Shared Paternity/Maternity

Noctu

skcrip wrote: »

Thanks for everyone's responses. I thought I'd feedback what HR told me earlier which is that because my wife doesn't qualify for anything 'official' in terms of maternity pay/benefit she has nothing to transfer and hence I'm not entitled to anything extra!

So I still get my 2 weeks full pay paternity but she gets nothing statutory and hence there's nothing I can claim on her behalf. Seems a little unfair but there you go, don't be student would appear to be the message!

Can she sweet talk the Dean of the school at all? This is what a PhD colleague of mine did...

onlyroz

Well I've read up a bit more on this and it seems that HR are right:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Moneyandworkentitlements/WorkAndFamilies/Paternityrightsintheworkplace/DG_190788

However, you might be entitled to take some unpaid parental leave:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Moneyandworkentitlements/WorkAndFamilies/Parentalleaveandflexibleworking/DG_10029416

onlyroz

skcrip wrote: »

Seems a little unfair but there you go, don't be student would appear to be the message!

That was my experience of having a baby whilst a student. I was gobsmacked at the "official" advice I was given to quit my studies :mad:

However, you are fortunate if you're wife's university will pay her a full grant for an additional 6 months - because they are under no obligation to do so.

zagfles

skcrip wrote: »

Thanks for everyone's responses. I thought I'd feedback what HR told me earlier which is that because my wife doesn't qualify for anything 'official' in terms of maternity pay/benefit she has nothing to transfer and hence I'm not entitled to anything extra!

So I still get my 2 weeks full pay paternity but she gets nothing statutory and hence there's nothing I can claim on her behalf. Seems a little unfair but there you go, don't be student would appear to be the message!

Yes, the new rules pretend to address the sexism in the system but don't really. The SMP/APP can only be earnt by the mother. If you'd been studying and your wife had been working, she'd get the full 39 weeks SMP. But because she's studying and you're working, you just get the 2 weeks

Callie22

You need to check the rules relating to the specific Research Council, if that's where your wife is funded from. I think they are all fairly similar but it's usually around six months funded maternity leave, and then up to another six months unfunded.

onlyroz

Callie22 wrote: »

You need to check the rules relating to the specific Research Council, if that's where your wife is funded from. I think they are all fairly similar but it's usually around six months funded maternity leave, and then up to another six months unfunded.

Very interesting to see how things have changed since I finished my PhD in 2006. It seems that you are right, and the EPSRC (who funded me) do now cover maternity leave although they point-blank refused when I asked them:

If you want to take leave or require maternity leave

Your university must make suitable arrangements for holidays and maternity leave, generally following their normal practice.

PhD students receiving a stipend from a doctoral training grant are entitled to receive a stipend during maternity leave in line with statutory maternity provision. They should also have their studentships extended by a corresponding length of time.


We expect universities to meet the costs of maternity leave from within the cash-limit of their training accounts. If a university has a very small doctoral training grant and no expectation of future funding from us, they can request additional funding above the cash-limit. The university will need to show that payment for maternity leave cannot be made from the doctoral training grant and that there are no other contingency funding or doctoral training grants to draw on.

skcrip

Thanks all, likely to be the end of my investigation but HR did say they'd check with the lawyers.

Or we'll just move to Denmark