• UKRI funded students are entitled to 52 weeks of maternity leave if the expected week of childbirth will occur during the period of their award.  The earliest maternity leave can commence is 11 weeks before the expected week of childbirth.
• Where a student takes a period of leave equivilent to maternity leave, you will have the right to the following payment terms, with your studenship extended accordingly:
  • The first 26 weeks will be paid at full stipend rate, pro-rated as necessary for part-time students. The following 13 weeks will be paid at a level commensurate with statutory maternity pay. The final 13 weeks are not paid.
• Once your maternity request has been processed, the Doctoral School will inform you of your new funding end date and new submission deadline.
• Please note that during your period of maternity leave you are entitled to continue to have access to University facilities.

• UKRI students are elible for adoption leave if they have been newly matched with a child through an adoption agency, or if the student has used a surrogate during their studentship.
• Leave during the studentship for a main adopter of a child begins when the child's placement starts, or an agreed period of time before the child's placement starts to support preperation.
• The leave available to the main adopter is commensurate to Maternity Leave.
• The leave available to a UKRI student who is the partner of the main adopter of the child or is the co-adopter, is commensurate with Partner's or Paternity Leave.

• Full-time and part-time UKRI students who are partners of a mother or birth parent have the right to apply for partner's or paternity leave.
• Students who would be entitled to partner's or paternity leave under the statutory scheme are entitled to up to 2 weeks ordinary partner's or paternity leave on full stipend. A week is the same amout of days that you would normally study in a week. Ordinary paternity leave cannot start before the birth, and must be taken within 52 weeks.
• For these purposes, "partner" means a person who lives with the birth parent and the child in an enduring family relationship but is not the birth parent's parent, grandparent, sibling, child, aunt, or uncle. A partner may be married to or be a civil partner of the birth parent but this is not a requirement. 
• Once your partner's or paternity leave has been processed, the Doctoral School will inform you of your new funding end date and new submission deadline.
• Please note that during your period of partner's or paternity leave, you are entitled to continue to have access to University facilities.

• Under the unpaid parental leave scheme, eligible students will be entitled to take leave of up to 1 month each year in order to provide care to a child whom they are parent/carer.  No stipend may be drawn during this period, but the studentship will be extended accordingly.
• In respect of birth parents, eligible students are those who will share primary responsibility for the child with its birth mother.
• In respect of adoptive parents, eligible students are those who are the spouse, partner or civil partner of the primary adopter.
• Once your unpaid parental leave has been processed, the Doctoral School will inform you of your new funding end date and new submission deadline.
• Please note, during your period of unpaid parental leave you are entitled to continue to have access to University facilities.

In addtion to this, the UKRI terms and conditions state that leave may also be taken for the following:

• Neonatal Care Leave
• Death during a period of maternity

Please see the UKRI terms and conditions for more guidance on this.