ECC Parental Leave Policy

Here at ECC we’re fully committed to doing the right thing by our people and so we have an extensive range of policies that are designed to support all employees at every stage of their life and career. Our parental policies stand out and make us an employer of choice – they cover a range of needs for our working parents such as our parental leave and breastfeeding policies and we also offer ‘unspoken’ mental health days that can be taken as and when needed, no questions asked. These, of course, extend to all employees and not just those who are parents. We naturally offer agile and flexible working to ensure that our working culture is accessible to all, no matter their personal circumstances. We also have a Personal Leave Policy; we encourage an open culture where any of our employees can request paid leave across a number of reasons, from IVF, miscarriage, menopause and parental leave for those with children up until the age of 18 years. We encourage all staff to share experiences if they can, for example taking time off for period pain or menopausal symptoms so that we continue to normalise these conversations and break down old taboos.

We realise that every employee’s situation is unique to them, therefore our Personal Leave Policy will always remain flexible for those reasons. We regularly review these policies to ensure that we are evolve with the needs of our employees.

Maternity Leave Policy 

We offer all pregnant, adopting or surrogate parents who are the primary leave takers to take up to 26 weeks ordinary maternity leave and up to 26 weeks additional maternity leave, making a total of 52 weeks. This is regardless of the number of hours they work or their length of service. Additional maternity leave begins on the day after ordinary maternity leave ends. 
We also offer time off at normal rate of pay for any antenatal care; this may include relaxation or parent craft classes as well as medical examinations, if these are recommended by your doctor.

Paternity Leave Policy

The following employees, who have or expect to have responsibility for a child’s upbringing, are entitled to a maximum of 3 weeks’ paid paternity leave, regardless of their length of service and entitlement to statutory paternity benefits.  You are, or will be: 
- Biological father of a child. 
- Mother’s husband, partner (of any gender) or civil partner who expects to have responsibility for the child’s upbringing. 
- Employee who is adopting a child and not taking adoption leave 
- Employee who is becoming a surrogate parent and  is not taking maternity (primary parental) leave.

Employees who qualify for ECC paternity leave will receive up to 3 weeks’ leave at full pay.

Employees who are expectant fathers or partners can take unpaid time off during working hours on up to two occasions to accompany their pregnant partner/the child’s mother to antenatal appointments.

Shared Parental Leave Policy (SPL)

Employees may be able to get Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) if they’ve had a baby or adopted a child. Employees can start SPL if they’re eligible and they or their partner end their maternity or adoption leave or pay early. The remaining leave will be available as SPL. The remaining pay may be available as  ShPP.

Employees can take SPL in up to 3 separate blocks. They can also share the leave with their partner if they’re also eligible. Parents can choose how much of the SPL each of them will take.