MRC National Institute for Medical Research, London

All staff are entitled to request the following flexible working arrangements. Requests will be considered in the light of the member of staff’s needs and operational requirements, and are subject to relevant Director’s approval.

Part-Time Working

Part-time working is where a member of staff is contracted to work less than normal weekly full time hours. The hours worked may be spread over 5 or less working days. Salaries, annual leave and other benefits are all based on pro rata arrangement.

Job Sharing

This is a form of part-time working, where the responsibility of one full-time job is shared between two – or occasionally more - people, each of whom works part-time.

Part-year appointments

This arrangement can be considered if staff wish to work for only part of the year, for example during term time. The non-working periods of the year are treated as unpaid leave. Salaries, annual leave and other benefits are all based on pro rata arrangement.

Career Breaks

Career Breaks are an option for those wishing to take an agreed period of unpaid absence to concentrate on domestic responsibilities, e.g. care of children or elderly dependants. The break can be up to two years in duration.

Home Working

This is when staff have a contract which specifies their home as their place of work. The nature of the MRC business makes it unlikely home working will be possible in many cases. However, such contracts may be provided where they support the work of the MRC, e.g. interviewers who spend most of their time out of the office base at home or where this is the most effective way of working. Such appointments are subject to satisfactory arrangements for insurance, health and safety, security, tax legislation and management of the work.

Working at Home

This is where staff have a contract which specifies their Unit as the place of work, but where, in exceptional cases, management discretion permits staff to work at home, e.g. to write up a research project. Staff are required to seek local management approval prior to working at home.

Variable Hours Working

This arrangement is where a total number of hours for working over a defined period (e.g. x months or a year) is agreed, but they may vary from week to week, or month to month, depending on staff needs and operational requirements. Salaries, annual leave and other benefits are all based on pro rata arrangement

Local Published Flexitime Arrangements

Units may agree local published flexitime arrangements through which staff may vary their hours with the approval of the Director

Domestic demands placed on individuals may be short-term, long–term and either planned or unplanned. Therefore, the MRC has a range of policies in place depending on the situation.

Maternity leave

All pregnant employees, regardless of their length of service or hours of work, are entitled to a period of 26 weeks maternity leave, during which time all their normal terms and conditions of employment, except pay, are maintained.

All women have the right to time off with pay for antenatal care. Staff who have had 26 weeks service at the 15th week before the expected week of confinement are eligible for Statutory Maternity Pay for up to 26 weeks.

Staff who have had one years service with the MRC before they go on maternity leave are eligible for the MRC’s Paid Maternity Leave Scheme (in place of the Statutory Maternity Pay) which provides paid leave for 26 weeks. Eligible staff may also have unpaid maternity leave, the precise amount will depend on the circumstances.

Staff have the right to return to work, either to their original job or one which is on equivalent terms and conditions, following maternity leave (providing their contract extend beyond the period of maternity leave).

Paternity leave

Paternity leave is available to fathers, partners of women who are expecting a baby and to adoptive parents not defined as the principal carer. A total of 10 days leave may be taken during the pregnancy and/or within 3 months following the birth.

In order to qualify for paid paternity leave, staff must have rendered 26 weeks’ service at the beginning of the 15th week before the expected week of confinement.

Adoptive leave

The principal carer of the adopted child is entitled to up to 26 weeks paid adoptive leave and up to 34 weeks unpaid leave.

Where a member of staff is not the principal carer of an adopted child they are entitled to the paid leave equivalent to the paid paternity leave offered by the MRC. Both carers may be entitled to unpaid parental leave.

Parental leave

The purpose of parental leave is to provide eligible staff with the time to spend with their children for any purpose. Parental leave is unpaid. Staff with one years employment are entitled to 13 weeks unpaid leave in total per child aged under 5. Staff may take up to 4 weeks parental leave per annum.

Any part of a week taken as parental leave will count as a whole week in calculating the remaining entitlement from the 13 weeks originally available.

However, pay will only be deducted for the actual amount of leave taken (so, if you take one day off, you will lose one week from your entitlement but lose only one days pay).

The MRC may postpone the parental leave for up to 3 months where MRC business would be unduly disrupted. However, unless there are exceptional operational difficulties staff who give three months or more notice of the dates for the parental leave will be guaranteed the time off requested.

Once approval has been give in writing on the parental leave form management may not postpone the time off.

Staff who have a disabled child are entitled to take 18 weeks leave until the child is 18.

Staff who have adopted a child after the child’s 5th birthday may also take the 13 weeks’ leave during the five years following the child’s adoption or until the child is 18, whichever is the sooner.

Staff may be granted either unpaid of paid time off to deal with domestic incidents, as follows:

Paid Leave

For the following crises, staff are entitled to:

2 Days paid leave

At the directors (or nominee’s) discretion, further paid leave (up to a maximum of 5 days in total) may be granted.

• Death of a dependent and/or close relative (spouse, child, partner, sibling or parent), including attending the funeral.
• Serious illness/injury involving a member of staff’s dependent which requires immediate emergency medical attention or serious illness/injury requiring immediate short term care at home when the member of staff is the only person who can provide such care.

1 Days paid leave

• Attend a funeral of a parent in law or parent of partner or grandparent.
• Deal with the immediate effects of a burglary necessitating the member of staff’s presence at home.
• Deal with the immediate effects of unavoidable severe damage to the member of staff’s property necessitating the members of staff’s presence at home.
• Deal with the immediate effects of a serious motor vehicle accident involving a member of staff’s motor vehicle necessitating the members of staff to take action required by law (e.g. police reports).

The absence of the circumstances should be notified on the first day to the Director (or nominee), and confirmed in writing on return. Full details are given in the MRC Staff Code and are available from your local administrator.

Unpaid Leave

Under the 1999 Parental Leave Directive, unpaid leave will be granted during normal working hours to take certain necessary action. The unpaid Leave is separate from the Parental Leave entitlement:

• To assist a dependent who has fallen ill, given birth, is injured or assaulted.
• To make arrangements for the provision of care for a dependent who is ill or injured, including normal childhood illnesses.
• To deal with the unexpected disruption or termination of arrangements for the care of a dependent e.g. home nurse or childminder.
• To deal with the disruption in the education of a child of the member of staff which occurs unexpectedly, e.g. unexpected school closure or if the child has been involved in a fight or distressed, has been injured or is being suspended from school.

A dependent is defined as: wife, husband, child, parent, unmarried partner, (but not lodger, boarder or employee), or any member of staff for assistance during illness, injury, assault, or for the arrangements for the provision of care.

The length of time off should cover whatever is necessary to deal with the specified event. Staff must advise their director (or nominee) of the reason for the absence and how long he/she expects to be absent as soon possible. This must be confirmed in writing by staff on their return to work.

In addition

Subject to operational requirements and the Director’s (or nominee’s) approval, unpaid leave may be granted for other domestic or family circumstances, e.g.:

• Long term and/or ongoing care of an elderly or infirm relative.
• To attend the funeral of a relative or friend (e.g. aunt, uncle, cousin, great grandparent).
• To deal with ongoing issues leading on from above.

The length of the unpaid leave granted will depend on the circumstances and their severity, and staff should discuss their needs with Director (or nominee). This unpaid leave is separate from that described above. Staff must request the leave in advance in writing from the Director (or nominee).

Where this is impossible then the circumstances should be notified on the first day to the Director (or nominee) and confirmed in writing on return.

Making up approved time off

It may be possible for staff to work additional hours to make up for time taken off to deal with essential matters which they cannot deal with outside normal working hours, e.g. moving house, general repairs to housing, general domestic situations which can be planned for, e.g. gas/electricity appointment, to take a car for servicing.

The mechanisms may vary in each establishment. For example a specific system whereby staff seek approval from their Director (or nominee), or be accommodated within the rules of a flexible working hour system.

It is anticipated that this time off will be used for short absences (i.e. up to one working day), and will be at the directors (or nominees) discretion in the light of operational and healthy and safety requirements.

All requests for this time off should be made to the Director (or nominee).