What is Adoption Leave?

When an employee takes time off to adopt a child or have a child through a surrogacy arrangement they could possibly be eligible for Statutory Adoption Leave and Statutory Adoption Pay.

Statutory Adoption Leave

Employees are allowed to take up to 52 weeks of Statutory Adoption Leave. This includes their Ordinary Adoption Leave, which makes up the first 26 weeks, and Additional Adoption Leave, which covers the remaining 26 weeks.

An employee can start their Statutory Adoption Leave:

• Up to 14 days before the placement of the child,
• When an employee has been matched with a child to be placed with them by an adoption agency,
• When the child arrives in the UK or within 28 days of this date (for overseas adoptions) and,
• The day the child’s born or the day after (parents in surrogacy arrangements)

Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP)

Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) for employees is:

• 90% of their gross average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks,
• then £145.18 a week or 90% of their gross average weekly earnings (whichever is lower) for the next 33 weeks

Both tax and National Insurance will be deducted from this sum too.