Parental leave policy
We’re aware that there is a lot to take in here - please come and talk to the People team if you have questions about anything (when you’re ready).
While many terms around parental leave are gendered, gender is not a factor in what leave you are entitled to from dxw. What matters is whether you, or your partner if you have one, are pregnant, adopting or having a baby through surrogacy.
We also make a distinction based on whether you are a primary carer (the person who will be on parental leave for the longer period of time) or a secondary carer (the person who will be returning to work first) as there will be differences in both the statutory and dxw entitlement.
Understanding your entitlement #
We’ve detailed the different entitlements that dxw offer in addition to your statutory entitlement below. There’s an online calculator for working out your statutory entitlement. If you’d like support working out your anticipated pay and you’re ready to share the news even just with a select few, you can speak to the People team for a personal breakdown of your entitlement.
If you’re having IVF or another fertility treatment #
If you share with us that you are undergoing fertility treatment you will be supported in the same way as for other longer term medical treatment. Regular, open and confidential communication with your line manager will be important, so we can support you in the best possible way.
If you’re pregnant #
Summary: In most cases, you will be paid 100% of your normal salary for the first 18 weeks of leave, reduced to the government statutory rate per week for the following 21 weeks.
What you are legally entitled to #
If you’re pregnant, you’ll be entitled to Statutory Maternity Leave (SML) and probably entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP). Statutory Maternity Leave entitles you to 52 weeks leave, made up of Ordinary Maternity Leave for the first 26 weeks and Additional Maternity Leave for the last 26 weeks.
Statutory Maternity Pay is paid by the government for up to 39 weeks. They will pay you 90% of your normal salary for the first 6 weeks of your leave. You must have worked for dxw for 26 weeks before your qualifying week (the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth) to be eligible for SMP or you will be entitled to Maternity Allowance instead.
What dxw offers in addition #
If you are the primary carer, dxw will pay you 100% of your salary for the next 12 weeks of your leave and will top up your first 6 weeks of SMP (if you are entitled to it) to 100%. This contribution is called Occupational Maternity Pay (OMP) . Taken together, this means that you would have 18 weeks of leave on 100% of your normal salary.
As with all company benefits, you will be entitled to Occupational Maternity Pay once you are no longer on your probationary period. For the Statutory Maternity Pay eligibility criteria, please refer to government eligibility information for maternity pay.
After the 18 weeks, your pay will then reduce to the government statutory rate for maternity pay per week for the following 21 weeks.
A person giving birth must take at least the first 2 weeks after the birth as parental leave.
When you know you are pregnant please tell us as soon as you are comfortable. We can restrict this knowledge to your Director, Line Manager and People team and it will allow us to check that your working arrangements are safe, help you manage any pregnancy related sickness and make sure you are paid for time off for antenatal care appointments. Legally you don’t have to make us aware until 15 weeks before your due date. We will require a MATB1 certificate ahead of your parental leave, the earlier we receive this, the earlier we can help with calculations.
Please refer here for further statutory terms around pregnancy.
If you’re adopting #
Summary: In most cases, you will be paid 100% of your normal salary for the first 18 weeks of leave, reduced to the government statutory rate per week for the following 21 weeks.
What you are legally entitled to #
If you are adopting, you’ll probably be eligible for Statutory Adoption Leave and Statutory Adoption Pay. Statutory Adoption Leave entitles you to 52 weeks of leave, made up of 26 weeks of Ordinary Adoption Leave and 26 weeks of Additional Adoption Leave.
Statutory Adoption Pay is paid by the government for up to 39 weeks. The government will pay you 90% of your normal salary for the first 6 weeks of your leave. You must have worked for dxw for at least 26 weeks by the week you were matched with a child and give at least 28 days notice of the adoption leave. Proof of adoption is required to qualify for Statutory Adoption Pay.
What dxw offers in addition #
If you are the primary carer, dxw will pay you 100% of your salary for the next 12 weeks of your leave and top up the first 6 weeks of Statutory Adoption Pay (if you are entitled to it) to 100%. Taken together, this means that you would have 18 weeks of leave on 100% of your normal salary.
As with all company benefits, you will be entitled to Occupational Adoption Pay once you are no longer on your probationary period. For the Statutory Adoption Pay eligibility criteria, please refer to government eligibility information for adoption pay.
Your pay will then reduce to the government statutory rate for adoption pay per week for the following 21 weeks.
Only 1 person in a couple can take statutory adoption leave. The other partner could get secondary carer leave/pay instead (see secondary carer section below).
If you are taking adoption leave, you are entitled to paid time off work to attend 5 adoption appointments after you’ve been matched with a child.
If you’re having baby through surrogacy #
Summary: In most cases, you will be paid 100% of your normal salary for the first 18 weeks of leave, reduced to the government statutory rate per week for the following 21 weeks.
What you are legally entitled to #
If you are having a baby through surrogacy, you’ll probably be eligible for Statutory Adoption Leave and Statutory Adoption Pay. Assuming you are entitled to Statutory Adoption Leave, this entitles you to 52 weeks of leave, made up of 26 weeks of Ordinary Adoption Leave and 26 weeks of Additional Adoption Leave.
Statutory Adoption Pay is paid for up to 39 weeks. The government will pay you 90% of your normal salary for the first six 6 weeks of your leave. You must have worked for dxw for at least 26 weeks by the week and advise us by way of a statutory declaration at least 15 weeks before the expected week of birth.
What dxw offers in addition #
If you are the primary carer, dxw will pay you 100% of your salary for the next 12 weeks of your leave and top up the first 6 weeks of Statutory Adoption Pay (if you are entitled to it) to 100%. Taken together, this means that you would have 18 weeks of leave on 100% of your normal salary.
As with all company benefits, you will be entitled to Occupational Adoption Pay once you are no longer on your probationary period. For the Statutory Adoption Pay eligibility criteria, please refer to government eligibility information for adoption pay.
Your pay will then reduce to the government statutory rate for adoption pay per week for the following 21 weeks.
Only 1 person in a couple can take adoption leave. The other partner could get secondary carer leave/pay instead (see secondary carer section below).
If you are the secondary carer #
As a reminder, the primary carer is the person who will be on parental leave for the longer period of time. The secondary carer is the person who will be returning to work first.
The main statutory entitlement for secondary carers is still known as paternity leave, and that is the only reason we use the term in this context.
Summary: In most cases, you will be paid 100% of your normal salary for 5 weeks.
What you are legally entitled to #
If your partner is pregnant, you are adopting, or you are having a baby through surrogacy, you’ll probably be eligible for Statutory Paternity Leave (SPL) and Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) or Statutory Adoption Leave and Statutory Adoption Pay.
SPL may be taken for one or two consecutive weeks, between the date of birth and 56 days afterwards. You can find the current SPP rate here.
What dxw offers in addition #
dxw will instead pay you 100% of your normal salary for 5 weeks of parental leave. You may take these consecutively or separately during the first year from birth/adoption. If you want to take more than 5 weeks of leave you can use shared parental leave (see below).
If you are going to become the primary carer for any reason (for example medical incapacity, or bereavement) within the first 18 weeks from the birth or adoption of a child, dxw will consider your eligibility for 100% pay in line with our offer for primary carers. Please approach the Head of People to discuss this.
As with all company benefits, you will be entitled to these once you are no longer on your probationary period.
Shared parental leave #
If you’re having a baby, adopting a child, or having a baby through surrogacy, you may be eligible for Shared Parental Leave and Pay. There are a lot of factors to eligibility, please refer to the government site to review your particular circumstances.
If you’re eligible and you or your partner ends maternity or adoption leave and pay (or Maternity Allowance) early, then you can:
- take the rest of the 50 weeks of maternity or adoption leave as Shared Parental Leave (SPL)
- take the rest of the 37 weeks of maternity or adoption pay (or Maternity Allowance) as Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP). ShPP is paid at the current rate per week or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
If you’re interested in taking this up, please talk to the People team. As with all company benefits, you will be entitled to these once you are no longer on your probationary period.
Keeping in touch (KIT) days #
For pregnancy, adoption and surrogacy, the primary carer has 10 paid KIT days to take during their parental leave, if they wish to come in for departmental meetings, events or just to spend some time with the team.
Those on shared parental leave can each work up to 20 days while taking SPL. These are called ‘Shared Parental Leave in touch’ (or SPLIT) days. These days are in addition to the 10 ‘keeping in touch’ (or KIT) days available to the primary carer.
This won’t affect your statutory pay and dxw will top this up so you receive a normal day’s pay for each KIT/SPLIT day.
Returning to work #
Returning to work is a personal decision - the earliest you can return to work legally after giving birth is 2 weeks, and you can take up to 52 weeks of parental leave in total. Speak with your line manager when you have an idea of how long you would like to take. You are free to change your mind while on parental leave, as long as 8 weeks notice is given for an intended change to your return date.
You may wish to consider a phased return when you do come back and this can also be discussed with your line manager. If for some reason you decide not to return to work, we do not expect you to pay back any of your parental leave.
Holiday accrual #
All carers will continue to accrue holiday while they are on parental leave and any bank holidays that they miss will be added to their holiday entitlement when they return to work. They can choose to use this annual leave before or after their parental leave, or have some paid out during their parental leave.
Changes to this page must be approved by a member of the Senior Leadership Team.
Last updated: 30 November 2023 (history)