This leave is regulated by the
Adoption Leave National Standard Order (SL 452.111). This leave is designed to safeguard the employment rights of employees
who have adopted a child but does not apply in the case of adoptions where the person
adopted is the natural offspring of either of the parents.
An employee who is the parent of an adopted child
is entitled to an uninterrupted period of eighteen weeks adoption leave
whenever a child is adopted and such leave shall commence on the date when the
child passes into the care and custody of the adoptive parent or parents by
means of a judgment of a court of law in the country of origin.
An employee on adoption leave is entitled to the
first fourteen weeks of adoption leave with full wages but if the employee chooses to
avail himself of any additional adoption leave beyond the fourteen weeks, the
employer shall not be obliged to pay any wages for those weeks of adoption leave
which go beyond the fourteen weeks, without prejudice to any relevant benefit
in respect of any period of adoption leave which goes beyond fourteen weeks in
terms of the Social Security Act to which the employee may be entitled if he chooses
to avail himself of adoption leave beyond the paid fourteen weeks.
In the case
of a single
parent, adoption leave shall be enjoyed
by that parent.
In the case of more than one parent:
(i) if only one parent is in employment on the date
of adoption of
the child, adoption leave shall be
enjoyed by that parent;
(ii) if both parents are in employment, whether
with different employers or with the same employer, on the date of adoption of
the child, each parent shall be entitled
to such part
of the adoption leave as they may agree in writing.
Any employee
who intends to
avail himself of the
adoption leave shall notify the employer in writing of the date when he intends
to avail himself of such entitlement. This notification shall include a written
statement by the
employee’s accredited adoption agency certifying that
a court date has been set for the
hearing of the adoption case in the country of origin. The notification shall
be given to the employer at least two weeks before the adoption leave
begins, in so far as
is reasonably practicable.
Further information can be obtained from here.