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Maternity Leave Rights
As a pregnant women, you have certain rights and benefits at
work.
These will however depend on your circumstance and national insurance
contributions.
As of the 6th April 2003, there are simplified rights for maternity
leave. The following articles provide some basic guidance, however, we
recommend you seek more professional advice for further details should
you need it.
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Notice Period required from employees
You must inform your employer that you wish to take maternity leave by
the end of the 15th week before your EWC, unless this is not reasonably
practicable. You must let them know that you are pregnant, what week
the baby is expected to be born and when you want to start your
maternity leave.
You can change your mind about when you wish to start your leave, but
you must let your employer know at least 28 days in advance (unless
this is not reasonably practicable).
Your employer is required to respond to your notification within 28
days (unless this date has been varied, in which case, your employer
must respond within 28 days of the start of maternity leave). The
employer must write to you, setting out the date when you are expected
to return to work.
The earliest date that you are able to start your leave is the
beginning of the 11th week before the baby is due.
The latest date of commencement for leave is the day after the date of
birth.
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Length of maternity leave
You are entitled to 26 weeks ordinary maternity leave, regardless of
the length you have worked at the company.
If you have completed the 26 continuous weeks with your employer by the
beginning of the 14th week before your EWC, you can take additional
maternity leave. This will start straight after ordinary leave and
continues for a further 26 weeks. Additional leave is usually unpaid
although some women may have contractual rights to pay.
The maximum ordinary maternity leave is 26 weeks and the maximum
additional maternity leave is 26 weeks.
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Returning to work after maternity leave
An employer has no provision to write to you before the end of your
ordinary maternity leave asking when the child was born and whether you
intend to return to work after your additional leave. This means that
if you intend to return to work at the end of the full entitlement, you
do not need to give further notification to your employer.
If you wish to return to work before the end of the maternity leave,
you need to give your employer 28 days notice of the date you wish to
return.
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Sickness
Maternity leave starts automatically if you are absent from
work for a
pregnancy related illness during the 4 weeks before the start of your
EWC, regardless of what you have already told your employer about your
start date.
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Statutory Maternity Pay and Maternity Allowance
- The length of time covered by SMP or MA and the amount paid have been
changed by the Department for Work and Pensions.
- Women who are entitled to SMP or MA receive it for 26 weeks.
- Women who are entitled to SMP or MA who give birth prematurely, are
entitled to receive it for 26 weeks.
- The standard rate for SMP and MA is £106 per week (or 90% of the
women's average weekly earnings if this is less than £106 per week).
This increase was made effective in April 2005. The earnings-related
SMP (905) applies for the first 6 weeks of the pay period.
So if you are eligible you will get:
- SMP worth 90% of their earnings for 6 weeks, followed by 20 weeks at
£106 (or 90% of earnings for the full 26 weeks if this is less than
£106 per week)
OR
- MA from the local Jobcentre Plus / social security office worth £106
per week for 26 weeks (or 90% of your earnings for 26 weeks if less
than £106 per week).
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Where to find additional or further information:
- Local Benefits Office or the Citizens Advice Buraeu
- Your employer - HR department, trade union
- Tiger - To check your own
maternity rights, a great site to use is Tiger. This is an interactive
website which covers both the existing and the new rights. There is
also an interactive calendar to help with planning leave and a form to
help with notifying employers about maternity leave intentions.
- DTI - To
find out the latest changes to you right, please take this link to a basic summary,
supplied by the DTI.
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Other relevant Career articles......
How to ensure a smooth transition back to work after an accident
Going Back To Work Following an Accident
Maternity Leave Rights
Paternity Leave Rights
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