Family Friendly | Sport Wales

8. Maternity

Last review: Sept 2025

Next review: Sept 2028

This policy sets out Sport Wales’ procedure for maternity leave and pay for employees who are pregnant. At Sport Wales, we aim to ensure all employees are given support and encouragement before, during, and on their return to work from maternity leave. 

We use inclusive language in this policy. This policy applies equally to female, trans or non-binary employees.

8.1 Maternity Leave

You are entitled to 52 weeks’ maternity leave in total, broken down as follows: 

26 weeks’ ordinary maternity leave (OML)
26 weeks’ additional maternity leave (AML) starting immediately after OML.

 You can start your maternity leave at any time after the start of the 11th week before the expected week of the birth of your child.  

There are two incidences in which the maternity leave is triggered automatically: 

if you are absent for a pregnancy-related reason at any time after the start of the 4th week before your child is due, then your maternity leave will start on the first day after your absence.
if your child is born before you intended to start your maternity leave, your maternity leave starts on the day after your child is born.

If your newborn baby requires neonatal care following birth, please refer to the neonatal policy.

8.2 Pay during maternity leave

You are entitled to full pay during the first 26 weeks of maternity leave if you: 

have at least 1 years’ service with Sport Wales at the 15th week before your baby is due
intend on returning to work for at least three months at the end of your maternity leave

Maternity pay is broken down as follows: 

26 weeks’ ordinary maternity leave at full pay
The first 13 weeks of additional maternity leave at Statutory Maternity Pay rates (SMP rates here)
The final 13 weeks additional maternity leave - unpaid

If you do not qualify for full pay during the first 26 weeks you may be entitled to receive SMP or Maternity Allowance.  Further details of which can be found here. 

8.3 Time off for antenatal care 

You are entitled to reasonable time off with pay during normal working hours to receive antenatal care, which includes appointments with your GP, hospital clinics and any other appointments made on the advice of a doctor, midwife or health visitor.   

Please let your line manager know in advance of these appointments.  You may be asked to provide your appointment card to confirm details of the appointment.   

8.4 Notice requirements

You are encouraged to inform your line manager of your pregnancy as soon as you feel able to do so. This is to enable Sport Wales’ to be aware of any health and safety issues which might arise for pregnant employees.

Once you receive your MATB1 form (which is usually given to you around the 20-week stage), please send this to the HR team. Once this has been received, HR will send you a letter explaining your entitlement to maternity leave and an ‘Maternity Options Form’ which you will use to tell us when your baby is due and when you want your maternity leave to start/end.

8.5 Health and Safety 

Upon notification that you are pregnant, we will carry out an assessment of the risks to you and take appropriate measures to ensure your health and safety

If your job carries any risk for you or your unborn child, we will remove you from those risks.  This may mean that your working conditions are altered or that you are offered another more suitable job for the duration of your pregnancy.  If neither of these options is possible, we will suspend you on full pay until you are no longer at risk. 

If you have any concerns about your own health and safety at any time you should speak to your manager or the HR team. 

8.6 Contractual benefits

When you are absent on maternity Leave all contractual benefits will continue.   

During maternity Leave, you are required to comply with all of Sport Wales’ terms and conditions of employment and remain subject to Sport Wales’ rules, policies and procedures during your absence. 

You will continue to accrue annual leave entitlement during your full period of maternity Leave.  Annual leave accrued should be taken within 12 months of your return to work.   

As a pension member, you will pay pension contributions on any paid maternity leave.  The contribution you pay will be based on the pay you actually receive, but the period will count for pension purposes as if you had paid normal contributions.  

During nil pay, pension contributions will stop, and the period will not count for pension purposes.  You can opt to make contributions during nil pay and if you wish to do so, please contact the HR team. 

During your period of maternity leave you will continue to be covered by any death-in-service benefit. 

Your continuity of employment is not broken by maternity leave. 

8.7 Stillbirth and miscarriage

Unfortunately, if you experience a miscarriage before 24 weeks of pregnancy, you will no longer be entitled to take maternity leave. .  

In the situation of a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy, your entitlement to maternity leave will not be affected and you will still be able to take the time off, and receive pay, as planned.  Parental bereavement leave is also available for employees who suffer a stillbirth.  Further information on this can be found in the special leave policy. 

We will help to support you through this time and your manager can discuss options with you, such as time away from work, reduced working arrangement or bespoke counselling. We offer an Employee Assistance Programme service that provide confidential counselling, advice and support which is available 24/7. Details of this can be found on our Intranet.

8.8 Keeping in touch

You and your manager will discuss and confirm the level of contact you would like to maintain throughout your maternity leave. Your manager will send you relevant information during your maternity leave so you can keep in touch with what’s going on at Sport Wales. 

You may work for up to 10 days during your maternity leave for training or briefing sessions so you remain up to date with changes at Sport Wales. This is your choice and you do not have to work. If you choose to work during your maternity leave when you would only have received statutory maternity pay, or no pay, your normal pay will be provided for hours actually worked (inclusive of SMP) This will be treated as pensionable.  

Each time you work will count as one Keeping in Touch (KIT) day, regardless of the number of hours worked. KIT days may be used to extend a period of maternity leave (up to a maximum of 10 days), this should be agreed with the line manager and HR in advance to ensure that there is no overpayment of salary.

8.9 Returning to work 

Under the provisions of the Employment Rights Act 1996, an employee is not permitted to return to work during the compulsory maternity leave period, which is for 2 weeks commencing on the day on which childbirth occurs

On returning to work at the end of your maternity leave, you are entitled to return to the same job, with the same terms and conditions, in which you were employed before your leave. If you wish to consider returning on flexible arrangements, please refer to the flexible working policy.

You will be treated as having resigned if you inform Sport Wales in writing that you do not intend to return to work. 

If you decide during maternity leave that you do not wish to return to work, you should give written notice of resignation to Sport Wales as soon as possible and in accordance with your contract of employment.

If you do not return after your maternity leave or resign before you have completed three month's service after your return, you will be required to repay all maternity pay you have received in excess of your entitlement to SMP. If you return to work following maternity leave but for less than 3 calendar months, the full amount of enhanced maternity pay would not usually be required to be repaid but a proportion of it calculated on a pro rata basis according to the amount of time you have returned to work, i.e. you’re required to return for 3 months, if you return for 1 month then you are required to repay 2/3 of the enhanced payment.

If you are too ill to return to work at the end of your maternity leave period, the normal sick leave will apply. 

9. Paternity

Last review:  September 2025

Next review: September 2028

This policy sets out Sport Wales’ procedure for paternity leave and pay.

9.1 Antenatal care 

You are entitled to paid time off during normal working hours to receive antenatal care, which includes appointments with the GP, hospital clinics and any other appointments made on the advice of a doctor, midwife or health visitor.   

Please let your line manager know in advance of these appointments.  You may be asked to provide the appointment card to confirm details of the appointment.   

9.2 Eligibility

All employees will qualify for paternity leave and pay if they: 

Have, or expect to have, responsibility for the child’s upbringing; and
Are the father of the child; Spouse, Civil Partner or Partner, of the opposite or same sex, who live with the mother in an enduring family relationship; and
Have worked continuously for Sport Wales for 26 weeks by the 15th week before the baby is due

9.3 Leave

If you qualify for paternity leave, you can take a block, of one, two or three weeks, of paternity leave.  These do not need to be taken consecutively.  You are not able to take a period of less than one week. 

You may start your paternity leave on any day of the week on or following the child’s birth. 

Paternity leave must be completed within 52 weeks of the actual date of birth of the child or within 52 weeks after the expected week of birth if the child is born early. 

Only one period of paternity leave will be available even for multiple births, such as twins. 

If you wish to consider returning on flexible arrangements, please refer to the flexible working policy.

If your newborn baby requires neonatal care following birth, please refer to the neonatal policy.

9.4 Pay 

You will be paid your normal salary for the duration of your paternity leave if you meet the above eligibility criteria.

9.5 Notice requirements

You should inform the HR team in writing of your intention to take paternity leave as soon as possible. HR will write to you confirming your entitlement to paternity leave and pay. You will be asked to complete a Paternity Leave Form and SC3 form with the following information: 

When the baby is due
whether you wish to take one, two or three weeks’ leave
the date on which you would like your leave to start/end.

The date you intend to take paternity leave is likely to change depending on the date of birth. You must inform both your line manager and HR in writing as soon as is reasonably practicable of the date on which the child was born.

9.6 Stillbirth and miscarriage

Unfortunately, if you experience a miscarriage before 24 weeks of pregnancy, you will no longer be entitled to take paternity leave.

In the situation of a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy, your entitlement to paternity leave and pay will not be affected and you will still be able to take the time off, and receive pay, as planned.  Parental bereavement leave is also available for employees who suffer a stillbirth.  Further information on this can be found in the special leave policy.  

We will help to support you through this time and your manager can discuss options with you We offer an Employee Assistance Programme service that provide confidential counselling, advice and support which is available 24/7. Details of this can be found on our Intranet.

10. Adoption

Last review: September 2025

Next review: September 2028

This policy sets out Sport Wales’ procedure for adoption leave and pay.

An adopter is a person who has been matched with the child for adoption.  In the case of two persons being matched jointly, the adopter is whichever of them has elected to be the child’s adopter for the purpose of taking statutory adoption leave.  

10.1 Leave 

Adoption leave and pay is available to: 

individual employees who adopt;
an employee who is a member of a couple where the couple adopt jointly (the couple may choose which partner takes Adoption Leave with the other partner taking Adoption Support Leave)

You are entitled to up to 52 weeks adoption leave, made up of 26 weeks’ ordinary adoption leave and 26 weeks’ additional adoption leave.

To qualify for Adoption Leave, you must be newly matched with a child for adoption by an approved adoption agency. In the case of fostering for adoption this is the date that the child comes to live with you.
Adoption leave and pay are not available in circumstances where a child is not newly matched for adoption, for example adopting a step child, becoming a special guardian or kinship carer or adopting a family member.

10.2 Pay for adoption leave 

You are entitled to full pay during the first 26 weeks of adoption leave if you: 

have at 1-year continuous service ending with the week in which you are notified of being matched with a child for adoption.
intend on returning to work for at least three months at the end of your adoption leave

Adoption pay is broken down as follows: 

The first 26 weeks’ adoption leave at full pay
The next 13 weeks of adoption leave at Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP rates here)
The final 13 weeks of adoption leave - unpaid

If more than one child is placed with you for adoption at the same time, your entitlement will be the same as if there was one child. 

If you do not qualify for full pay during the first 26 weeks you may be entitled to receive SAP.  Further details of which can be found here.

Primary Adopters can choose to forfeit a portion of their adoption leave and transfer it over to their partner up to a maximum period of six months. To find out if your partner is eligible, please contact the HR team. 

10.3 Adoption appointments 

You are entitled to paid time off to attend adoption appointments in the period between notification of a match and the date of placement.   

Please let your line manager know in advance of these appointments.  You may be asked to provide evidence to confirm details of the appointment/s.   

10.4 Notice requirements 

Where reasonably practicable, please give us written notice of your intention to take adoption leave within seven days of being notified that you have been matched with a child for adoption.  

You will need to provide the following information: 

the date on which the child is expected to be placed with you
when you want your adoption leave to start (which can be up to 14 days before the expected date of placement).

You may be asked to provide documentation from your adoption agency as evidence of your entitlement to adoption leave and pay.   

You are able to change your mind about the date on which you want your adoption leave to start, as long as you give us reasonable notice. 

10.5 Contractual benefits 

When you are absent on adoption leave all contractual benefits will continue.   During adoption leave, you are required to comply with all of Sport Wales’ terms and conditions of employment and remain subject to Sport Wales’ rules, policies and procedures during your absence. 

You will continue to accrue annual leave entitlement during your full period of adoption leave.  Annual leave accrued should be taken within 12 months of your return to work.   

As a pension member, you will pay pension contributions on any paid adoption leave.  The contribution you pay will be based on the pay you actually receive, but the period will count for pension purposes as if you had paid normal contributions.  

During your period of adoption leave you will continue to be covered by any death-in-service benefit. 

Your continuity of employment is not broken by adoption leave.  

10.6 Disruption during adoption leave 

If, after you begin a period of adoption leave before the placement of the child and you are then told that the placement will not be made, the adoption leave will normally finish eight weeks after the end of the week in which you are notified that the placement will not be made. 

If, during adoption leave, the child dies, or the child returns to the adoption agency, the adoption leave will normally finish eight weeks after the end of the week in which the child dies or is returned to the adoption agency.  Parental bereavement leave is also available if the child dies. Further information can be found in the special leave policy.

We will help to support you through this time and your manager can discuss options with you.

We offer an Employee Assistance Programme service that provide confidential counselling, advice and support which is available 24/7. Details of this can be found on our Intranet.

10.7 Keeping in touch 

Your line manager will send you relevant information during your adoption leave so you can keep in touch with what’s going on at Sport Wales. 

You may come into work for up to 10 days during your adoption leave for training or briefing sessions so you remain up to date with changes at Sport Wales. You are not obliged to come in. If you choose to come in during your adoption leave when you would only have received statutory adoption pay, or no pay, your normal pay would be provided for hours actually worked (inclusive of SAP).  This will be treated as pensionable.  

Each time you work will count as one Keeping in Touch (KIT) day, regardless of the number of hours worked. KIT days may be used to extend a period of adoption leave (up to a maximum of 10 days), this should be agreed with the line manager and HR in advance to ensure that there is no overpayment of salary.

10.8 Returning to work

On returning to work at the end of your adoption leave, you are entitled to return to the same job, with the same terms and conditions, in which you were employed before your leave. 

If you wish to consider returning on flexible arrangements, please refer to the flexible working policy.

If you intend to return to work before the end of your additional adoption leave, please give us reasonable notice. 

If you decide during adoption leave that you do not wish to return to work, you should give written notice of resignation to Sport Wales as soon as possible and in accordance with your contract of employment.

If you do not return after your adoption leave or resign before you have completed three month's service after your return, you will be required to repay all adoption pay you have received in excess of your entitlement to SAP.  If you return to work following adoption leave but for less than 3 calendar months, the full amount of enhanced Adoption pay would not usually be required to be repaid but a proportion of it calculated on a pro rata basis according to the amount of time you have returned to work, i.e. you’re required to return for 3 months, if you return for 1 month then you are required to repay 2/3 of the enhanced payment.

If you are too ill to return to work at the end of your adoption leave period, the normal sick leave will apply.

11. Shared Parental Leave

Last review: September 2025

Next review: September 2028

This policy sets out Sport Wales’ procedure for Shared Parental Leave. Whilst every effort has been made to use inclusive language in this policy, please note that in recognition of the laws and regulations surrounding pregnancy rights in the UK and the likely expectations of the majority of our employees, this document does contain some gendered terms. Where such terms appear in the guidance, they should be taken as applying equally to trans or non-binary parents.

Shared parental leave (SPL) enables eligible parents to choose how to share the care of their child during the first year of birth or adoption.  Its purpose is to give parents more flexibility in considering how to best care for their child.  SPL enables mothers/birth parents to end their maternity leave early, and to share the untaken balance of leave and pay as SPL and pay. 

11.1 Eligibility 

In order to take SPL, both you and your partner must:  

be the mother/ birth parent, father, or adopter of the child, or the partner of the mother/birth parent or primary adopter
have 26 weeks’ service at the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (EWC) or at the week in which the primary adopter was notified of having been matched for adoption with the child
have a partner who meets the employment and earnings test (requiring them in the 66 weeks before the EWC, worked for at least 26 weeks and earned an average weekly salary of at least the maternity allowance threshold in any 13 of those weeks)
share the primary responsibility for the child with the other parent
be working for the Sport Wales until the week before any leave is taken.

For us to verify the information you have provided; you may be required to produce: 

the name and business address of the partner’s employer
in the case of biological parents, a copy of the child's birth certificate
in the case of an adopted child, evidence of the name and address of the adoption agency, the date on which they were was notified of having been matched with the child and the expected date of placement

11.2 Leave 

Parents can take up to 52 weeks of leave in total made up of maternity or adoption leave and SPL.  Paternity leave is excluded as it is a standalone entitlement.  

The amount of SPL to which you are entitled will depend on when the mother/birth parent  or primary adopter brings their maternity leave period to an end and the amount of leave that the other parent takes in respect of the child.   

SPL must be taken in blocks of at least one week.  You can request to take leave in one continuous block, or as a number of discontinuous blocks of leave.  A maximum of three requests for leave can be made.   

The first two weeks following birth are the compulsory maternity leave period reserved for the mother/birth parent.  This means that the mother/birth parent cannot end their maternity leave to take SPL until two weeks after the birth.   

SPL can commence as follows: 

The mother/birth parent can take SPL after they have taken the legally required two weeks of maternity leave immediately following the birth of the child
The primary adopter can take SPL after taking at least two weeks of adoption leave
The father/partner/spouse can take SPL immediately following the birth/placement of the child, but may first choose to exhaust any paternity leave entitlements first

SPL will end no later than one year after the birth/placement of the child.  Any SPL not taken by the first birthday or first anniversary of placement for adoption is lost. 

11.3 Pay 

We treat SPL pay in the same way as our maternity and adoption pay arrangements. 

In addition to meeting the eligibility requirements for SPL, you must also: 

have been continuously employed for at least 26 weeks up to and including the “qualifying week” (the 15th week prior to the expected week of childbirth or placement for adoption)
have average earnings not less than the lower earnings limit calculated over the eight weeks prior to the qualifying week
comply with the notification requirements.

If eligible, you will receive you statutory pay for the first 37 weeks of your SLP, followed by nil pay for the remaining weeks.

If you meet the above criteria and have been continuously employed for at least 1year up to and including the “qualifying week” (the 15th week prior to the expected week of childbirth or placement for adoption) you will receive your  normal rate of pay for the first 26 weeks of your SPL, less any weeks of maternity pay, maternity allowance, or adoption pay and leave already claimed/taken.  The remaining 26 weeks of SPL will be paid at statutory rate (rates can be found here) for 13 weeks and the remaining weeks will be unpaid.  

If you decide not to return to work after SPL, you will be required to repay the shared parental pay you have received in excess of your entitlement to statutory pay. 

11.4 Notice requirements 

Please let us know as early as possible if intend to take SPL, by filling in the SPL form (available from the HR team). 

11.5 Booking leave 

If you are considering taking SPL, please contact the HR team to arrange an informal discussion to talk about your plans and to enable us to support you during this time. 

You can request continuous leave, which means a taking a number of weeks in a single unbroken period of leave (for example, six weeks in a row).  You have the right to take a continuous block of leave, so long as it does not exceed the total number of weeks of SPL available to you. 

You can also request periods of discontinuous leave, which means asking for a set number of weeks of leave over a period of time, with breaks between the leave where you return to work.  If you request discontinuous blocks of leave, a meeting with be arranged with the line manager to discuss in detail the leave proposed and what will happen while you are away from work.  The outcome of such a request will be one of the following: 

agreement to the request
proposal of alternative leave dates or
refusal of the request.

All requests for discontinuous leave will be carefully considered on a case-by-case basis, weighing up the potential benefits to the employee and to the organisation against any adverse impact to the business.  

11.6 Variations to leave 

Once a period of leave notice has been submitted, you may change the dates, as long as you give reasonable notice of this.  Changing SPL dates will count towards your maximum three notices unless its due to the child being born earlier or later than expected. 

11.7 Contractual benefits 

During the period of SPL all contractual benefits will continue, however, salary will vary accordingly above.   Annual leave accrued should be taken within 12 months of your return to work.   

As a pension member, you will pay pension contributions on any paid SPL.  The contribution you pay will be based on the pay you actually receive, but the period will count for pension purposes as if you had paid normal contributions.  

11.8 Keeping in touch 

Before SPL begins, we will discuss the arrangements for you to keep in touch during the leave.  Your line manager will send you relevant information during your period of leave so you can keep in touch with what’s going on at Sport Wales. 

During SPL, you may work for up to 20 SPL ‘in touch’ days (SPLIT days), which are optional: you are not obliged to use them. 

You will be paid at normal rate for work on a SPLIT day. Any work carried out on a day or part of a day shall constitute a day's work for these purposes. 

Your entitlement to 20 SPLIT days is not affected by your entitlement to 10 KIT days during maternity or adoption leave. 

You may use SPLIT days to work part of a week during SPL.  Alternately, you may use SPLIT days to affect a gradual return to work towards the end of a long period of SPL or to trial a possible flexible working pattern. 

11.9 Returning to work 

If you wish to amend the date on which you are to return to work after SPL, please give us as much notice as possible.  

After SPL, provided the total amount of leave taken by you (including maternity leave) does not exceed 26 weeks, you are entitled to return to the same job on the same terms and conditions of employment as if you had not been absent. 

If you wish to consider returning on flexible arrangements, please refer to the flexible working policy.

If you decide during SPL that you do not wish to return to work, you should give written notice of resignation to Sport Wales as soon as possible and in accordance with your contract of employment.

If you do not return after your SPL or resign before you have completed three month's service after your return, you will be required to repay all enhanced pay you have received in excess of your entitlement to statutory pay. If you return to work following SPL but for less than 3 calendar months, the full amount of enhanced pay would not usually be required to be repaid but a proportion of it calculated on a pro rata basis according to the amount of time you have returned to work, i.e. you’re required to return for 3 months, if you return for 1 month then you are required to repay 2/3 of the enhanced payment.

12. Adoption Support Leave

Last review: September 2025

Next review: June 2028

This policy sets out Sport Wales’ procedure for supporting a primary adopter .

12.1 Adoption appointments

You are entitled to paid time off to attend up to two adoption appointments in the period between notification of a match and the date of placement.  

Please let your line manager know in advance of these appointments.  You may be asked to provide evidence to confirm details of the appointment/s.   

12.2 Eligibility 

Adoption support leave is available if you: 

have or expect to have responsibility for the child’s upbringing; and
are the adopter’s Spouse, Civil Partner or Partner, of the opposite or same sex; and
have 26 weeks continuous service with Sport Wales ending with the week in which the adopter is notified of being matched with a child.

12.3 Leave 

If you qualify for adoption support leave, you may choose to take a single block of either one week, two or three weeks. These do not need to be taken consecutively. You are not able to take a period of less than one week.

Leave may commence either from the date of the child’s placement or up to 14 days before the placement date.  Adoption support leave must be completed within 56 days of the child’s placement. 

Only one period of paternity leave will be available even for multiple births.

If you wish to consider returning on flexible arrangements, please refer to the flexible working policy.

12.4 Pay 

You will be paid your normal salary for the duration of your adoption support leave if you meet the above eligibility criteria. 

12.5 Notice requirements 

You should inform the HR team in writing, of your intention to take adoption support leave once you have received notification that you have been matched with a child. You should provide the following information: 

the date on which the adopter was notified of having been matched with the child
the date on which you expect the child to be placed
whether you wish to take one, two or three weeks’ leave
the date on which you would like your leave to start and end.

Once you have provided your initial notification, you may change the date on which you wish your adoption support leave to commence. You must inform both your line manager and HR in writing as soon as possible with your change of date.

12.6 Disruption during adoption support leave 

If, after you begin a period of adoption support leave before the placement of the child and you are then told that the placement will not be made or the child returns to the adoption agency or the child dies, your adoption support leave and pay will be unaffected.

 We will help to support you through this time and your manager can discuss options with you.

We offer an Employee Assistance Programme service that provide confidential counselling, advice and support which is available 24/7. Details of this can be found on our Intranet.

13. Parental Leave

Last review: September 2025

Next review: September 2028

This policy sets out Sport Wales’ support for allowing members of staff time off work to look after a child or make arrangements for a child’s welfare. Parental leave is the right to be absent from work to care for your child or to make arrangements for your child’s welfare.  Sport Wales will grant requests for parental leave subject to certain eligibility criteria. 

All qualifying parents will receive 18 weeks' unpaid leave for each qualifying child.   

13.1 Eligibility

To qualify to take parental leave you must: 

have one year's continuous employment with Sport Wales
you have or expect to have parental responsibility for the child
your child is under 18 years of age
you take the leave before your child’s 18th birthday

Sport Wales is entitled to ask you for evidence as may reasonably be required of: 

that you have or expect to have parental responsibility for the child in relation to whom leave will be taken
the child’s date of birth (in respect of natural parents)
the date of adoption placement (in respect of adoptive parents)
the child’s entitlement to Disability Living Allowance/Personal Independence Payment (if appropriate) to permit you to take leave in in blocks of one day rather than one week.

13.2 Leave 

Eligible employees are entitled to take a total of 18 weeks’ leave in relation to each child until the child is 18 years of age. Leave can start once the child is born or the child is placed for adoption, or as soon as the employee has completed a year’s service, whichever is later.

No more than four weeks can be taken in relation to each child in one year.  Parental leave should be taken in blocks of one week (unless the qualifying child is disabled, in which case the leave can be taken one day at a time).  Part of a week counts as a full week, except in the case of a disabled child. 

13.3 Procedure 

To apply for parental leave, please speak with your line manager and the HR team, setting out when you wish leave to start and end.   

Sport Wales can ask you to postpone a period of parental leave if we believe the business will be disrupted by your absence.  Leave will not be postponed where it is to be taken on the birth of a child or on the placement of a child for adoption.   

Where leave is to be postponed, we will discuss the reasons for this with you and confirm in writing the newly agreed dates of leave.  Leave will not be postponed for a period longer than six months from the start date of the leave originally requested.  

13.4 Contractual benefits 

During parental leave, you are required to comply with all of Sport Wales’ terms and conditions of employment and remain subject to Sport Wales’ rules, policies and procedures. 

Periods of parental leave will count as continuous service. Only statutory leave entitlement accrues during parental leave. 

As parental leave is unpaid, both yours and Sport Wales’ pension contributions will cease. 

13.5 Returning To Work 

After taking parental leave for a period of 4 weeks or less, you are entitled to return from leave to your job in which you were employed before your leave. 

If you take parental leave for a period of more than four weeks, you are entitled to return to the job in which you were employed before the leave or, if that is not reasonably practicable, to another job which is both suitable to you and appropriate for you to do, which has the same terms and conditions as your old job. 

If parental leave lasts four weeks or less and it follows Maternity Leave (or Adoption Leave) you are entitled to return to the same job. 

If you wish to consider returning on flexible arrangements, please refer to the flexible working policy.

14. Neonatal Care Leave

Last review: September 2025

Next review: September 2028

This policy sets out Sport Wales’ support if your newborn baby requires neonatal care following birth, ensuring you can extend your time off with your baby, with pay, for up to 12 weeks.

14.1 Scope and definitions

You are eligible for NCL from the first day of your employment, provided that at the time of the baby’s birth you expect to have responsibility for their upbringing and::

You are the baby’s parent and have responsibility for their upbringing, or
You are the baby’s adopter or prospective adopter in a "foster to adopt" arrangement) a, or
You are having a baby through surrogacy, intend to apply for a parental order within six months of the baby’s birth, or
You are the partner living with the baby’s birth parent, primary adopter, or prospective adopter.

For the purpose of the neonatal care leave and pay law, neonatal care is considered either:

medical care received in a hospital;
medical care received in another setting but as a result of an inpatient stay in hospital. This care would be under a consultant; or
palliative or end of life care.

14.2 General Principles of NCL

You are entitled to a period of leave equivalent to the number of complete weeks your baby spends in neonatal care, provided it has been for at least 7 consecutive days, up to a maximum of 12 weeks and within 28 days of birth

NCL will be paid in full if you meet the qualifying criteria outlined in Section 4. If you do not meet the criteria, you can still take NCL, but the period of leave will be unpaid.

You can take this leave within 68 weeks of your baby’s birth, allowing you to take your NCL entitlement in addition to other types of parental leave (including maternity, adoption, paternity, shared parental, and parental bereavement leave). Section 4 provides further details on how NCL can be taken alongside these types of family leave.

NCL is structured into two tiers to provide flexibility and support during this critical period:

Tier 1 is when the baby is still receiving neonatal care, and including one week after the care has ended. Tier 1 leave can be taken in an unlimited number of blocks of a week to allow the you to stop work at short notice to care for baby in neonatal care.
Tier 2 is available once your baby has left neonatal care and must be taken in one continuous block at any time from your baby’s discharge up to 68 weeks after birth.

In instances of multiple births where neonatal care is required:

where babies are receiving care at the same time, you get leave for of one baby
where babies are receiving the care at different times, the leave and pay entitlement can accrue separately, provided each of the babies spend at least seven full, continuous days in neonatal care. The employee can only accrue a maximum of 12 weeks entitlement

14.3 Taking NCL

You can take NCL after your maternity or adoption leave ends, or after you switch to Shared Parental Leave, but no later than 68 weeks after the baby’s date of birth or placement.

If you are taking a period of paternity or adoption support leave, NCL can be taken before or after this leave; however, it should be noted that paternity leave must be taken no later than your child’s first birthday. It is recommended, therefore, that paternity leave be taken in the first instance.

If you are taking a period of Shared Parental Leave, NCL can be taken before, during or after this leave, but no later than 68 weeks after your baby’s date of birth.

If you have taken a period of compassionate leave and are eligible for NCL, you can add this leave to the end of your period of compassionate leave. If you have suffered a bereavement, please contact a member of the HR team so that we can discuss other support that we may be able to offer.

14.4 Neonatal Leave Pay

You will continue to receive your normal rate of pay during NCL if you have completed at least 1 year service with Sport Wales by the expected week of childbirth or if adopting, by the date you were matched with the baby.

If have not completed at least 1 year service, and you’re eligible to take 12 weeks neonatal care leave, you may be eligible for statutory pay if you have been continuously employed by Sport Wales for at least 26 weeks by:

Birth parents/Intended Parents: the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth.
Adoptive parents: the week in which you are matched with your child.
Other cases: the week before neonatal care begins.

If you qualify for Neonatal Care Leave but do not mee the eligibility criteria for either normal or statutory pay your leave will be unpaid.

14.5 Notification to take Neonatal Care Leave

Notice during the tier 1 period

You should notify your line manager by telephone or email, preferably before your first day of absence in that week. However, we understand that this is likely to be a challenging time for you, so please give notice as soon as reasonably practicable for you to do so.

Notice during the tier 2 period

You must inform your Line Manager of your intention and entitlement as soon as possible. Ideally, please provide at least 15 days' notice for one week of NCL or a minimum of 28 days' notice for longer periods. If this is not possible, please give notice as soon as reasonably practicable.

14.6 Support

We understand your child or children may have ongoing medical needs requiring regular hospital appointments and check-ups when you return to work. Please refer to our Special Leave Policy for further information and support regarding further time off that you may require.

Additional support can be accessed through our employee assistance programme or bespoke counselling.

If you wish to consider returning on flexible arrangements, please refer to the flexible working policy.