Question:
We have an employee who is having a child via surrogacy. We want to support her and would like to know whether she is entitled to any time off?
Answer:
Historically, while the mother acting as a surrogate would be entitled to maternity leave, your employee, as the intended parent, would not, unfortunately, be legally entitled to any special time off and they would have had to rely on your normal rules regarding holiday and unpaid leave.
However, with effect from 5 April 2015, the Children and Families Act 2014 alters the eligibility requirement for statutory adoption leave, which will make it available for intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement.
Previously, statutory adoption leave only applied for those who were going through the formal process resulting in the production of a matching certificate. This has now been altered so that the leave will be available to those who intend to apply for a parental order in a surrogacy situation.