28 days of this date). You can work right up to the
day the child is placed if you choose.
39 weeks’ pay:
First, 6 weeks at either normal
contractual weekly rate of pay, or the
average of the last in the last 2 complete
pay periods before the date on the
matching certificate, whichever is higher
Followed by:
We assume that you will take your full entitlement to
adoption leave. If you would like to return earlier, we will
ask for up to eight weeks’ notice.
8 weeks of the lower rate Statutory
Adoption Pay enhanced to the
equivalent of normal contractual weekly
pay.
During adoption leave, you will continue to receive the
benefit of all contractual terms and conditions as if you
were still at work (except normal pay) such as company
car allowance.
The above payments are inclusive of
Statutory Adoption Pay
Internal, Adoption Policy, Version1, Page 3 of 6
Followed by: 27 weeks at the lower rate
of SMP. This is £139.58 or 90% of
earnings whichever is lower
Length of
Service by the
date of the
matching
certificate
Adoption Pay
All WL4 and 5’s
appointed to
this level before
1st February
2011
39 weeks’ pay:
If contractual pay is lower than Statutory Adoption pay,
then any Tesco enhanced pay will be paid at 90% of
average earnings.
If you leave after your qualifying week then you will
receive your statutory adoption pay as a lump sum
payment in your last pay.
First, 6 weeks at either normal
contractual weekly rate of pay, or the
average of the last in the last 2 complete
pay periods before the date on the
matching certificate, whichever is higher
Authorised deductions may continue to be taken from
adoption pay. For more information on deductions,
please login to www.ourtesco.com.
Followed by:
The majority of benefits will remain unchanged while you
are
on
adoption
leave.
Please
login
to
www.ourtesco.com for information on how your benefits
will be affected.
20 weeks of the lower rate Statutory
Adoption Pay enhanced to the
equivalent of normal contractual weekly
pay.
The above payments are inclusive of
Statutory Adoption Pay
Followed by:
13 weeks at the lower rate of SMP. This
is £139.58 or 90% of earnings whichever
is lower
At least 26
weeks, but
earnings are
below the
Lower Earnings
Limit of £112 a
week for
2015/16
Not entitled to Statutory Adoption Pay
from Tesco. May be entitled to Adoption
from Jobcentre Plus (or the Department
of Work & Pensions).
If you resign or
are dismissed
after the end of
the 15th week
before your
Expected Week
of Childbirth
39 weeks’ pay:
However, we will pay 2 weeks’
contractual pay or average weekly pay
(whichever is greater) to the colleague.
Benefits
Keeping in touch with work
We may contact you while you’re on adoption leave, as
indicated on the ‘Notification of Adoption Leave’ form.
You’re able to work for up to 10 days while you’re on
adoption leave without this affecting adoption leave or
pay. These days at work are called ‘Keeping in Touch’
(KIT) days and can be taken as single days or a block of
days, as agreed with your manager.
If you use a KIT day while receiving full pay, then you
won’t be paid anything extra however, may take a day off
in lieu once you return to work.
If you use a KIT day while receiving the lower rate
Statutory Adoption Pay, we will top this up to your normal
daily rate or you can choose take a day off in lieu once
you return to work instead.
If you use a KIT day while not receiving any pay, we will
pay a full day’s pay.
First 6 weeks at 90% of average weekly
earnings calculated in the last in the last
2 complete pay periods before the date
on the matching certificate, whichever is
higher
Then, 33 weeks at the lower rate of
Statutory Adoption. This is £139.58 or
90% of earnings whichever is lower.
This is paid to the colleague in a lump
sum.
Any entitlement to Statutory Adoption Pay and Leave will
cease at the end of the week in which the adopted child
becomes 18 years old.
Any work carried out while on adoption leave is classed
as a ‘Keeping in Touch’ day, you can’t request 20 half
days.
Careers
When you’re on adoption leave, you’ll be included in any
talent conversations, where appropriate.
Additional Paternity Leave (applicable if the child is
due to be placed before 5th April 2015)
Once you have taken 20 weeks adoption leave, you have
the option of returning to work and your partner can take
26 weeks’ Additional Paternity Leave (and any remaining
adoption pay).
Internal, Adoption Policy, Version1, Page 4 of 6
Shared Parental Leave (applicable if the child is due
to be placed on or after 5th April 2015)
You can opt out of adoption leave and into Shared
Parental Leave. This is time off work that’s designed to
give parents more flexibility in how to share the care of
their child in the first year.
As long as the qualifying criteria are met, you will be able
to:


be off work at the same time; or
take it in turns to have time off to look after their baby
Holidays, Bank Holidays and Personal Day
Holidays and Bank holidays continue to be accrued
during adoption leave and we will automatically pay any
accrued holidays in April after the end of the current
holiday year, if you remain on adoption leave at this time.
If you want to carry over your holidays, you need to
inform your Personnel Manager of this before the
beginning of March. Carried over holiday can be used in
the following ways:


We assume that you will take 52 weeks’ adoption leave.
If you wish to return sooner, then you’re required to give
us eight weeks’ notice.
If you return to work within 26 weeks, you return to the
same job you were doing before your leave. If you return
to work after 26 weeks’ leave, we aim for you to come
back to your previous role however, if this isn’t possible,
we will place you in a similar role with the same terms and
conditions and rates of pay.

take all of your holiday at the end of your adoption
leave to give you longer off work;
use holiday to help phase a return to work (as agreed
with your manager); or
use holidays in the normal way after you return.
Personal days should be taken in the normal way and will
only be paid if you’re on adoption leave at the end of
March.
We look after adoption returners and will consider
retraining, job shadowing, handovers etc. where
appropriate to facilitate a smooth return to work.





Internal, Adoption Policy, Version1, Page 5 of 6
1
1st April 2015
New policy
This document shouldn’t be shared with anyone externally without permission from your Director. This policy and any
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Internal, Adoption Policy, Version1, Page 6 of 6