My Employment Rights

Maternity Rights

Ante-natal Care
All pregnant employees, regardless of their length of service, are entitled to take paid time off during working hours to attend ante-natal appointments that are taken on the advice of their medical practitioner, midwife or healthcare worker. The scope and meaning of ante-natal appointments is quite wide in its scope.

Maternity Leave
All pregnant employees are entitled to take a period of up to 52 weeks’ maternity leave.     This compromises 26 weeks’ Ordinary Maternity Leave (“OML”) and 26 weeks’ Additional Maternity Leave (“AML”).
During the period of maternity leave, the employee is entitled to receive all contractual benefits, with the exception of salary/wages.  In other words, benefits such as pension, provision of a company car, continue to be provided.

Notification
To benefit from the rights to take maternity leave, the employee must notify her employer by the 15th week before her Expected Week of Confinement:
•    that she is pregnant
•    when the EWC will be (by providing Form MAT1B)
•    when she intends to commence her maternity leave
The employee may not commence maternity leave prior to the 11th week before the EWC.
If the employee gives birth prior to the notified date, or fails to give a date, then maternity leave will commence on the day after giving birth. If the employee is absent due to pregnancy related ill health after the beginning of the 4th week prior to the EWC, then maternity leave starts on the day after the first day of her absence.
The employee can notify the employer of a proposed change to the commencement date by giving at least 28 days notice.
The employer must then write to the employee with 28 days of receipt of this notice, confirming the date on which her maternity leave will end. If it fails to do so, then if the employee does not return “on time”, they are protected from dismissal or detriment.

Keeping in touch days and reasonable contact
An employee on maternity leave may perform work for her employer for up to 10 days, without bringing her maternity leave to an end. This can be to perform actual work, attend training or briefings. There is no obligation on the employer or employee to do this.     The employee will continue to receive Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) that is payable for the days worked. There is no entitlement to normal contractual pay for days worked.
Employers are also entitled to make reasonable contact with the employee during the maternity leave period.

Statutory Maternity Pay
Employees are entitled to 39 weeks statutory maternity pay (“SMP”) if:
•    they have 26 weeks continuous service at the commencement of the 15th week before the EWC; and
•    in the 8 weeks prior to the 15th week before the EWC, their average earnings were above the lower national insurance earnings limit (currently [  ])
•    give 28 days’ written notice of the intended commencement date; and
•    provide medical evidence of their pregnancy (Form MAT1B)

The rate of SMP is:
•    90% of salary for the first 6 weeks
•    The lesser of 90% salary or the current standard rate (£X) for the remaining 33 weeks
SMP is payable to qualifying employees even if the employee leaves the employer’s employment prior to or during maternity leave.
If an employee does not qualify for SMP, she may still be able to apply to the Department of Work and Pensions for payment of 26 weeks Maternity Allowance.

Returning to work
If an employee intends to return to work at the end of her full maternity leave period, she does not need to notify her employer. If, however, she wishes to return earlier, she must notify her employer, giving at least 8 weeks written notice.
An employee returning at the end of OML is entitled to return to the same job on the same terms and conditions as if she had not been absent.
An employee returning at the end of AML is entitled to return to the same job on the same terms and conditions as if she had not been absent, unless it is not reasonably practicable for the employer to do so, in which case a suitable alternative role must be offered.
Detriment and Dismissal
Employees are protected from detriment/dismissal where:
•    She is pregnant
•    She has given birth
•    She has taken OML/AML
•    She has sought a benefit under OML/AML
For further information see the unfair dismissal section.
Where the employee’s role is identified as being redundant during her pregnancy or maternity leave, the employer is obliged to offer any suitable alternative roles to her, in priority to any other employees similarly at risk.