As a line manager, one of your responsibilities is to appropriately support colleagues when they return to work after a period of parental leave. We know that this can be a challenging time and we wish to ensure that colleagues are well supported by the School.

The University provides a range of policies and services to support parents and carers. The purpose of this SEED guidance is to signpost you to the relevant sources of information which you should familiarise yourself with in order to support your staff, and to highlight the points at which you should act.

Staff may take periods of absence for adoption leave or parental leave, details of which can be found on the Parents and Carers page.

Before someone goes on leave you should:

• Familiarise yourself with information provided to colleagues regarding adoption and parental leave policies and practices at the link above.
• Familiarise yourself with the Maternity toolkit.
• Complete the relevant forms when requested by the colleague going on leave, including the risk assessment (details found on the maternity toolkit).
• Go through the relevant checklists on the parental leave policies or Adoption Leave Application Forms.
• Make a note in your diary of their planned return to work date.

During their leave please note that:

• Colleagues may wish to request a change to their agreed return to work date. Line managers should discuss any such requests with the individual. Please note that an eight week notice period applies to any such requests for colleagues on maternity, adoption or shared parental leave.
• Line managers should record return to work dates in their calendars/diaries in order to make the necessary preparations for a returning colleague.
• Some colleagues may choose to do ‘Keeping in Touch days’ (for information see HR Guidance Notes: Keeping in Touch Days FAQs). This will have been agreed in advance when completing the relevant forms before leave.

When someone you line manage returns to work you should:

• Send an email welcoming them back to work and you must arrange a back to work meeting to discuss how they are, including any needs they might have regarding occupational health, counselling, supporting breastfeeding, or changes to their working pattern. It is also useful to update them on any relevant changes (e.g., introducing them to new staff, going through any new policy or practices).
• Signpost them to the University’s Parents and Carers Support Network.
• Where relevant, signpost them to the Academic Returner Policy and Procedure and discuss an application.
• If required, provide details on flexible working arrangements.
• Signpost to information about childcare support.
• Signpost them to our People and Organisational Development Partner Martin Banks (martin.banks@manchester.ac.uk) for any questions.

SEED's conference caregiving policy allows staff and PGR students to apply for funding to subsidise childcare, or other caregiving, when required for attendance (including overnight) at a conference or training event (or similar). Individuals can apply for a maximum of £400 per annum (with a maximum of two trips per person per academic year).

All staff, Teaching Assistants and PGR students can apply. Approval is required in advance, for which you will need to briefly explain how the trip meets the ‘work-related training’ criterion.

To apply, please complete the SEED Conference Caregiving Costs Scheme form.

SEED has a Parents and Carers room in the Arthur Lewis Building on the second floor, room 2.032. 

This is a cosy, private space for sitting down, expressing and/or feeding a babe in arms, and has a fridge if you need to store milk. 

Access is via the second floor landing and the room should be open most of the time, however at some times of day it may only be accessed through a staff only card access door so if you need to use this room, please contact the SEED Hub on the ground floor of Humanities Bridgeford Street and the team will be able to help make arrangements for use and offer you some guidance on using the room.