Maternity Rights Solicitors

Statutory maternity pay is a legal minimum payment that you’re entitled to receive from your employer after you’ve had a baby, provided you meet certain eligibility requirements. However your employer may have a higher level of company maternity pay and maternity leave provisions.

First of all, at the time of writing (July 2015) you must earn on average more than £112 per week, give a minimum notice to your employer (at least 15 weeks before your due date), and if your employer asks for proof that you’re pregnant, show them your MAT B1 certificate. You should also have worked for your employer for more than 26 weeks before your qualifying week (which is 15 weeks before your baby’s due date) in order to receive statutory maternity pay, which at the time of writing (July 2015) equates to 90% of your normal average pay for 6 weeks followed by either £139.5 or 90% of your normal average pay (whichever is lower) for a further 33 weeks. Bear in mind that you’re still liable to pay Income Tax and National Insurance while you’re receiving maternity pay.

Some employers offer a more generous maternity pay package. You could check this by looking at your employment contract, or ask to have a confidential chat with your Human Resources department. If you elect to take company maternity pay, then bear in mind that if you don’t return to work then you may be liable to repay some of the ‘extra’ maternity pay you received. Check this with your employer.

Statutory maternity pay is a legal minimum payment that you’re entitled to receive from your employer after you’ve had a baby, provided you meet certain eligibility requirements. However your employer may have a higher level of company maternity pay and maternity leave provisions.

If you don’t qualify for statutory maternity pay, then you may qualify instead for maternity allowance. There are different types of maternity allowance (for example, maternity allowance may last for up to either 14 weeks or 39 weeks) and eligibility criteria can seem complex. There’s more information on the GOV UK website about maternity allowance eligibility. There are different levels of payment, depending on which eligibility criteria you meet, but a maternity allowance of up to £139.58 per week could be paid to you beginning 11 weeks before your baby is due. If you receive maternity allowance then this might affect any council tax reductions, housing benefit, income support, JobSeekers Allowance or carer’s allowance payments that you currently receive.

Maternity leave questions - with answers

The GOV UK website is also an excellent resource if you’re looking for general information about maternity pay:

• Maternity pay overview
• Maternity allowance overview
• Maternity pay calculator

You are required to notify your employer that you’re pregnant, when the child is due to be born, and when you intend to take maternity leave, no later than the end of the 15th week before the expected week of your child’s birth.

Most companies will have a clearly laid out policy for all employees with regards to maternity and paternity leave. This policy should be set out in a staff handbook and should include the processes and procedures that an employee and an employer should go through when an employee is pregnant or if an employee’s partner is pregnant. This means everyone involved is clear from the outset what their roles and responsibilities are. Your employer is entitled to request confirmation of your pregnancy in the form of a MAT B1 form. This can be supplied by a Doctor or Midwife and confirms the expected week of childbirth.

There is no absolute right answer to this question as it will depend on your company and you should consult the company’s employee handbook. For example, you might tell your line manager, your head of department or your HR department. You should however make sure you inform someone who will place the information on your personnel file.

Employers owe a duty of health and safety to their employees. So once you’ve notified your employer of your pregnancy, they are under an obligation to carry out a risk assessment. The law requires that this risk assessment needs to cover: an assessment of the risks the work place poses to new or expectant mothers or their babies. If risks are identified, your employer is required to alter your working conditions or hours to avoid any significant risk. If this is not possible your employer needs to look at offering you suitable alternative work. All pregnant employees have a statutory right to “reasonable” paid time off during working hours to attend ante-natal appointments. You are entitled to this right no matter how long you’ve worked for the company.

If you return to work within 26 weeks, you are entitled to return to your original job. This means you will return to a job on terms and conditions no less favourable. For example a teacher returning may not have exactly the same classes she had before taking leave but all pay and benefits will remain the same.

After a period of AML, the obligations on the employer are less stringent. You are generally entitled to return to work to the same job, but your employer has more flexibility to allow them to move you into another role and not the same role. If it is not practicable for your employer to allow you to return in the same job, you are entitled to return to a different job which is suitable and appropriate and on no less favourable terms and conditions.

You have a right to request part-time working and a right to expect a reason if your request is refused. You have no entitlement to insist on part time hours after a period of maternity leave. However any application for part-time hours must be carefully considered by the employer and they must ensure that a refusal does not leave them open to an accusation of sex discrimination. Before making any such request, you should check your contract of employment.

An employee with 26 weeks’ continuous employment can formally apply in writing for a change in hours, times or location of work for the purpose of enabling the employee to care for a child under the age of 17. The employer may only refuse such an application on a limited set of grounds.

You are entitled to resign during your maternity leave if you so choose and not return to work. You are still bound by your contractual notice period however and therefore must give your contractual notice to terminate your employment and this may be timed to end when the maternity leave comes to an end. If you simply don’t return to work and fail to notify your employer, you will be treated as an unauthorised absentee and could be dismissed.

Take advice – as a very recent development to the legislation on parental law, it is perfectly understandable that you might be unsure of your legal obligations as an employer. The new legislation could revolutionalise the way in which millions of families juggle their work/life balance. As such, it is unclear exactly how those who quality for Shared Parental Leave will react to the new opportunities that the legislation change presents. If you are in any way unsure of how to respond to a particular request, seek advice from HR or employment advisors before responding to any SPL request to avoid any unnecessary issues that may emerge from a lack of preparation.

Do your due diligence – In today’s workplace, the onus falls on the employer to be aware of all of the responsibilities when it comes to implementing the changes to parental leave. As well as taking advice, it is important to familiarize yourself with what your employees are entitled to legally, so that you can have a fair and frank discussion with staff members when they come to you to raise the idea. It is hoped that shared parental leave will allow families flexibility when it comes to childcare. Treat all requests in the same way you would treat any maternity/adoption requests

Document every step of the process – ensure that every meeting on the subject is logged and documented. It is crucial that you adhere to your organisation’s own HR policies and procedures when processing these claims. As an emerging area of employment law, how you deal with your first shared parental leave request will set the precedent to other employees considering similar moves, so do not underestimate the importance of this first impression on your wider workforce.

Make preparations – the new developments may see you having to do without some of your best staff for longer than ever before. In your business and contingency planning, it is advisable to plan for the eventuality that any parent-to-be could be away from the business for up to a calendar year.

Assess your personal circumstances - it is crucial that you consider the realities of taking extended shared parental leave. Whilst the opportunity of taking extended paternity leave is an attractive one, you need to assess the likely constraints that months receiving statutory pay would have on your current living circumstances. You may decide that this bonding time is worth taking a short-term financial hit for, but by being aware of exactly what you are entitled to and how far it can stretch, you and your partner can better make the right joint decision for your new family.

Be clear what is now law and what is being proposed - Ahead of the General Election political parties will make various manifesto pledges. Shared Parental Leave is already a reality. Make yourself aware of what this means for you as an employee or an employer.