Shared Parental Leave

5 April marked the introduction of the UK's new Provision of Shared Parental Leave.

UCL is pleased to confirm it is providing the same enhanced benefits as for Maternity/Adoption Leave, to all employees from their first day of service.

In addition to existing arrangements for Maternity, Adoption and Paternity/Partners Leave, Shared Parental Leave offers a flexible approach for parents wishing to more greatly share the responsibility for childcare.

UCL employees expecting a child to be born or adopted from the 5^th April 2015, may take up to 3 blocks of Shared Parental Leave and will be entitled to receive 18 weeks full occupational pay, regardless of length of service or funding source. Parents can decide how they wish to organise the leave and may take it at the same time or separately. This should help support staff to balance important family commitments with work and promote gender equality at UCL.

For ease of access, the new Shared Parental Leave policy has been combined with all other UCL policies relating to leave for parents and can be found on the HR website: Parental Leave Policy, along with a list of Frequently Asked Questions.

The UCL Sabbatical Policy has also been updated to extend the opportunity to take one term of sabbatical leave, following a period or periods of Shared Parental Leave.

If you would like to find out more about any type of parental leave available at UCL, the Parents and Carers network (PACT) will be hosting a lunchtime session this spring.

Human Resources Division