Keeping in Touch Days: your rights

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Employers can maintain a reasonable amount of contact their employees on parental leave. Another way of keeping contact is through an agreement between the employer and employee to do KIT of Keeping in Touch days. These allow women to do paid work for up to 10 days during their maternity or adoption leave [outside of the two compulsory weeks after the baby is born].

The days are optional and need to be agreed with the employer. The employer is not obliged to give an employee KIT days and the employee is not obliged to work, but it may be in both their interests so that the employee can hit the ground running on return to work. Employees may also use their KIT days to work part-time on their return so they can test how it would work.

An employee’s right to maternity or adoption leave and pay isn’t affected by taking KIT days.

You can also work for up to 10 days during your maternity leave if you are self employed. Any work you do in any one given day counts as a whole day.

Parents taking Shared Parental Leave are also entitled to up to 20 paid days each to stay in touch with their workplace. These are called SPLIT days and parents can take them without losing their entitled to Shared Parental Pay.

The type of work and pay for a KIT or SPLIT day should be agreed with the employer, for instance, attending a meeting or conference, but the employer is expected to pay the employee’s normal rate. They can offset the pay against SMP, but do not have to. Parents should be paid in the normal way ie pay should not be withheld until the end of maternity leave.

Parental leave and pay for those who work more than the 10 KIT or 20 SPLIT days will be terminated.