Getting up to speed with maternity leave

Changes to maternity law that occurred last year mean that all employees are now entitled to 26 weeks additional maternity leave, as well as 26 weeks “ordinary” maternity leave.

Previously, only ordinary leave was the right of all employees. In addition, pregnant employees now receive 39 weeks statutory maternity pay, instead of 26 weeks.

The same entitlements also apply to adoptive parents.

Ordinary maternity leave

To qualify for ordinary maternity leave, an employee must notify her employer that she is pregnant by the end of the 15th week before her expected week of childbirth (EWC).

She must inform her employer of the EWC and the date on which she intends to start her maternity leave. The employer is entitled to request a certificate from a doctor or midwife to confirm the EWC.

During ordinary maternity leave, the employee’s contract continues and she retains all her employment rights (eg, annual leave, health insurance), except her right to salary. In its place, she will either receive maternity pay or maternity allowance (see Panel 1 below). Companies may have their own policies (eg, back to work bonuses) provided they meet the statutory minimum requirements.

In certain circumstances, the employee’s maternity leave may start early, such as in the event of premature birth, or because of a pregnancy-related illness in the four weeks before her due date.

Additional maternity leave

After ordinary maternity leave has finished, a woman can take a further 26 weeks of additional maternity leave.

Although her employment contract continues throughout this period, she is only entitled to certain terms in her contract, such as those that relate to disciplinary grievance procedures and any provisions for termination of her contract.

Employers are allowed to provide additional benefits during this period, but they are not required to do so by law.

If in any doubt, employees can check their entitlement at the Directgov website

Who funds maternity pay?

All pregnant employees are entitled to receive statutory maternity pay for 39 weeks. The employer will pay this, provided the employee has:

• Completed 26 weeks of continuous employment with the same employer (up to and including the 15th week before the EWC)

• Reached the lower earnings limit for national insurance contributions during the last eight weeks of the same period

The employer can claim back the majority of this maternity pay from the Government. If the employee has not met these requirements, she may be entitled to receive an equivalent maternity allowance from the Government.

Further information can be accessed via the Directgov website

Returning to work

After the employee has informed her employer of her intention to take maternity leave, the employer must respond by giving the date that she is expected to return to work.

If she wishes to return early, she must inform her employer at least eight weeks before the proposed return date.

If she wishes to extend her maternity leave, she should either agree this with her employer or request parental leave (if she has completed one year’s continuous service with the employer).

To aid integration back into the workforce, employees who are on maternity leave may return to work for up to 10 individual “keep in touch” days during their leave without losing their right to maternity leave, pay or allowance. This enables the employee to become familiar with any new systems, policies or procedures that the employer may have introduced, as well as maintaining contact with colleagues.

Employers are also entitled to maintain reasonable contact with their employees on maternity leave, although they are not allowed to pressure an employee to return early.