Where a member is absent due to family leave (maternity, paternity, parental and adoption leave), such absence is treated as pensionable employment as long as the member is receiving at least half pay or is being paid statutory family leave. Therefore you should make sure both employer and member contributions are paid.

If half pay or statutory pay ceases then you should ask your payroll supplier to record the absence as ‘days excluded’ until the member returns to pensionable employment. If the member does not return after the absence, their pensionable employment will be considered to have ended. You should then advise your payroll supplier to record the member as a leaver if they use Monthly Data Collection (MDC).

If the member leaves your employment, you should stress the importance of keeping Teachers’ Pensions informed of any address or name changes in order to receive future correspondence regarding their pension. Members can do this via My Pension Online.