Family Friendly Policy

This policy sets out the rights of employees to statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, parental and related family-friendly leave and pay.

Gelateria Danieli Ltd (the Company) recognises that, from time to time, employees may have questions or concerns relating to their rights to maternity, paternity, adoption and parental provisions. The Company encourages open discussion to ensure that questions and problems can be resolved as quickly as possible.

If you or your partner is expecting a baby, or if you are planning to adopt, you should clarify the relevant procedures with the Company or its HR advisers to ensure that they are followed correctly.

This document outlines policies for:

Adoption leave and pay
Maternity leave and pay
Paternity leave and pay
Parental leave and shared parental leave
Parental bereavement leave
Protection from redundancy
Carer’s Leave

1. Adoption Leave and Pay

The policy applies to employees who are newly matched with a child for adoption by an approved adoption agency in the UK.

This means that adoption leave and pay are not available in cases where a stepparent adopts their partner’s child, nor for private adoptions.

Where a couple is adopting a child jointly and either would be eligible to take adoption leave, they may choose which parent will take adoption leave and pay. The other parent may be able to take paternity leave instead, or the couple may move onto Shared Parental Leave and Pay in the same way as other parents.

Eligible employees have a right to take up to:

52 weeks’ adoption leave, made up of 26 weeks’ ordinary adoption leave (OAL) and 26 weeks’ additional adoption leave (AAL)
up to 39 weeks’ statutory adoption pay (SAP), subject to eligibility.

Children born through surrogacy arrangements

The primary adopter of a child born through a surrogacy arrangement will be entitled to adoption leave and pay, provided they have applied for a parental order. They will also be able to end their adoption leave early and move onto Shared Parental Leave and Pay in the same way as other parents.

Time off for adoption appointments

An employee who is the primary adopter of a child is entitled to paid time off to attend up to five adoption appointments arranged by the adoption agency to have contact with the child or for any other purpose connected with the adoption.

The secondary adopter is entitled to take unpaid time off for up to two such appointments. Each period of time off may last a maximum of 6.5 hours.

An employee who exercises the right to paid time off will not subsequently be entitled to take ordinary paternity leave in respect of the child, so it is usually the parent taking adoption leave who will exercise the right to paid time off.

If a couple are adopting jointly, they may choose which of them will take paid time off for adoption appointments. The other adoptive parent in that situation will be entitled to take unpaid time off for up to two adoption appointments.

Eligibility for adoption leave

An employee who has an agreed date with an adoption agency for a child to be placed in their care is entitled to ordinary adoption leave for 26 weeks followed by additional adoption leave for 26 weeks, making 52 weeks in total, regardless of their length of service. Adoptive parents may also access the shared parental leave and pay system.

If a placement ends during the adoption leave period, the employee will be allowed to continue the leave for a maximum of eight weeks from the date the placement ends.

Only one period of adoption leave is permitted for each placement, regardless of how many children are placed as part of the same arrangement.

Eligibility for adoption pay

An employee who is eligible for adoption leave will be entitled to statutory adoption pay if:

they have completed at least 26 weeks of continuous service with Gelateria Danieli Ltd by the week in which they are notified in writing of being matched with a child for adoption
they earn more than the current Lower Earnings Limit for National Insurance contributions
within seven days of being notified in writing that they have been matched with a child, or as soon as reasonably practicable, they have given the Company written notice of the date the child is expected to be placed and the intended start date for adoption leave
they have provided evidence of their entitlement to statutory adoption pay in the form of documents provided by the agency, such as a matching certificate.

Statutory adoption pay is a state benefit, the conditions and amount of which are determined by the Government, but it is paid by the Company as follows:

the first six weeks of ordinary adoption leave are paid at 90% of the employee’s average earnings
thereafter, employees receive the prescribed rate, or 90% of average earnings if this is less, for 33 weeks.

Average earnings are calculated over the relevant statutory period prior to adoption leave.

Statutory adoption pay is subject to income tax and National Insurance contributions and is payable whether or not the employee intends to return to work after adoption leave.

An employee is entitled to benefit from any pay rise which is awarded between the time for calculating statutory adoption pay and the end of adoption leave.

Commencement of adoption leave

An employee can choose to start adoption leave on the actual date of the child’s placement or on a fixed date up to 14 days before the expected date of placement, but no later than the date of placement.

Notification requirements

To be eligible for adoption leave, the employee must notify the Company of an intention to take adoption leave within seven days of being notified of a match with the child by the adoption agency. If it is not reasonably practicable to give seven days’ notice, they must give notice as soon as reasonably practicable.

The employee must inform the Company of:

the date the child is expected to be matched with them for adoption
the date they wish adoption leave to begin.

If an employee wishes to change the commencement date, they must give at least 28 days’ notice of the new start date, unless this is not reasonably practicable. If requested to do so, they must provide documentary evidence from the adoption agency, such as a matching certificate.

Return to work

The Company will expect the employee back at work on the expected return date unless they have told the Company otherwise. If the employee wishes to return early, before the end of additional adoption leave, they must give eight weeks’ notice in writing of the date they wish to return to work.

Special rules apply where an employee wishes to end adoption leave to take advantage of Shared Parental Leave.

An employee who returns to work during or at the end of ordinary adoption leave, followed by no more than four weeks of parental leave, has the right to return to the same job they were in before they went on leave, on the same terms and conditions.

An employee who returns to work after additional adoption leave is also entitled to return to the same job, but if this is not reasonably practicable, they will be employed on similar work and on terms and conditions no less favourable than the terms that applied before they commenced adoption leave.

If an employee has been working full-time but indicates that they wish to return to work on a part-time basis, this will need to be discussed and agreed with their manager.

If an employee decides not to return, they should confirm this in writing to the Company, giving the notice period required by their contract of employment.

Annual leave during adoption leave

During the period of ordinary and additional adoption leave, employees will continue to accrue annual leave, including bank holidays and closure days, in the normal way in accordance with their contract of employment.

Employees may take annual leave at the beginning and/or end of adoption leave. Annual leave accrued prior to the start of the adoption leave period must be taken within the current leave year. Annual leave accrued during the adoption leave period should be taken during the current leave year wherever possible.

Accrued leave would normally only be allowed to be carried over into the next leave year if it has not reasonably been possible to take it.

Other conditions

Employees are entitled to the benefit of their normal terms and conditions of employment, except for terms relating to salary, throughout the period of ordinary and additional adoption leave. The period spent on adoption leave counts towards their period of continuous employment.

Keeping in touch during adoption leave

During adoption leave, the Company may offer employees the option to work for up to 10 days without bringing adoption leave to an end or reducing their entitlement to adoption pay. This is to enable employees to keep in touch and keep up to date with developments at work and may include working, attending training or meetings.

Any work during adoption leave must be by agreement, on agreed dates, and neither the Company nor the employee can insist on it.

Working for any part of a day will count as one of the 10 days available but will not extend the period of adoption leave.

The Company will pay employees at their normal basic rate of pay, inclusive of statutory adoption pay, for the hours worked.

In addition, during adoption leave, the Company may also make reasonable contact with employees, for example, to discuss return-to-work arrangements or to communicate important information, such as news of changes at the workplace that may affect them on their return.

The Company will ensure that employees are kept informed of promotion opportunities relevant to their job and any important changes in the workplace which may directly affect them on their return to work.

2. Maternity Leave and Pay

Eligibility for leave

All employees are statutorily entitled to ordinary maternity leave for 26 weeks and additional maternity leave for 26 weeks, making 52 weeks in total, regardless of length of service.

Eligibility for maternity pay

To qualify for statutory maternity pay, an employee must have completed at least 26 weeks of continuous service with Gelateria Danieli Ltd by the qualifying week, being the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth.

The expected week of childbirth is the week, beginning on Sunday, in which it is expected the child will be born. The week in which the child is actually born is the week of childbirth.

Statutory maternity pay

Statutory maternity pay is a state benefit, the conditions and amount of which are determined by the Government, but it is paid by the Company as follows:

the first six weeks of ordinary maternity leave are paid at 90% of the employee’s average earnings
thereafter, employees receive the prescribed rate, or 90% of average earnings if this is less, for 33 weeks.

Average earnings are calculated over the relevant statutory period prior to maternity leave. Statutory maternity pay may start on any day of the week but cannot begin earlier than the 11th week before the expected week of childbirth.

Statutory maternity pay is subject to income tax and National Insurance contributions.

An employee is entitled to benefit from any pay rise which is awarded between the time for calculating statutory maternity pay and the end of maternity leave.

All eligible employees will receive statutory maternity pay whether or not they intend to return to work after maternity leave. To qualify, the employee must have:

completed at least 26 weeks of continuous service with Gelateria Danieli Ltd by the qualifying week
average earnings above the Lower Earnings Limit for National Insurance contributions
followed the application procedures set out below.

If the employee does not meet the above criteria for statutory maternity pay they should contact Jobcentre Plus or another appropriate government service to enquire about eligibility for Maternity Allowance. The Company will inform the employee if they are not eligible for statutory maternity pay and supply Form SMP1 to claim Maternity Allowance.

Commencement of maternity leave

Employees may choose when to start maternity leave, subject to the following constraints:

maternity leave cannot start before the 11th week before the expected week of childbirth
the latest date maternity leave can start is the date of childbirth
maternity leave will be automatically triggered if the employee is absent from work wholly or partly because of pregnancy after the beginning of the fourth week before the expected week of childbirth
maternity leave will be automatically triggered if the baby is born early, in which case maternity leave will start the day after the day on which the baby is born.

Notice requirements

If an employee wishes to take maternity leave and claim statutory maternity pay they must notify the Company in writing no later than the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth. The notice must state:

confirmation of pregnancy
the expected week of childbirth
the date on which they wish ordinary maternity leave to start
the date on which they wish statutory maternity pay to start.

If requested by the Company, the employee should produce a MAT B1 certificate signed by their GP or midwife confirming the expected week of childbirth.

If an employee wishes to change the date of maternity leave they must give notice at least 28 days in advance of the original start date or 28 days before the new start date, whichever is earlier. If this is not practicable, notice should be given as soon as reasonably practicable.

Return to work

Employees cannot return to work during the first two weeks from the date of childbirth. This is classed as a period of compulsory maternity leave.

If an employee intends to return to work at the end of full maternity leave, being 52 weeks, they will not have to give any further notification of their return to work. However, if they intend to return to work before the end of maternity leave they must provide eight weeks’ notice, in writing, of their intended date of return.

Special rules apply where an employee wishes to end maternity leave to take advantage of Shared Parental Leave.

If an employee is only taking ordinary maternity leave, followed by no more than four weeks of parental leave, they are entitled to return to the same job they were in before they went on leave, on terms and conditions that are no less favourable than those that would have applied had they not been absent.

If an employee returns to work after additional maternity leave they will normally be re-employed in their previous post, but if this is not reasonably practicable, they will be employed on similar work and on terms and conditions no less favourable than the terms that applied before they commenced maternity leave.

If an employee has been working full-time but indicates a wish to return to work on a part-time basis following maternity leave, this will need to be discussed and confirmed by their manager.

If an employee decides not to return, they should confirm this in writing to the Company, giving the notice period required by their contract of employment.

If an employee fails to return to work after maternity leave, this will be treated as an unauthorised absence, and the Company may take appropriate action.

Health and Safety

Gelateria Danieli Ltd must carry out risk assessments in relation to the working environment for employees who are pregnant, have given birth in the last six months or are still breastfeeding. Where there are any health and safety concerns, advice can be sought from the Health and Safety Executive.

If an employee is pregnant, has recently given birth or is breastfeeding, and is unable to continue in their post on designated health and safety grounds, they will be offered alternative work or, where none is available, will be suspended from work on full pay until they can resume their duties.

Antenatal care

Once a pregnancy has been confirmed, if an employee has made an appointment to receive antenatal care on the advice of a registered medical practitioner, registered midwife or registered nurse, they will be entitled to take time off to attend the appointment, provided they produce documentation giving details of the appointment if requested.

This will include not only visits for medical examinations but may also include relaxation and parentcraft classes if recommended by a medical practitioner.

There will be no deduction from salary for attendance at antenatal appointments, including any time spent travelling to and waiting for the appointment, nor will the employee be asked to make up the time taken.

An expectant father or the partner of a pregnant person, including a same-sex partner, is entitled to unpaid time off to attend up to two antenatal appointments, provided that the time off does not exceed 6.5 hours on each occasion.

Annual leave during maternity leave

During the period of ordinary and additional maternity leave employees will continue to accrue annual leave, including bank holidays and closure days, in the normal way in accordance with their contract of employment.

Employees may take annual leave at the beginning and/or end of maternity leave. Annual leave accrued prior to the start of the maternity leave period must be taken within the current leave year.

Annual leave accrued during the maternity leave period should be taken during the current leave year wherever possible. Accrued annual leave would normally only be allowed to be carried over into the next leave year if it has not been reasonably possible to take it.

Other conditions

Employees are entitled to the benefit of their normal terms and conditions of employment, except for terms relating to salary, throughout the 52-week period of ordinary and additional maternity leave.

There is no distinction between live and stillbirths in the granting of maternity benefits if the pregnancy has lasted at least 24 weeks.

Keeping in touch during maternity leave

During maternity leave, the Company may offer employees the option to work for up to 10 days without bringing maternity leave to an end or losing statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance. This is to enable employees to keep in touch and keep up to date with developments at work and may include working, attending training or meetings.

3. Paternity Leave and Pay

This section of the policy sets out the statutory rights and responsibilities of employees whose wife, civil partner or partner gives birth to a child and gives details of the arrangements for paternity leave and pay.

Paternity leave is also available to adoptive parents where a child is matched or newly placed with them for adoption. Either adoptive parent may take paternity leave where the other adoptive parent has elected to take adoption leave.

Paternity leave will not count towards Shared Parental Leave.

Ordinary paternity leave

To be eligible for paternity leave an employee must satisfy the following criteria:

the employee must be the father of the child, or be married to, the civil partner of, or the partner of, the child’s mother; be married to, the civil partner of, or the partner of, the child’s adopter; or be one of a couple jointly adopting a child
the employee must expect to have responsibility for the upbringing of the child and be making the request to help care for the child or to support the child’s mother or adopter.

From 6 April 2026, paternity leave is a day one right for eligible employees and there is no minimum service requirement for the leave itself.

The employee may be asked to produce evidence of entitlement to paternity leave by signing a self-certification form declaring that they meet the statutory eligibility criteria.

Paternity leave is granted in addition to an employee’s normal holiday entitlement.

Paternity leave can be taken in two single blocks of one week or two consecutive weeks within one year of the birth or adoption of the child.

Ordinary paternity leave can start either from the date the child is born or placed for adoption or from a chosen number of days or weeks after that date, up to one year after the birth or placement. In addition, employees who are the father or partner have the right to take unpaid time off work to accompany expectant mothers on up to two antenatal appointments.

To qualify for paternity leave, the employee must have, or expect to have, responsibility for the child’s upbringing.

Notice requirements — ordinary paternity leave: birth of a child

Where an employee wishes to request paternity leave in respect of the birth of a child, they must give the following information in writing no later than 28 days before the expected week of childbirth:

the expected week of the child’s birth
whether they intend to take one or two weeks’ leave
the date on which they want paternity leave to start.

The employee may change the date on which they want paternity leave to start provided they notify the Company of the change at least 28 days before leave was due to start.

If an employee has chosen to start paternity leave on a pre-determined date, and the child is not born on or before that date, the employee must change their choice of date and notify the Company of the change as soon as possible.

In all cases, the employee must notify the Company as soon as possible after the child’s birth of the date on which the child was born.

If the employee has elected to start paternity leave on the date the child is born and they are at work on that date, leave will start the following day.

Notice requirements — ordinary paternity leave: adoption

In the case of an adopted child, the employee must give written notice of their intention to take paternity leave no later than seven days after the date on which notification of the match with the child was given by the adoption agency.

The notice must specify the following:

the date the child is expected to be placed for adoption
the date the employee intends to start paternity leave
the length of the intended paternity leave period
the date on which the adopter was notified of having been matched with the child.

The employee may change the date on which they want paternity leave to start provided they notify the Company of the change at least 28 days before leave was due to start.

Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay

Statutory paternity pay is paid for a maximum of two weeks. It is paid at a flat rate laid down by statute or 90% of average weekly earnings if this is less.

To qualify for statutory paternity pay, employees must:

have 26 weeks’ continuous service by the relevant qualifying week
have average earnings at or above the Lower Earnings Limit for the payment of National Insurance contributions.

An employee’s average weekly earnings are calculated by taking average earnings over the relevant statutory period leading up to the notification week.

Statutory paternity pay will begin at the same time as an employee’s paternity leave commences and will be paid on the same date that salary would have been paid. It will be subject to deductions for tax, National Insurance and any pension contributions in the usual way.

4. Parental Leave and Shared Parental Leave

Shared Parental Leave

Shared Parental Leave is a statutory right available to employees who have a new baby or a newly adopted child. It gives them the option of sharing up to 52 weeks of leave and 39 weeks of pay if they meet the necessary eligibility criteria. The parents can decide to be off work at the same time and/or take it in turns to have periods of leave to look after the child.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for shared parental leave, the employee or their partner must be entitled to maternity or adoption leave, or statutory maternity or adoption pay, or maternity allowance, and they must share the main responsibility for caring for the child with their partner. In addition, the employee and their partner will also be required to follow a two-step process to establish eligibility.

Step 1 – Continuity test: if an employee is seeking to take shared parental leave, one parent or adopter must have worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the week in which the child is due, or by the week in which an adopter was notified of having been matched with a child, and they should still be employed in the first week that shared parental leave is to be taken. The other parent or adopter must have worked for 26 weeks in the 66 weeks leading up to the due date and have earned at least the statutory threshold in total over 13 of those 66 weeks.

Step 2 – Individual eligibility for pay: to qualify for statutory shared parental pay, the parent or main adopter must, as well as passing the continuity test, also have earned average weekly earnings at or above the Lower Earnings Limit for National Insurance purposes during the relevant statutory period.

If the employee and their partner meet the eligibility criteria:

they can effectively convert a period of maternity or adoption leave and pay into shared parental leave and pay that can be taken by either parent
their partner can take shared parental leave concurrently with them when they are on maternity leave or shared parental leave
shared parental leave does not have to be taken in a single continuous block, and may be taken in blocks of as little as a week, subject to the statutory process and agreement where required
when on shared parental leave they will be entitled to the same terms and conditions that would have applied had they been at work, with the exception of pay
shared parental leave may be taken at any time within the period which begins on the date the child is born or the date of the adoption placement and ends 52 weeks after that date.

Procedure for Requesting Shared Parental Leave and Pay

The mother or main adopter must bring their period of maternity or adoption leave to an end by letting their employer know at least eight weeks before the date they intend to curtail the leave. Maternity leave cannot be brought to an end before the end of the compulsory maternity leave period.

The balance of maternity or adoption leave at that point becomes available for the partner to share as shared parental leave. While this notice of curtailment of maternity or adoption leave can be given before or after the birth or placement, if it is given afterwards the notice is binding. However, if notice is given before, there is a statutory period after the child’s birth or adoption during which the birth parent or primary adopter may be able to revoke or vary a curtailment notice in limited circumstances.

Both the employee and their partner should let their respective employers know in writing that they are eligible for and intend to take shared parental leave. They should also indicate how much shared parental leave and pay each parent intends to take and when.

If requested within 14 days of being told about the intention to take shared parental leave, the employee should provide a copy of the child’s birth certificate or, if this is not yet available, confirmation from a midwife or GP of the date of the child’s birth.

In the case of adoption, the employee should provide details of the adoption agency, the date they or their partner were informed of the adoption match, and the expected date that the child will be placed with them. The requested information must be provided within 14 days.

The information about how and when the employee and their partner intend to take shared parental leave is non-binding, and they may change their minds about how leave and pay are to be allocated between them by letting their employers know of the variation in writing. The Company will need at least eight weeks’ notice of each period of leave, and employees can submit a total of three formal requests to take or vary leave.

If an employee submits a request for a single continuous period of shared parental leave, this will be granted automatically.

If an employee submits a request for discontinuous leave, the Company may need to discuss with them whether the business can support such a work pattern. If it cannot, the Company will try to agree on an alternative arrangement, or the request may need to be refused in accordance with the statutory scheme.

Additional information

The Company may ask employees to stay in touch with work during shared parental leave. This could be for training purposes, meetings or to keep generally up to date with the business. Employees can work for up to 20 days without bringing their period of shared parental leave to an end. Any days worked do not extend the leave period.

When an employee works they will receive their normal rate of pay inclusive of any shared parental pay. Employees are under no obligation to undertake any work during their shared parental leave period, and the Company is under no obligation to offer any work. These 20 days are in addition to the 10 days available during maternity or adoption leave.

While on shared parental leave employees will continue to accrue their normal holiday entitlement. The Company may ask employees to take some or all of their outstanding holiday prior to commencing shared parental leave.

The Company may also ask employees to take some or all of the holiday they have accrued during shared parental leave at the end of their leave period and prior to returning to work.

Returning to Work from Shared Parental Leave

If an employee wishes to alter their return date from shared parental leave, they should give notice as follows:

if they wish to extend shared parental leave, at least eight weeks’ notice from the originally agreed return date
if they wish to shorten shared parental leave, at least eight weeks’ notice from the new return date.

If an employee returns to work after a period of shared parental leave, including any maternity or adoption leave, which was 26 weeks or less, they are entitled to return to the same job that they left with terms and conditions no less favourable than would have applied had they not been on leave.

If an employee returns to work from a period of shared parental leave, including any maternity or adoption leave, which was greater than 26 weeks, the Company will try to allow them to return to the same job they left. If it is not practicable for them to return to their original job, they will be offered a suitable alternative on terms and conditions no less favourable than would have applied had they not been on leave.

Parental Leave

An employee is entitled to up to 18 weeks of unpaid parental leave per child if they meet one of the following conditions:

they are the parent of a child who is under eighteen years of age
they have adopted a child under the age of eighteen
they have acquired formal parental responsibility for a child who is under eighteen years of age.

From 6 April 2026, unpaid parental leave is a day one right for eligible employees and there is no minimum service requirement for the leave itself.

Rights During Parental Leave

Qualifying employees will be entitled to a maximum of 18 weeks of unpaid parental leave to be taken up until the child’s eighteenth birthday. During parental leave, the employee will remain employed although pay will be suspended.

The right to accrue holiday entitlement will remain in place. Other terms and conditions relating to notice periods, redundancy and disciplinary and grievance procedures will also be protected.

Employees may not take more than four weeks’ unpaid leave in respect of any individual child in any year. For these purposes, a year is the period of 12 months beginning when the employee first becomes entitled to parental leave in respect of the child in question, and each successive period of 12 months beginning on the anniversary of that date.

Conditions of Leave

Where the employee is the father of the child in respect of whom the leave is to be taken and requests parental leave to begin when the child is born, the notice must specify the expected week of childbirth and the duration of the period of leave. The employee must give this notice at least 21 calendar days before the expected week of childbirth.

Where parental leave is in respect of an adopted child and is to begin on the date of the placement, the employee’s notice must be given to the Company at least 21 calendar days before the beginning of the week in which the child is to be placed for adoption, or as soon as is reasonably practicable thereafter. It must specify the week in which the placement is expected to occur and the duration of the period of parental leave requested.

On applying for parental leave, the employee must produce a copy of the child’s birth certificate if requested. If this does not show proof of parental responsibility the employee may also be required to produce further evidence, for example adoption papers.

Notice Requirements

An employee is required to give their line manager at least 21 days’ notice, in writing, of taking parental leave. This notification must include the dates when the leave is to begin and end. If an employee wishes to take leave immediately after the birth of a child or placement of an adopted child, they should give 21 days’ notice before the expected week of childbirth or placement.

The employee must give proper notice of the period of leave that they propose to take. This notice must be given to the Company at least 21 days before the date on which leave is to start and must specify the dates on which the period of leave is to begin and end.

Taking Parental Leave

Parental leave must be taken in blocks of at least one week, except in relation to a child who is disabled. A week is the employee’s normal working week. Therefore, even if, for example, an employee’s working week is five days, one day taken as parental leave will count as a week of their entitlement. Where an employee is normally required under their contract of employment to work at varying times in a week or a longer period, or to work in some weeks and not others, a week is the total of those periods in a year divided by 52.

A maximum of four weeks of parental leave may be taken in one year.

Parents of disabled children can take their leave in blocks and multiples of one day rather than one week.

Postponement of Parental Leave

Parental leave can be postponed in consultation with the employee’s line manager in the following circumstances:

where more time is needed to make arrangements for covering the employee’s work
where there is a peak in the relevant workload
where the employee’s skills are needed at a particular time and the work cannot easily be covered.

Leave should be postponed for no longer than necessary and in any event no more than six months after the commencement of the period originally requested. Notice of postponement will be given to the employee in writing giving the reason for the postponement and the suggested dates for taking the leave.

Leave cannot be postponed if the leave is to be taken upon the birth of a child or upon the placement of a child for adoption.

Return to Work

On return to work, an employee who has taken less than four consecutive weeks of parental leave, and that leave did not follow on immediately from a period of additional maternity or adoption leave, will be guaranteed return to the same post.

If the parental leave was more than four weeks, every effort will be made for the employee to return to the same post. If not, the post offered will be similar to the one which the employee held before the start of the leave.

5. Parental Bereavement Leave

Who is covered by this policy?

If an employee has suffered the loss of a child under the age of 18 or a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy they are entitled to statutory parental bereavement leave.

Employees are eligible for this entitlement if they are the parent or primary carer of the child. This includes adopters, foster parents and guardians, as well as more informal groups such as close relatives or family friends who have taken responsibility for the child’s care in the absence of the parents.

Employees will be entitled to parental bereavement leave regardless of their length of service with Gelateria Danieli Ltd. However, to qualify for statutory parental bereavement pay they will need to have worked for the Company continuously for a minimum of 26 weeks, by the end of the week before the week of the child’s death, and be earning above the Lower Earnings Limit for National Insurance contributions on average over the relevant statutory period.

What am I entitled to?

An employee is entitled to two weeks’ bereavement leave and, subject to qualifying conditions, two weeks’ statutory parental bereavement pay, which can be taken as separate weeks or as a block of two weeks together. Statutory parental bereavement leave must be taken as whole weeks.

If more than one child dies there is an entitlement to separate leave and, if qualified, pay for each child.

The amount of payment will be the statutory flat rate used for similar types of leave, such as maternity and paternity leave, or 90% of average weekly earnings if this is lower.

If an employee loses a child from 24 weeks’ gestation or whilst already accessing an existing family-related leave and pay right, for example maternity or paternity leave, they are entitled to take or remain on that leave for its duration. Statutory parental bereavement leave and pay is an additional right.

How do I request statutory parental bereavement leave and pay and what will happen?

In the event of such a bereavement, Gelateria Danieli Ltd will not require the employee to give notice for leave taken immediately or within eight weeks after the death of the child. The employee simply needs to tell the Company on their first day of absence that they are absent from work because they are exercising their entitlement to parental bereavement leave.

The leave must be taken within 56 weeks of the child’s death, and if not taken within eight weeks the Company asks that the employee gives as much notice as possible, and a minimum of one week, prior to taking the leave.

To allow the Company to undertake the necessary administration in order to claim parental bereavement pay, the employee will need to notify the Company that they meet the qualifying conditions for statutory parental bereavement pay within 28 days of the leave starting or, if this is not possible, as soon as they can.

6. Protection from Redundancy

This section sets out the redundancy protection available to pregnant employees, those taking maternity or adoption leave, certain employees taking shared parental leave, and employees who have recently returned from these forms of statutory family leave.

Employees who fall within the protected categories below have priority for any suitable alternative vacancy in a redundancy situation, where one is available, ahead of other employees who are also at risk of redundancy.

Protected categories

The protected period applies as follows:

Pregnant employees: from the point the employee notifies the employer of the pregnancy until 18 months from the child’s date of birth where the employer has been notified of the date of birth before the end of maternity leave, or otherwise until 18 months from the expected week of childbirth
Employees who suffer miscarriage before 24 weeks: from the point the employee notifies the employer of the pregnancy until two weeks after the end of the pregnancy
Employees taking adoption leave: from the start of adoption leave until 18 months from the date of placement or, in the case of overseas adoption, from the date of entry into Great Britain
Employees taking shared parental leave: protection applies during shared parental leave and, where the employee has taken at least six continuous weeks of shared parental leave, for the additional protected period set by law.

Employees are encouraged to notify the Company of pregnancy or any relevant family-leave status at the earliest opportunity so that the appropriate protections can be applied.

7. Carer’s Leave

This section outlines the provisions and entitlements under the Carer’s Leave Act 2023. Eligible employees have the right to take one week of unpaid leave in any rolling 12-month period to care for a dependant with a long-term care need.

Eligibility

All employees, regardless of length of service, are entitled to one week of unpaid carer’s leave annually from the commencement of their employment.

Definition of long-term care need

A dependant has a long-term care need if they:

have a disability within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010
have an illness or injury that requires, or is likely to require, care for more than three months
require care for a reason connected with old age.

Requesting carer’s leave

Employees are required to give notice, although this does not need to be in writing. The notice must make clear that the employee is entitled to take carer’s leave and must state the day or days, or part day, to be taken.

Employees must give notice that is either twice the length of the leave requested, or three days, whichever is longer.

Duration of carer’s leave

Eligible employees are entitled to one week of unpaid carer’s leave in any rolling 12-month period.

Carer’s leave may be taken in blocks of a half working day or more, up to a maximum of one week in total. The leave does not need to be taken on consecutive days.

Postponement

The Company cannot deny an employee’s entitlement to carer’s leave, but it may postpone the leave where it reasonably considers that the operation of the business would be unduly disrupted if the leave were taken on the requested dates.

If the leave is postponed, the Company will provide a written counter-notice within seven days of the request, explaining the reason for the postponement and setting out revised dates on which the leave can be taken.

Any postponed leave should be permitted within one month of the original requested dates.

Return to work and protection

Employees are expected to return to work promptly at the end of the approved carer’s leave period. If an extension is required, the employee must notify the Company as soon as possible.

Employees are protected from detriment or unfair treatment for exercising their rights under the Carer’s Leave Act 2023.

Additional Note

Depending on the circumstances, other statutory family-related rights may also apply, including rights relating to neonatal care leave and pay where applicable.

This policy will be reviewed annually, or sooner where required by changes in legislation or business circumstances.

last updated 16th july 2026

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