Parental leave

1. Eligible PGR students may receive Maternity Leave, Paternity Leave, Adoption Leave (or unpaid Parental Leave) where they are in receipt of a School-, College- or University-funded Scholarship.
2. PGR students in receipt of a scholarship where the University administers the stipend, e.g. from an industrial partner or charity, are also eligible to receive Maternity Leave, Paternity Leave, Adoption Leave (or Unpaid Parental Leave).
3. Eligibility applies from the point of initial matriculation on the relevant programme, until the end of the approved funding period and students must be fully matriculated at the point of submitting their request.
4. For parental leave, the expected week of childbirth must occur during the student’s funded period.
5. Stipend payments can only continue for up to:

• The total length of the period of authorised absence, or
• Until the end of the registration period, or
• the submission of the thesis for examination, whichever is sooner

6. In addition to receiving stipend payments during a period of parental leave, an extension to the current funding period matching the duration of the paid leave period will be applied, where appropriate to do so.

1. Students who are registered on one of the CDT programmes (listed below) and whose stipends are funded by UKRI or EPSRC are entitled to receive paid maternity / parental / adoption leave in accordance with the UKRI terms and conditions of research training grants. 
2. Students who are registered on one of the CDT programmes (listed below) and whose stipends are funded by the School of Informatics (or other School or University funded studentship) are entitled to receive paid maternity / parental / adoption leave in accordance with the UKRI terms and conditions of research training grants. 
3. Students who are registered on one of the CDT programmes (listed below) and whose stipends are funded by an industry sponsor (e.g. Huawei, ARM, IBM etc.) and administered by the School of Informatics are eligible to receive paid maternity / parental / adoption leave. However, they must follow the terms and conditions as stated in the contractual agreements of their external / industry funder. In the first instance, the Portfolio Manager responsible for the external / industry sponsor budget must determine whether the costs of the paid maternity / parental / adoption leave can be provided by the external / industry funder. Paid maternity / parental / adoption leave will only be provided by the School where the external / industry funder has confirmed that are unable or unwilling to do cover these additional costs.
4. Part-time or part-funded students should expect to receive any payments to which they are entitled on a pro-rata basis.
5. Students are only eligible to receive one type of paid leave at a time, e.g. a student who is in receipt of paid maternity leave is not eligible to also receive paid sick leave during that same period.

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Adjustments to Degree Programme Tables. CDT students studying for taught credit as part of their degree programme should discuss, with their supervisor and the member of the CDT executive team assigned the role of Coordinator of Adjustments, what potential concessions (if any) may need to be made with regard to the programme's Degree Programme Table (DPT). 

1. Students who are registered on one of the Research Institute led PGR programmes (listed below) are eligible to receive paid maternity / parental / adoption leave where they are in receipt of a School-, College- or University-funded studentship, or an EPSRC funded PhD studentship.  In all cases, paid sick leave will be managed under the UKRI terms and conditions of research training grants.  Examples include: Informatics Graduate School funded studentships (including IGPS), School of Informatics Pump Priming Scholarships, Research Institute funded studentships, Edinburgh Doctoral College Scholarships (EDCS), EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) awards, EPSRC Industrial Case (iCASE) awards, EPSRC CASE Conversion awards.
2. Students who are registered on one of the Research Institute led PGR programmes (listed below) and whose stipends are funded by an external / industry sponsor (e.g. Huawei, ARM, IBM etc.) but the funds are administered by the School of Informatics’ are also entitled to paid maternity / parental / adoption leave. However, they must follow the terms and conditions as stated in the contractual agreements of their external / industry funder. In the first instance, the Portfolio Manager responsible for the external / industry sponsor budget must determine whether the costs of the paid maternity / parental / adoption leave can be provided by the external / industry funder. The costs will only be provided by the School where the external / industry funder has confirmed that are unable or unwilling to cover these additional costs.
3. Part-time or part-funded students should expect to receive any payments to which they are entitled on a pro-rata basis, and in the case of part-funded students, they will only be entitled to funding for the part of the studentship provided or administered by the University.
4. Students are only eligible to receive one type of paid leave at a time, e.g. a student who is in receipt of paid maternity leave is not eligible to also receive paid sick leave during that same period.

1. All PGR students are eligible to take up to 52 weeks of maternity leave via an Authorised Interruption of Study (AIS), if they are:

• the person who will give birth or
• the primary adopter or
• the primary intended parent through a surrogacy arrangement

2. Where a student is in receipt of a stipend from an eligible funding source, entitlement to paid maternity leave and an extension to their funded period is determined by the conditions of their funding.  Students funded by UKRI/EPSRC training grant and School/College/University funded studentships can take:

• 26 weeks (6 monthly instalments) full stipend capped at UKRI rates, followed by
• 13 weeks (3 monthly instalments) at reduced SMP rate, and
• 13 weeks (3 months) unpaid.

3. Students do not have to take the full 52 weeks maternity leave and can opt for a shorter period of maternity leave; however, in line with guidance for staff, students are expected take at least two weeks leave following the birth of the child under the Compulsory Maternity Leave requirement.
4. Students who are registered part time will receive their standard pro-rata stipend payments (for the initial 26-week period as above) followed by 13 weeks the reduced SMP payment, capped to a maximum of 100% of their normal stipend rate.

1. Students who are planning to or who have become parents through adoption are entitled to the same support as other students who become parents during their studies, and the processes, leave allowances and stipend payments outlined in this policy apply equally.
2. Where two students are jointly adopting, only one member of the couple can be considered as the primary caregiver, who will be entitled to be considered for maternity-related absence. The other partner will be afforded the same entitlements as is outlined for partners entitled to paternity leave and unpaid parental leave.

All PGR students are eligible to up to 10 days (2 weeks) of ordinary paternity leave if they are:

• the partner of the person who will give birth, or
• the partner of the primary adopter, or
• the intended parent through a surrogacy arrangement

and

• also have or expect to have responsibility for the child’s upbringing

1. Where students are funded by an eligible funding source, they are entitled to take up to 10 days (2 weeks) paid paternity leave at full stipend rate and their funded period will be extended by the commensurate amount of time.
2. Ordinary paternity leave must be taken in one go and it cannot start before the birth and must end within 56 days of the birth.
3. A week is the same amount of days that a student would normally study in a week - for example, a week is 2.5 days if they only study 17.5 hours per week part time.
4. Students who are registered part time will receive their standard pro-rata stipend payments for the 2-week duration, and a 2-week funded extension at the pro-rata rate also.

Note that because the period of ordinary paternity leave is less than 4 weeks (which is the minimum duration for a UoE processes an AIS), it will not be usual process to for a formal AIS to be processed alongside an ordinary paternity pay request. So whilst the student’s funding end date will be extended by the appropriate 2 week period, the programme end dates will stay the same.

1. Partners are entitled to take up to a maximum of 50 weeks unpaid parental leave
2. Unpaid parental leave must be taken within 12 months of the birth of the child
3. This leave may be taken in up to three blocks of leave or all at once; the minimum period of a block is 4 weeks.    

1. Students whose stipends are self-funded are not eligible to receive paid maternity / parental / adoption leave.
2. Students who are funded by an external scholarship (i.e. not administered by the University) are not eligible to receive paid maternity / parental / adoption leave; students should contact their external funder with any enquiries about the provision of paid leave.
3. Students who are paid their studentship as a salary, e.g. those with a Marie Curie Fellowship are only eligible for paid maternity / parental / adoption leave through the relevant staff policy. They are not eligible for paid maternity / parental / adoption leave under the Research Student Sick Leave Policy. Students with a staff contract should contact their relevant School HR team to discuss their entitlement under HR policies.
4. Students who remain fully matriculated but are beyond their funded periods of study, or the expected week of childbirth is outside the funded period, are not eligible to receive paid maternity / parental / adoption leave.
5. Students who are on an AIS and whose stipends have been temporarily suspended during the period of AIS, are not eligible to receive paid maternity / parental / adoption leave during this period.
6. Visiting Research Students in receipt of funding contributions from the School which were paid to help support living costs are not eligible to receive paid maternity / parental / adoption leave.

Eligible students who wish to receive paid maternity / adoption leave must follow the process as described below.

1. As early as possible (and with at least six weeks notice) students must submit an Authorised Interruption of Study (AIS) request form to the IGS for the relevant period. Students should following the normal IGS AIS process and request form.
2. All requests require the submission of the appropriate supporting evidence:
   • An NHS MAT1B form (issued approximately 15 weeks before the expected week of birth and are normally provided by the midwife), or
   • Evidence of placement of a child for adoption
3. In addition to the AIS request, students must also request the continuation of their stipend payments for the relevant period by submitting the maternity/adoption leave form.

AIS guidance and request form (link)

IGS Maternity Adoption Leave Request Form (v1) (34.99 KB Word)

Note:

• Stipend payments during parental leave will only be processed upon receipt of a completed application form.  Unless specifically requested, periods of AIS are unfunded and stipends will be stopped and will resume only upon resumption of studies.
• While requests for AIS will be processed without a maternity/adoption application form, no stipend payments will be released without one. It is the student’s responsibility to provide a fully signed and completed parental leave pay form and the required evidence when submitting a request.

Eligible students who wish to receive paid paternity leave must follow the process as described below.

1. As early as possible (and with at least six weeks notice), submit the Ordinary Paternity Leave request form

IGS Ordinary Paternity Leave Request Form (v1) (28.86 KB Word)

Note:

• Because the period of ordinary paternity leave is less than 4 weeks (which is the minimum duration for a UoE processes an AIS), it will not be usual process to for a formal AIS to be processed alongside an ordinary paternity pay request. So whilst the student’s funding end date will be extended by the appropriate 2 week period, the programme end dates will stay the same.  

1. Students wishing to take unpaid parental leave should submit an AIS request to the IGS via the normal AIS process and form (note the minimum period that can be requested for unpaid parental leave is 4 weeks).
2. Stipend payments will be stopped for the duration of the unpaid AIS and will resume on return to studies, with the funding end date adjusted for the length of the approved AIS.

AIS guidance and request form (link) 

1. In all cases, advice should be sought from the University’s Student Immigration team as early as possible (especially in the case of a pregnancy) to ensure compliance with the student visa can be maintained.
2. In the case of students sponsored by the University under UKVI student visa, an AIS due to parental leave may require the University to withdraw visa sponsorship and the student to return to their home country for the duration of the AIS. In such cases, students will thereafter need to apply to the FCDO for a new ATAS, plus apply to the University for a new CAS number, so that they can apply for a new student visa to resume their studies.
3. Any costs associated with the reapplication of a new student visa is the responsibility of the student.
4. All requests for parental leave must be made in good time to permit time for approval of the request and to ensure travel home can be made following the report of the suspension to the UKVI.

1. A student who is in receipt of both a salary from the University and a studentship, stipend or scholarship will be entitled to maternity, paternity, adoption or shared parental leave pay through both routes.
2. This includes where a student is employed on a guaranteed hours contract e.g. a tutor and/or demonstrator contract.
3. The relevant section of the current HR family leave policy should be referred to https://www.ed.ac.uk/human-resources/policies-guidance/leave-absence/family-leave
4. Students should contact the School HR office for advice on claiming paid parental leave via a staff contract.

1. Students who are in receipt of stipend payments are expected to return at the end of their approved absence period and complete their programme of study (and submit thesis) within their funded period. 
2. Students should return to studies at the University in a full or part-time (50% FTE) capacity, for at least three months full time (six months part-time) following maternity or adoption leave, or until they successfully submit their thesis for examination. Note that periods of paid or unpaid absence before you return to study, e.g. annual leave do not count towards the qualifying return period.
3. The University is required to recover the value of maternity, paternity, shared parental or adoption funding from students who decide not to return to study at the end of an approved paid absence period.
4. Should a student not return to their studies after the period of parental leave, any stipend paid above the prevailing reduced SMP rate during that period will normally be recovered by the University. This requirement can be waived only in exceptional circumstances, with approval on a case-by-case basis by the Informatics Graduate School Management Committee.
5. Students who require further period of AIS beyond the maximum entitlement of parental leave, may apply to the Informatics Graduate School for a further period of unpaid AIS.
6. Upon returning to studies after a period of parental leave, a student who wishes to change their mode of study (e.g. full time to part time, or vice versa) may submit a change of programme request to the informatics Graduate School.

Whilst PGR students are not staff, the University employs the same risk assessment criteria to pregnant PGR students as they do staff. 

Pregnant PGR students, in partnership with their PGR supervisor (who has the assigned role of defacto line manager), should ensure that a Health and Safety risk assessment (new and expectant mothers) is undertaken as soon as possible into the pregnancy period. 

PGR supervisors should ensure the student's risk assessment is reviewed regularly and adjustments made as necessary. 

The IGS can help to coordinate the implementation of required adjustments e.g. replacement chairs, standing desks, alternative work space. 

For further advice and guidance on the risk assessment, please speak with School's Health and Safety Advisor.  

Later on in the pregnancy, the student and supervisor should complete a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan.