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Most agencies try to look flexibly at the issue of adoptive parents who intend to continue to work. Currently nearly all working adopters
are allowed under the law a right to paid parental leave from their employers. New adoption leave and pay entitlement, as well as paternity adoption leave
measures came into force in April 2003. Please Visit the Government web site
for further details.
The younger the adopted child the more likely it will be that the agency will expect you to take your full adoption leave entitlement of 26 weeks and your
additional adoption leave for a further 26 weeks. They may even prefer applicants that intend to reduce their working hours after that.
If you are a couple this expectation may be met by both of you deciding to reduce your working hours.
With adopters of older children there may not be any expectation that you will reduce your working hours although most will want you to take your
adoption leave entitlement.
The agency will still look at how you would intend to cope with unforseen demands such as the inevitable bouts of childhood illness that will occur after
you have taken any adoption leave entitlement.
An issue that is becoming increasingly important in reaching any decision about your ability to meet the needs of a child is just how
flexible your employer is likely to be after the statuatory adoption leave period.
Since April employment law has changed. Parents of children under 6 and disabled children under 18 now have the legal right to get their employer to consider flexible ways of working.
Find out more.
Even if you work from home the agency will want to look at how you would intend to meet the needs of the child and the requirements of your
working day.
Most agencies recognise that parents have to balance the many demands that are made of them from their families, employers, etc. They
recognise that prospective adopters should not be disadvantaged because they choose to have a career as well as a family. At the end of the day it is
about your ability to meet the many demands made of you and at the same time meet the needs of the adopted child.
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