11C.—(1) If—

(a) an adopted child is in hospital, and

(b) the child’s adopting parent ("the employee") is entitled to, or is on, adoptive leave or additional adoptive leave,

the employee may request the employer in writing (or cause such a request to be made) to postpone in accordance with this section—

(i) the whole of the adoptive leave and any additional adoptive leave,

(ii) the part of the adoptive leave not by then taken and any additional adoptive leave, or

(iii) the whole of the additional adoptive leave or any part not by then taken,

as appropriate.

(2) If the employer agrees to the request—

(a) the employee shall continue to work or, as the case may be, shall return to work on a date agreed by the employee and employer that is not later than the date on which the leave concerned is due to end in accordance with the notification given under section 7 or (as the case may be) given, or deemed under subsection (5) to have been given, under section 8(3),

(b) the leave concerned shall be postponed or, as the case may be, postponed with effect from the date agreed under paragraph (a),

(c) the employee shall be entitled in accordance with this section to the leave or the part of the leave not taken by reason of the postponement (in this Act referred to as "postponed leave"), and

(d) the postponed leave shall be taken as a continuous period beginning not later than 7 days after the child is discharged from hospital or such other date as may be agreed between the employer and the employee.

(3) The employer shall notify the employee concerned in writing of the decision on the request as soon as is reasonably practicable after its receipt.

(4) (a) Subject to subsection (6), entitlement to postponed leave shall be subject to the employee having notified the employer in writing (or having caused the employer to be so notified) of the employee’s intention to take the leave.

(b) The notification shall be given by the employee as soon as is reasonably practicable after the employee becomes aware of the date of the child’s discharge from hospital.

(c) The notification may be revoked by a further notification in writing given by or on behalf of the employee to the employer.

(5) Notwithstanding that an employee who is on adoptive leave has not caused the employer to be notified in accordance with section 8(3) of his or her intention to take additional adoptive leave, the employee shall be deemed, for the purposes of paragraph (ii) or (iii) of subsection (1), to have done so.

(6) An employer may waive the right to receive a notification in accordance with subsection (4).

(7) The employer may require the employee to supply evidence of the child’s hospitalisation and discharge from hospital.]