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Find useful tools, information and support which may be helpful whilst you are on maternity leave, paternity/partner leave, adoption leave and shared parental leave at UCL.
Changing your parental leave
Whilst on parental leave, you may decide you need to change the dates of your leave and/or the date that you want to return to work. If you wish to alter your return date, ensure you have provided your line manager and HR Services 28 days’ notice before either the new date or the original date (whichever is earlier).
- For individuals on maternity leave, to change the start date of your maternity leave, please submit a new application form to your line manager. To change the end date of your maternity leave, please email HR Services, ensuring your line manager and Departmental Administrator/local HR contact (if applicable) are also aware of the new dates.
- For individuals on shared parental leave, you will need to complete the Shared Parental Leave - PLN (V) form, which, after being signed by your Line Manager, will automatically pass to HR Services to process. Please ensure your line manager and Departmental Administrator/local HR contact (if applicable) are also aware of the new dates.
The HR Services team will process the form and will send confirmation of your new dates.
Systems access from home
Employees who need access to their emails or MyHR (access to payslips, changing personal details etc) whilst on parental leave can do so using Desktop@UCL. Information on how to access Desktop@UCL can be found on the Information Services Division (ISD) webpages.
Support
Becoming a parent is a big change in your life, so UCL have channels of support you can access whilst on parental leave.
PACT (Parents and Carers Together) is a network available to support all parents and carers.
Contact the UCL Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) if you need confidential support with work, family or personal issues.
Maintaining contact
Discuss with your line manager how often and by what channel of communication you will maintain contact during your period of parental leave to make sure that you are kept informed of any important updates and news from UCL. This could be via telephone or personal email, so ensure you provide your line manager with the appropriate details.
If considering flexible working arrangements when returning from parental leave, allow adequate time to discuss this with your line manager and submit your application prior to returning to work.
It is helpful to discuss your return to work with your line manager 2–3 months before the end of your parental leave. You might like to include in your discussion how you want to use the annual leave that has accrued during your parental leave.
Keeping in touch (KIT) days
UCL employees on maternity or adoption leave can take up to 10 keeping in touch (KIT) days (and a maximum of 20 SPLIT days if taking shared parental leave). These are treated like a normal working day, and employees will receive their normal rate of pay, in addition to any statutory or occupational pay they are receiving at the time, for time spent during KIT or SPLIT days.
Any work undertaken on a KIT day will be treated as a whole day from their entitlement, irrespective of the total amount spent at work. However, payment is made to the nearest half or full day.
The online form can be used to record and monitor KIT and SPLIT days, ensuring this is passed to the Departmental Administrator or Local HR contact to submit the payment request.
The following examples of how KIT/SPLIT days may be used are not exhaustive:
- Undertaking a specific project or task
- Attending training courses
- Attending meetings (such as team meetings, project meetings; departmental away day)
- Acting as a interview panel member for departmental appointment
- Handing over work in preparation for returning
- Gaining updates in relation to any ongoing projects/activity
- As part of the staff member’s re-induction back to work
