Staff Handbook

STORMTECH EUROPE LTD STAFF HANDBOOK

Table of Contents

1. Introduction ...................................................................................................4 2. Working Hours ..............................................................................................4 3. Pay and Review............................................................................................4 4. Personal Details ............................................................................................ 5 5. Data Protection Policy – HR Data.................................................................5 6. Holidays ......................................................................................................10 7. Sickness absence .......................................................................................11 8. Access to Medical Reports .........................................................................13 9. Maternity .....................................................................................................15 10. Time Off to Accompany a Partner to Ante-Natal/Adoption Appointments...17 11. Adoption...................................................................................................... 17 12. Paternity Leave ........................................................................................... 19 13. Shared Parental Leave and Pay .................................................................21 14. Parental Leave............................................................................................27 15. Flexible Working .........................................................................................27 16. Medical and other appointments.................................................................28 17. Compassionate Leave ................................................................................28 18. Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay .......................................................28 19. Time off for Dependants .............................................................................29 20. Jury Service ................................................................................................29 21. Public Duties ............................................................................................... 30 22. Staff Discount Scheme ...............................................................................30 23. Expenses ....................................................................................................30 24. IT Policy ......................................................................................................31 25. Social Media Policy.....................................................................................34 26. Mobile Telephones & Hand Held Devices...................................................35 27. Dress and Appearance ...............................................................................35 28. Eye Tests and Glasses ...............................................................................36 29. Anti-Bribery Policy ......................................................................................36 30. Code of Conduct.........................................................................................38 31. Conflicts Policy ...........................................................................................38 32. Smoking/E-Cigarettes .................................................................................39

2

33. Equal Opportunities.................................................................................... 40 34. Harassment ................................................................................................ 41 35. Health and Safety....................................................................................... 42 36. Alcohol and Substance Abuse.................................................................... 43 37. Whistle-Blowing.......................................................................................... 44 38. Grievance Procedure ................................................................................. 45 39. Disciplinary and Dismissal Procedure ........................................................ 45 40. Gross Misconduct....................................................................................... 47 41. Retirement.................................................................................................. 48 42. Notice Periods ............................................................................................ 48

3

1. Introduction Welcome to Stormtech Europe Ltd. We hope that your employment with us will be rewarding and enjoyable. This Handbook should be used as a guide throughout your employment. It is important that you familiarise yourself with its contents and refer to it as and when necessary. It sets out various rules that you must abide by as well as policies and procedures relevant to your employment. It also contains information about your benefits and entitlements, and how you may be able to access them. The information included in this handbook applies to all employees and should be read in conjunction with your individual Written Statement of Employment. Unless expressly stated, none of the contents form part of your contract of employment and may be revised or extended at any time. If you have any questions about the contents of this Handbook, or need any further clarification, please contact your line manager. 2. Working Hours Working hours are detailed in your Written Statement of Employment. You are required to attend punctually for work and to notify your line manager immediately if you will be late or unable to attend work. Any absence from work should be agreed in advance with your line manager. You will find the procedures for arranging time off in a number of different circumstances contained elsewhere in this handbook (e.g. holiday, sickness, etc.) If you have a need to leave work prior to your normal finishing time (including if you wish to work through your lunch break in order to leave early) or to have time away during the normal working period, you must obtain permission in advance from your line manager. In such circumstances, you must report to your line manager upon leaving and, where appropriate, returning to work. Persistent lateness, unacceptable levels of absence and/or unauthorised absence will result in disciplinary action. 3. Pay and Review The method of pay and payment intervals are set out in your Written Statement of Employment. An itemised pay statement will be issued to you for each pay period. You should raise any queries about pay with your line manager. Any change in your pay will be notified to you. The Company cannot guarantee that there will be an annual pay increase.

4

4. Personal Details You will have provided us with a number of personal details at the time of your appointment (e.g. address, bank account details, etc.) It is important that you notify your line manager of any changes to these details as soon as they occur.

5. Data Protection Policy – HR Data Introduction

The Company is committed to complying with Data Protection legislation and the associated Data Protection principles. As a consequence the Company seeks to operate in a transparent manner in relation to what data it collects, how it uses and processes the personal data of its workforce, and the reasons for such processing. This policy sets out the Company's commitment to data protection, as well as individual rights and obligations in respect to personal data. This policy applies to the personal data of candidates for jobs, employees, any other individuals engaged in any other form of work by the Company, and ex-employees. It is a policy in relation to employment-related data only. The person with responsibility for compliance with data protection legislation within the Company is Allen Gerllays (CFO of the parent company, Stormtech Performance Apparel Ltd). They can be contacted at alleng@stormtech.ca or on 011 866 407 2222. If you have any queries about this policy, require further information, wish to make a subject access request or exercise your rights, then such enquiries or contact should be sent to the above individual who is the identified Company contact for such matters. Definitions Criminal records data : means information about an individual's criminal convictions and offences. Personal data : means any information relating to an individual who can be identified from the information in question. Processing : means any use that is made of information such as collection, recording, organisation, storage, amendment, disclosure, retrieval, erasure or destruction.

5

Special categories of personal data : means information about an individual's racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, biometric data, health, sex life or sexual orientation. Data Protection Principles The Company processes personal data in accordance with the following data protection principles. Personal data shall be: • processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner; • collected only for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes; • adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary; • accurate and, where necessary, up to date; • kept only for the period necessary for which it is processed; and • processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing, and accidental loss, destruction or damage. Data Management Procedures The Company maintains a record of its processing activities in a register of the employment-related data it processes. The Company uses privacy notices to advise individuals of the personal data it processes, the reason for processing it, to whom personal data is disclosed, the legal basis for processing the data, the time period for storage, the individual’s rights in respect to the data, and the source of the data. The Company will update personal data promptly where an individual advises that information relating to them has changed or is inaccurate. Personal data collected or received by the Company will be held in the individual's personnel file and/or on any electronic system, email system and or HR/payroll system we operate. The duration for which such personal data is held is as set out in the privacy notices issued to individuals. The Company, in considering the data it processes or might process, will only process data which can be lawfully processed. The Company relies upon the following lawful grounds for processing work-related personal data: processing is necessary for the performance of the employment contract or work contract, or in order to enter into such a contract, or the processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation (such as complying with equal opportunities legislation), or it is necessary for the purposes of a legitimate business interest. These matters are set out in the privacy notice issued to all individuals. All data, including special category data, will only be processed for legitimate purposes, and will be handled confidentially. Access to such data is strictly controlled and only authorised individuals have access to such data.

6

In addition, data security procedures are followed as set out below in the Data Security section. All data will be retained during the course of employment (or for the duration of any other type of engagement). Following the termination of the contract, the data will be retained for a period of up to 7 years following the start of the next tax year, in part due to the need to retain records for certain legal reasons. In respect to applicants for jobs who are unsuccessful their details will be retained for up to 12 months. Other procedural steps relating to data management are set out in this policy. Special Category Data In the event the Company processes special categories of personal data or criminal records data to perform obligations or to exercise rights under employment legislation, this is performed in accordance with this policy, including the procedures it sets out, and in accordance with this section. The Company only collects data for relevant work-related matters and does not seek to specifically gather or receive special category information unless it is relevant. Such special category data will only be collected for specific legitimate workplace matters and will not be processed in any way incompatible with that purpose. This essentially means that such information will only be collected, processed and or retained where it is necessary to do so for the purposes of carrying out the obligations and exercising specific rights of the Company or of the individual in question in connection with the field of employment. So for example such processing may be required to comply with the Equality Act 2010, or other pieces of employment legislation or in respect of the law relating to statutory sick pay. Individual Rights You have certain rights in respect to your personal data. These are set out below. Subject Access Requests You have the right to make a subject access request. This may include the following information from the Company: • confirmation of whether or not your data is processed; • the purpose of processing; • the categories of personal data concerned; • the recipients or categories of recipients to whom the personal data has been or will be disclosed; • the envisaged period the personal data will be stored or the criteria for determining that period;

7

• your right to request rectification, erasure, restriction of processing or to object to processing of personal data (see below); • your right to complain to the Information Commissioner; • the source of the data where it is not collected from you; • the existence of any automated decision-making, and meaningful information about the logic involved in any such decision-making; and • where personal data is transferred to a third country or an international organisation, the appropriate safeguards that apply. Should you make such a request, the Company would provide you with a copy of the personal data held. If you require further copies, the Company will charge a reasonable fee, which will be based on the administrative cost of providing the further copies. If you wish to make a subject access request, you should send the request to the Company contact identified above in the Introduction. In some circumstances proof of identification may be needed before the request can be processed. The Company will advise you if your identity needs to be verified and what verification documents are required (this would normally only apply to former staff members, or job applicants). The Company will respond to a request within one month from the date the request is received. That period can be extended by a further two months where necessary, taking into account the complexity and number of requests. In such circumstances the Company will write to you within one month of receipt of the request advising of the extension and reasons for it. Where a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive, the Company may charge a reasonable fee, taking into account the administrative cost of responding to the request or refuse to act on the request. A subject access request can be manifestly unfounded or excessive where it is repetitive. In the event you make a request that is manifestly unfounded or excessive, then the Company will advise you accordingly, and will confirm whether or not it will respond to the request. Requests for rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, and objections to processing of personal data If you wish to request any of the above actions of the Company you should send the request to the Company contact identified above in the Introduction. You should provide as much information as possible in support of your request. Data Security The Company takes the matter of security for HR-related personal data seriously. The Company takes appropriate measures to protect personal data from loss, accidental destruction, improper disclosure or misuse, and to ensure against data breaches or unauthorised access to data. Only

8

authorised individuals in the proper performance of their job roles can access such data. Where the Company makes use of third parties to process personal data on its behalf, they do so on the grounds of written instruction and authorisation from the Company. In addition they are under a duty of confidentiality and are required to adopt appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect and ensure data security. Impact Assessments In the event processing would be likely to result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of an individual, the Company will conduct an impact assessment. The assessment will: describe the envisaged processing operations; the purpose of the processing; the necessity and proportionality of the processing operations; assess the risks to the rights and freedoms of individuals; and measures and safeguards to address such risks. Data Breaches In the case of a data breach that poses a risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals, the Company will report it to the Information Commissioner within 72 hours of having become aware of the breach. All data breaches will be documented. This will include the facts relating to the data breach, its effects and remedial action. If the breach is likely to result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals, the Company will communicate to the data subjects that there has been a breach. In addition the Company will provide them with appropriate information about the nature of the breach, the appropriate contact in the Company if they require more information, the likely consequences of the breach and the mitigation steps taken to address any adverse effects. International data transfers HR-related personal data may be transferred to group staff based in Canada where necessary to effectively undertake staff management, HR and other relevant duties. The Canada based staff are instructed only to access and process such data to the extent that it is necessary, and to ensure all such data is secure and deleted in accordance with the retention periods set out above. This transfer of data outside the EEA is necessary for the performance of the individual's contract of employment. It may be that your personal data will be transferred outside the European Economic Area (EEA) through the use of cloud storage or similar technology. In such circumstances data will only be transferred to organisations which are covered by an adequacy decision by the EU Commission.

9

Individual Responsibilities You should assist the Company to keep your personal data accurate and up to date. You should advise the Company as soon as possible if any information you have provided to the Company changes, such as personal details, a change of address or a change in bank details. Where you have access to personal data relating to others, then you must recognise and comply with your responsibilities under Data Protection legislation. If you have access to personal data you must: • only access personal data you have been given authority to access; • only access personal data for authorised purposes; • not disclose personal data to others unless they are authorised individuals; • ensure data is kept secure and retained where it cannot be accessed by unauthorised personnel; • ensure personal data, or devices containing or that can be used to access personal data, are not removed from the Company’s premises without appropriate security measures being used to secure the data and the device (e.g. encryption or password protection); • only store personal data on authorised devices; and • comply with the Data Protection Principles (set out above). You should understand that a breach of this policy may be treated as a disciplinary offence and in cases of a severe breach may be treated as gross The Company’s holiday year runs from 1 January to 31 December. Your holiday entitlement is contained within your Written Statement of Employment. The business closes in the period between Christmas and New Year. You will be notified in advance of any closure dates, and must reserve sufficient of your holiday entitlement to cover this period (normally 3 working days) or take this time off unpaid. Generally you will be permitted to take up to 11 days’ holiday at any one time. All holidays must have prior approval and authorisation. Requests for holidays should be submitted to your line manager using a holiday request form as early as possible prior to the holiday requested. The Company will respond as soon as possible to your request for holiday. No responsibility will be accepted for monies lost as a consequence of your failure to comply with this procedure. misconduct. 6. Holidays

10

Unused holiday entitlement may not be carried forward into the next holiday year; it is your responsibility to ensure that you take your full entitlement each year. Payment for holidays will be at your normal rate of pay. Should you fall sick prior to a period of pre-booked holiday, you must follow the sickness notification procedure and will be permitted to rearrange your holiday. Should you fall sick whilst on holiday and wish to defer the remainder of your holiday, you must follow the sickness notification procedure. Upon termination of your employment, you will normally be required to take any unused accrued holiday entitlement during your notice period. Payment will normally be made for any holiday entitlement which remains outstanding on your last day of service. If you have taken more annual holiday entitlement than you have accrued during the holiday year, the balance will be deducted from any outstanding pay. In these circumstances accrual is calculated on the basis of 1/52 nd of the annual entitlement for each week of service in the holiday year. Payment for holidays in these circumstances will be made on a pro-rata basis to your service in the current holiday year. Unused holiday pay will not be paid at the end of employment, where termination is due to gross misconduct or where the full contractual notice period is not served and worked. You are required to contact your line manager or arrange for your line manager to be notified by 10.00 a.m. on your first day of sickness absence. You should inform your line manager that you are unwell and of your likely date of return. You should keep the Company informed of the progress of your illness while you remain absent from work. You must provide the appropriate certificates as referred to below at the relevant times, and complete any absence recording documentation as required on your return to work. Any deviation from the above notification requirements may result in unauthorised absence and, as stated below under “Disciplinary and Dismissal Procedure”, this could become a disciplinary matter. Certification of sickness absence You should produce the following written evidence of absence and ensure that appropriate certificates are provided for the whole of your absence. 7. Sickness absence Notification

11

Self-Certificate If you are absent for 7 calendar days or less you will be required to complete a self-certificate, which is available from your line manager, on your return to work. Medical Practitioner’s Certificate If you are absent for more than 7 calendar days you should provide a certificate from your doctor. You should forward certificates and any correspondence to your line manager as soon as possible. Failure to do so may result in sick pay being delayed or withheld. You may also be required to provide a medical practitioner’s certificate when requested, where more than 3 periods of self-certificated absence occur in any 12 month period. In certain circumstances you may be required to undertake a medical examination by a doctor or specialist chosen by the Company. In addition, the Company may seek a report from your Doctor. The likely circumstances when this requirement would apply are if you were absent from work for a prolonged period or if you had been absent on a number of occasions. Where the Company wishes to seek a report from your Doctor, you have rights under legislation; a summary of these rights is included later in this Handbook (under 'Access to Medical Reports'). Statutory Sick Pay Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) will be paid when you are absent from work due to sickness, provided that you have complied with the requirements and conditions attached to its payment. SSP is not paid for the first 3 working days of sickness. Therefore, payment usually starts on the fourth working day of absence, and continues for as long as you are absent, up to a maximum of 28 weeks in any one period of sickness. SSP is not payable in certain circumstances, the principal ones being: • if your average weekly earnings are less than the figure set by the Government for the payment of National Insurance Contributions • for absence of less than 4 working days • if you have failed to follow the notification procedure (above) • if your employment has terminated • where you are receiving Statutory Maternity Pay • for days on which you do not normally work

12

Company Sick Pay Your Written Statement of Employment details the remuneration to which you may be entitled during periods of sickness. The following conditions apply to the payment of Company sick pay: • all payments made include SSP • as with SSP, the notification procedure must be followed in order to qualify for payment • where payable, sickness or industrial injury benefit must be claimed from the appropriate Government Agency and any benefit received must be notified to the Company; such benefits will be deducted from the above payments • if you are absent due to sickness during the course of disciplinary proceedings or during investigations into alleged breaches of rules, procedures or contractual obligations you will not be entitled to sickness payment (other than SSP) • if you are absent from work due to injury or illness caused by a third party, any payments made by the Company as sickness payment will be classed as a loan; this will be repayable to the Company by the employee if compensation for loss of earnings is recovered from the third party • eligibility for sickness payment will not prevent the Company from terminating your employment prior to the expiry of the maximum benefits. In certain circumstances it may be necessary for the Company to obtain a medical report from your GP or specialist (see above under “Sickness Absence”). A report would be sought where it would help to establish, for example, the reason for absence; the likely duration of the absence; and whether the condition was likely to recur. The report would be used in planning cover for the period of absence and in establishing whether there were measures available to the Company to assist your return to work. It would be in the interests of both yourself and the Company to establish, with the benefit of expert medical opinion, your ability to work. You have certain rights under the Access to Medical Reports Act 1988 which give you the following three options: Option 1: You may withhold your consent to an application for a report from a doctor. 8. Access to Medical Reports

13

Option 2: You may consent to the application for the report and indicate that you do not wish to see the report before it is supplied. If you change your mind after the application is made and tell the Doctor in writing he/she will allow 21 days to elapse after such a notification so that you may arrange to see the report (if the report has not already been supplied before you changed your mind). Whether or not you decide to see the report before it is sent, you have the right to ask your doctor for a copy of the report at any time up to 6 months after it was supplied, but he/she is entitled to make a charge for this. Option 3: You may consent to the application, but indicate your wish to see the report before it is supplied. (You must make the necessary arrangements with the Doctor to see the report; it will not be sent to you automatically). The doctor will be informed that you wish to have access to the report and will allow 21 days for you to see it before it is supplied to the Company. If the Doctor has not heard from you in writing within 21 days of the application for the report being made he/she will assume you do not wish to see the report and that you consent to its being supplied. When you see the report, if there is anything in it that you consider incorrect or misleading you can request (but this request must be in writing) that the Doctor amends the report, but he/she is not obliged to do so. If the Doctor refuses to amend it you may: • Withdraw consent for the report to be issued • Ask the Doctor to attach to the report a statement setting out your own views • Agree to the report being issued unchanged No decision would be made that could affect your employment without careful consideration of all the circumstances. Where the Company wished to obtain a medical report, you would be asked for your written consent. Should you withhold such consent, the Company would take a decision regarding your continuing employment without the benefit of medical opinion.

14

9. Maternity Members of staff who are pregnant have a number of entitlements which are outlined below. Ante-natal Care You are entitled to paid time off work to attend ante-natal appointments made on the advice of a registered medical practitioner, registered midwife or registered health visitor. You should book this time off in advance with your line manager. When requesting time off you may be required to show a certificate confirming that you are pregnant (this can be provided by a registered medical practitioner, a registered midwife or a registered health visitor) and an appointment card or some other document showing that an appointment has been made. Maternity Leave You are entitled to up to 52 weeks’ maternity leave. In order to take maternity leave you must notify your line manager of: This notification should be given in writing and by no later than the fifteenth week before the expected week of childbirth. You should also provide your line manager with a copy of the MATB1 form that you will have been given by your healthcare provider. Your maternity leave can start no earlier than the beginning of the 11th week before the expected week of childbirth. The expected date of birth is given on the MATB1 form. If you wish to change the date for starting your maternity leave after this initial notification, you may do so. You should notify your line manager of the new start date by either 28 days before the date you originally intended to start your leave or 28 days before the new date, whichever is earlier. The Company will write to you to advise you of your scheduled date of return to work, which will be 52 weeks after the start of your maternity leave. If you wish to return to work sooner you may do so by giving 8 weeks’ written notice of your new return date. N.B. You are not permitted to return to work during the two weeks after your baby is born. • The fact that you are pregnant • The expected week of childbirth • The date when you intend to start taking leave

15

If you do not wish to return to work after your maternity leave, you should give notice of resignation of at least the minimum notice period set out under the

section “Notice Periods”, below. Holiday and maternity leave

Your entitlement to holiday continues as normal during maternity leave. It is important, therefore, that you plan when you will take your holiday before you start your maternity leave. It is normally in your best interests to take your holiday entitlement for the current holiday year before you start maternity leave and you should make your request for holiday through your line manager in the normal way. In most cases it can normally be arranged so that your holiday immediately precedes your maternity leave so that you do not need to return to work in between. Statutory Maternity Pay In order to be eligible to receive Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) you must meet the following conditions: • Have been employed by the Company without a break for at least 26 weeks into the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth. Part weeks count as full weeks. • Earn a weekly average of at least the Lower Earnings Limit for National Insurance Contributions (NI). This is the amount you have to earn before you start paying NI and is set by the Government. • Have given written notification of your pregnancy and a copy of the MATB1 form as outlined above under “Maternity Leave” SMP is payable for up to 39 weeks. For the first six weeks of maternity leave SMP is payable at the earnings related rate (equivalent to 90% of earnings) and for the remaining 33 weeks at the standard rate as set by the Government. Keeping in Touch The Company reserves the right to make reasonable contact with you whilst you are absent on maternity leave, for example, to notify you of relevant training events or to consult with you regarding changes happening at work. You are not obliged to undertake any work during your maternity leave, but you can agree to undertake up to 10 days work or training during your absence for the purposes of “keeping in touch”. There is no obligation on the Company to offer such opportunities. The arrangements for any agreed “keeping in touch” days, including what will be done and any payment must be agreed in advance (any SMP you receive will be offset against the rate agreed).

16

10.Time Off to Accompany a Partner to Ante-Natal/Adoption Appointments You are entitled to unpaid time off to accompany an expectant mother or the primary adopter to up to two ante-natal/adoption appointments, where you are: • the baby’s father; • the spouse of the expectant mother/primary adopter, her civil partner, or partner (of either sex) in an enduring relationship; or • entitled to and intending to apply for a parental order in respect of the child carried by the expectant mother in an approved surrogacy arrangement. You are entitled to a maximum of 6½ hours time off for each appointment but you are expected to take only as much time off as is necessary in the specific circumstances. You must present a written request for the time off to your line manager as early as possible. Where requested by your line manager, you must produce a signed declaration to confirm that you meet the qualifying relationship criteria set out above, stating the date and time of the appointment, and to confirm that the appointment has been made on the advice of a registered medical practitioner, midwife or nurse, or by or at the request of the adoption agency. Should you wish to attend more than two ante-natal/adoption appointments, or if you wish to have longer than the maximum 6½ hours permitted, you should consider using some of your holiday entitlement. You would need to follow the normal procedure for booking holiday as set out in the “Holidays” section of this handbook. 11. Adoption Members of staff who are adopting a child have a number of entitlements outlined below. Adoption Appointments You are entitled to paid time off work to attend up to 5 adoption appointments made by or at the request of the adoption agency. You are entitled to a maximum of 6½ hours time off for each appointment but you are expected to take only as much time off as is necessary in the specific circumstances. You should book this time off in advance with your line manager. When requesting time off you may be required to show an appointment card or some other document showing that an appointment has been made.

17

Adoption Leave If you will be the primary carer and are newly matched with a child for adoption by an approved adoption agency (i.e. not your step-child or foster child) you are eligible for up to 52 weeks’ adoption leave. N.B. If you are the partner of the primary carer (i.e. the person who will be taking adoption leave) you may be entitled to 2 weeks’ paternity leave instead of adoption leave (See below). In order to take adoption leave, you must notify your line manager of your intention to take adoption leave within 7 days of being notified by the adoption agency that you have been matched with a child for adoption, unless this is not reasonably practicable. The notification must include the date when the child is expected to be placed and the date on which the leave will start. You should provide your line manager with a copy of the ‘matching certificate’ from the adoption agency as evidence of entitlement to adoption leave at the same time as your notification of intention to take leave. Your adoption leave can start no earlier than 14 days before the expected date of placement. If you wish to change the date for starting your adoption leave after this initial notification, you may do so. You should notify your line manager of the new start date by either 28 days before the date you originally intended to start your leave or 28 days before the new date, whichever is earlier. The Company will write to you to advise you of your scheduled date of return to work, which will be 52 weeks after the start of your adoption leave. If you wish to return to work sooner you may do so by giving 8 weeks’ written notice of your new return date. Only one period of adoption leave will be available irrespective of whether more than one child is placed for adoption as part of the same arrangement. If the child’s placement ends during the adoption leave period, you will be able to continue adoption leave for up to eight weeks after the end of the placement. If you do not wish to return to work after your adoption leave, you should give notice of resignation of at least the minimum notice period set out under the

section “Notice Periods”, below. Holiday and adoption leave

Your entitlement to holiday continues as normal during adoption leave. It is important, therefore, that you plan when you will take your holiday before you start your adoption leave. It is normally in your best interests to take your holiday entitlement for the current holiday year before you start adoption leave and you should make your request for holiday through your line manager in the normal way. In most cases it can normally be arranged so that your

18

holiday immediately precedes your adoption leave so that you do not need to return to work in between. Statutory Adoption Pay In order to be eligible to receive Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) you must meet the following conditions: • Have been employed by the Company without a break for at least 26 weeks into the week before the week notification of the match is given. Part weeks count as full weeks. • Earn a weekly average of at least the Lower Earnings Limit for National Insurance Contributions (NI). This is the amount you have to earn before you start paying NI and is set by the Government. • Have given written notification of your adoption and a copy of the ‘matching certificate’ as outlined above under “Adoption Leave” SAP is payable for up to 39 weeks. For the first six weeks of adoption leave SAP is payable at the earnings related rate (equivalent to 90% of earnings) and for the remaining 33 weeks at the standard rate as set by the Government. Keeping in Touch The Company reserves the right to make reasonable contact with you whilst you are absent on adoption leave, for example, to notify you of relevant training events or to consult with you regarding changes happening at work. You are not obliged to undertake any work during your adoption leave, but you can agree to undertake up to 10 days work or training during your absence for the purposes of “keeping in touch”. There is no obligation on the Company to offer such opportunities. The arrangements for any agreed “keeping in touch” days, including what will be done and any payment must be agreed in advance (any SAP you receive will be offset against the rate agreed). 12.Paternity Leave If you are an expectant father/partner or adopter (of either sex), you may be entitled to Paternity Leave. Eligibility To be eligible you must: • have, or expect to have, responsibility for the child’s upbringing;

19

• be the biological father and/or the mother’s husband or partner (or be one of two parents adopting a child or the partner of someone adopting a child individually); • have been continuously employed for at least 26 weeks by either the 15th week before the Expected Week of Childbirth (EWC) or the week in which you are formally notified that you have been matched with a child; • intend to take the time off to support the mother/adopter and/or to care for the child; and • have given notice of your intention to take the leave as outlined under “Notification”, below. Notification To qualify for Paternity Leave you should notify your line manager in writing in or before the 15th week before the EWC (In the case of adoption, within 7 days of being notified of a match). Your written notification should specify: • the EWC (or expected date of placement), • the length of period you have chosen to take (either one week or two consecutive weeks), and • the date you have chosen the leave to begin (see below). Start and Duration of Paternity Leave Paternity Leave cannot start earlier than the actual date of birth or adoption. You can choose to start the leave: • on the actual date of birth or adoption, • on a date falling on a specified number of days after the actual birth date or adoption, or • on a specific date that falls after the EWC or expected date of adoption The duration of Paternity Leave is either one week or two consecutive weeks, as you choose. You cannot take odd days. You must ensure that your paternity leave ends no later than 56 days after the start of the EWC or expected date of placement. Statutory Paternity Pay You will be paid for this leave at the standard rate set by the Government or 90% of your average weekly earnings if this is less.

20

13.Shared Parental Leave and Pay Shared parental leave gives eligible parents the right to share up to 50 weeks’ leave to care for their new born or newly adopted child. In many cases, parents are also entitled to statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP). Eligibility for Shared Parental Leave (SPL) SPL can be used by two people: • the mother/adopter of a child and • either the father of the child (in the case of birth), or the spouse, civil partner or partner of the child’s mother/adopter In order to qualify, both parents must share the main responsibility for the care of their child at the time of the birth or placement for adoption. In addition, if you wish to take SPL the following criteria must be met: • the mother or adopter of the child must be or have been entitled to statutory maternity or adoption leave (see the Maternity and Adoption sections, above), or they must be or have been entitled to statutory maternity or adoption pay or maternity allowance; • the mother or adopter must have ended or given notice to reduce any statutory maternity or adoption entitlements; • you must still be working for the Company at the start of each period of SPL; • you must meet the “continuity test” (see below); • your partner must meet the “employment and earnings test” (see below); and • you must follow the notification procedures (see below). Continuity Test You must have been continually employed by the Company for at least 26 weeks into the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth or ending with the week in which you are notified that you have been matched with a child for adoption. Employment and Earnings Test Your partner must have worked for at least 26 weeks during the 66 weeks leading up to the child’s expected due date or the date you/they are notified of a match for adoption purposes. They must also have earned at least the Maternity Allowance Threshold in any 13 of those weeks worked. Shared Parental Leave Entitlement If eligible, you may take up to 50 weeks’ SPL during the child’s first year. The mother or adopter would have an entitlement to 52 weeks’ maternity or

21

adoption leave. You/they would need to give notice to curtail that leave and the amount that is remaining would be available to be taken as SPL. N.B. the mother is legally required to take 2 weeks’ maternity leave immediately following the birth (compulsory maternity leave) and an adopter must take at least 2 weeks’ adoption leave before giving it up to be replaced with SPL. That is why there is up to 50 weeks’ SPL available. You and your partner should decide how you wish to share the SPL. You can then choose when you wish SPL to start by giving the appropriate notice (see below). SPL must end no later than the child’s first birthday or the first anniversary of the placement for adoption. Any untaken SPL would be lost. Notification You must give your line manager notice of your entitlement to SPL and of your intention to take it at least 8 weeks before you wish to take it. Your notice must be in writing and must contain each of the following: • your name; • the name of the other parent with whom the leave is to be shared; • the start and end dates of any maternity/adoption leave or pay, or maternity allowance, taken in respect of the child and the total amount of SPL available; • the date on which the child is expected to be born and the actual date of birth*, or the date on which you were notified of having been matched with the child for adoption, and the date of placement for adoption; • the amount of SPL you and your partner each intend to take; and • a non-binding indication of when you expect to take the leave. (* If the child has not yet been born, you should provide written confirmation of the actual date of birth as soon as reasonably practicable). In addition, you must provide your line manager with a written and signed declaration stating: • that you meet, or will meet, the eligibility conditions and are entitled to take SPL; • that the information you have provided is accurate; • if you are not the mother or adopter you must confirm that you are either the father of the child, or the spouse, civil partner or partner of the mother or adopter; and • that should you cease to be eligible you will immediately notify your line manager.

22

You must also provide your line manager with a second signed declaration from your SPL partner, in which they confirm: • their name, address and national insurance number (or a declaration that they do not have a national insurance number); • that they are the mother or adopter of the child or they are the father of the child or are the spouse, civil partner or partner of the mother or adopter; • that they satisfy the Employment and Earnings Test (see above), and had or will have at the date of the child’s birth or placement for adoption the main responsibility for the child, along with yourself; • that they consent to the amount of SPL that the employee intends to take; • that they consent to the Company processing the information contained in the declaration form; and • (if your partner is the mother or adopter), that they will immediately inform you should they cease to satisfy the eligibility conditions. N.B. The notice and declarations set out above may be supplied separately to your line manager, but they must all be submitted no later than 8 weeks prior to the commencement of any SPL. Further Evidence of Eligibility The Company may, within 14 days of the SPL entitlement notification being received, request: • the name and business address of your partner’s employer (where your partner is no longer employed or is self-employed, their contact details must be provided instead); • in the case of biological parents, a copy of the child’s birth certificate (or, where one has not yet been issued, a signed declaration from you as to the time and place of the birth); and • in the case of an adopted child, documentary evidence of the name and address of the adoption agency, the date on which you were notified of having been matched with the child and the date on which the agency expects to place the child for adoption. N.B. Should the Company suspect that you have provided false or fraudulent information, or should HMRC notify the Company that a fraudulent claim has been made, the disciplinary procedure may be invoked which could lead to your dismissal. Discussing SPL Plans The rules regarding SPL eligibility and the notification process are complex. You are encouraged, therefore, to meet with your line manager as early as possible on an informal basis, to discuss your potential entitlement to SPL and

23

your plans, and to enable the Company to consider how best to support your through the process. Booking Shared Parental Leave You must give notice to take SPL. In many cases, you will be able to give this notice at the same time as the notification of your entitlement to SPL (as set out above). In any case, you must give 8 weeks’ notice of each period of SPL. You have the right to submit three notifications specifying periods of SPL that you intend taking (or to vary or cancel a period of SPL that you have previously booked). SPL must be taken in complete weeks (starting on any day of the week). Each notification you submit may be for either a continuous period of SPL or two or more discontinuous periods of SPL. The Company will respond to your notifications in writing, within 14 days of receipt. Continuous Leave Notifications A notification may be for a period of continuous leave, which means a number of weeks taken in a single unbroken period of leave (e.g. six weeks in a row). You have the right to take a continuous block of leave notified in a single notification, as long as it does not exceed the total amount of SPL available to you and as long as you have given at least 8 weeks’ notice. Discontinuous Leave Notifications A single notification may also contain a request for two or more periods of discontinuous leave, which means a set number of weeks over a period of time, with breaks between them where you return to work (e.g. an arrangement where you take 6 weeks’ SPL spread over a 12 week period, with you working every other week). The Company has the right to refuse any notification for discontinuous leave. If it is refused, you can withdraw it within 15 days of giving it without it counting as one of your three permitted notifications, or you can opt to take the leave instead in a single continuous block. You will have until the 19 th day from the date of the original notification to choose when the single block of leave will commence (provided that is not sooner than 8 weeks from the original notification), otherwise it will commence on the first leave date previously advised in your original notification. As there is no guarantee that you will be permitted to take discontinuous leave, and as it could use up one of your three permitted notifications, you are encouraged to discuss your plans informally first, as set out above (under “Discussing SPL Plans”).

24