An employee who will be the main carer for the adopted child(ren) may apply for Adoption Leave. Adoption provisions will not be granted to two University employees in respect of the same adoption. If an employee is not the main carer for the adopted child, they may be eligible for other types of paid or unpaid family leave, including Ordinary Parental Leave, Ordinary Paternity Leave and Shared Parental Leave.
Adoption leave can start from the date of the child’s placement or a fixed date which can be up to 14 days before the expected date of placement. For overseas adoption, adoption leave will begin after the child has entered Great Britain; the latest it can begin is 28 days after the child has entered Great Britain.
In the event of a disrupted placement, the adoption leave period ends eight weeks after the start of Ordinary Adoption Leave (OAL) period (if the placement didn’t occur) or eight weeks from the end of the week in which death occurred or the child was returned to the agency (if the placement took place and disruption occurred later).
Please refer to the Adoption Leave Policy which sets out the provisions to which you are entitled in more detail.
Last edited Apr 07, 2026