employment Citation, commencement and interpretation 1 These Regulations may be cited as the Paternity and Adoption Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2006 and shall come into operation on 1st October 2006. 2 In these Regulations “the principal Regulations ” means the Paternity and Adoption Leave Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 . Application 3 1 The amendments to the principal Regulations provided for in these Regulations have effect only in relation to an employee with whom a child is expected to be placed for adoption, where the placement is expected to occur on or after 1st April 2007. For the purposes of this paragraph, the date on which the child is actually placed for adoption is immaterial. 2 The amendments to the principal Regulations applied to adoption from overseas by virtue of and as modified by the Paternity and Adoption Leave (Adoption from Overseas) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 have effect only where the adopter’s child enters Northern Ireland on or after 1st April 2007. 3 For the purposes of paragraph (2)— “adopter”, in relation to a child, means a person by whom the child has been or is to be adopted or, in a case where the child has been or is to be adopted by two people jointly, whichever of them has elected to take adoption leave in respect of the child; “adoption from overseas” means the adoption of the child who enters Northern Ireland from outside the United Kingdom in connection with or for the purposes of adoption which does not involve the placement of the child for adoption under the law of any part of the United Kingdom; “enters Northern Ireland” means enters Northern Ireland from outside the United Kingdom in connection with or for the purposes of adoption. Amendments to the principal Regulations 4 The principal Regulations shall be amended as follows. 5 In regulation 2(1) (interpretation), after the definition of “paternity leave” there shall be inserted the following definitions— “statutory adoption leave” means ordinary adoption leave and additional adoption leave; “statutory adoption leave period” means the period during which the adopter is on statutory adoption leave; . 6 After regulation 21 insert— Work during adoption leave period 21A 1 An employee may carry out up to 10 days’ work for his employer during his statutory adoption leave period without bringing his statutory adoption leave to an end. 2 For the purposes of this regulation, any work carried out on any day shall constitute a day’s work. 3 Subject to paragraph (4), for the purposes of this regulation, work means any work done under the contract of employment and may include training or any activity undertaken for the purposes of keeping in touch with the workplace. 4 Reasonable contact from time to time between an employee and his employer which either party is entitled to make during a statutory adoption leave period (for example to discuss an employee’s return to work) shall not bring that period to an end. 5 This regulation does not confer any right on an employer to require that any work be carried out during the statutory adoption leave period, nor any right on an employee to work during the statutory adoption leave period. 6 Any days’ work carried out under this regulation shall not have the effect of extending the total duration of the statutory adoption leave period. . 7 In regulation 25 (requirement to notify intention to return during adoption leave period)— 1 in paragraph (1) for “28 days’” substitute “8 weeks’”; 2 in paragraph (2) for “28 days’” substitute “8 weeks’”; 3 after paragraph (2) insert— 2A An employee who complies with his obligations in paragraph (1) or whose employer has postponed his return in the circumstances described in paragraph (2), and who then decides to return to work— a earlier than the original return date, must give his employer not less than 8 weeks’ notice of the date on which he now intends to return; b later than the original return date, must give his employer not less than 8 weeks’ notice ending with the original return date. 2B In paragraph (2A) the “original return date” means the date which the employee notified to his employer as the date of his return to work under paragraph (1), or the date to which his return was postponed by his employer under paragraph (2). . 8 In regulation 28 (protection from detriment)— 1 in paragraph (1)(b), after “additional adoption leave” omit “, or” and insert “;”; 2 after paragraph (1)(b) insert— bb the employee undertook, considered undertaking or refused to undertake work in accordance with regulation 21A; or . 9 In regulation 29 (unfair dismissal)— 1 at the end of paragraph (3)(b), after “additional adoption leave” omit “, or” and insert “;”; 2 after paragraph (3)(b) insert— bb the employee undertook, considered undertaking or refused to undertake work in accordance with regulation 21A; or ; 3 omit paragraph (4); 4 in paragraph (6) for “paragraphs (4) or (5),” substitute “paragraph (5),”. Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Employment and Learning on 15th September 2006. D. S. S. McAuley A senior officer of the Department for Employment and Learning