Maternity leave & pay FAQs

In order to qualify for ordinary paternity leave, a person must first of all be either the biological father, or the husband or civil partner of the child’s mother, or the child’s adopter, or the husband or civil partner of the child’s adopter.

You must also be an employee of a company (not an agency worker or a self-employed subcontractor) and you must have worked for that company for at least 26 weeks before the end of the 15th week before the baby is due.

When you tell your employer that you intend on taking paternity leave, your written notice should explain when the baby is due, and when you would like to take the leave.  An exact date isn’t necessary, but your employer will expect a rough estimate.

If you qualify, then you’re allowed to take one or two weeks’ paternity leave upon the birth of the baby, although sometimes your employer will allow you to take longer.  You must decide whether you’re going to take one or two weeks off in advance, and then take this ordinary paternity leave at once, and not in individual days off spread over a longer period of time.  Paternity leave can be taken when the baby is born or at a later date, but it must usually be taken within 56 days of the birth or, if the baby is early, 56 days of the due date.

If the baby’s mother is no longer on her ordinary maternity leave, then new fathers also have the right to take up to another 26 weeks additional paternity leave, which can be taken from 20 weeks after the birth of the child but not beyond the baby’s first birthday.  You must give your employer at least 8 weeks’ notice if you intend on taking additional paternity pay.

For paternity pay you should give your employer 28 days’ written notice, before you want the payment to start.  At the time of writing, paternity pay is fixed at £138.18 per week or 90% of your average weekly wage (whichever is lower) and it is taxable and subject to National Insurance payment.

If you feel you’ve been treated unfairly by your employer with regard to paternity leave or paternity pay, then contact QualitySolicitors on {{phone}} and have a quick five-minute chat with us for free so we can work out how we might be able to help you.

You must tell your employer that you have given birth as soon as possible, and make sure they know the date your baby arrived. Your employer can ask to have this in writing, usually in the form of the baby’s certificate. The law suggests you show this to your employer within 21 days, but of course if you can’t do this because it’s impractical to do so, just do it as soon as you can.

All female employees are entitled to up to 52 weeks of maternity leave, although you should tell your employer at least 15 weeks in advance of your due date to allow them to make provision for you after you leave to have your baby.

Maternity leave is split into ordinary maternity leave, which lasts for 26 weeks, after which a new mother may decide to take additional maternity of up to another 26 weeks.  Most people decide how long they’re going to take in advance, so their employer can arrange cover for you while you’re away.

A woman is entitled to maternity leave without feeling discriminated against, and it’s against the law for an employer to treat someone differently because they’re taking (or request) maternity leave, even if your baby is born early.

If you think your employer has treated you unfairly after your child has been born before your due date, or if you think that your employer has not applied statutory maternity pay correctly, then QualitySolicitors are here to help.  We can even have a quick five-minute chat for free to listen to what’s happened and then explain how we can help.  Just call us on {{phone}} and we’ll take it from there.

When you’re on maternity leave you build up holiday entitlement, just the same as you would if you were at work. If you normally have Bank Holidays off, in addition to your holiday allowance you can usually take these days at another time too.

You can calculate your holiday entitlement on the GOV UK website.

You don’t have to take 52 weeks, but you must take at least two weeks’ leave after your baby is born (or 4 weeks if you work in a factory).

You’re entitled to this leave, and it’s illegal for an employer to treat you differently as a result.  You’re also allowed to have time off to attend antenatal meetings too.  It’s important to remember that your employment rights are protected while you’re on maternity leave, so you still have a right to a pay rise (if there’s a mass pay rise), you’re entitled to accrue the number of leave days you normally have while you’re on maternity leave, and you’re entitled to return to work with your company; even if your role has been identified as redundant your employer must do everything they can to provide you with a job role to come back to.

You should make sure you give the correct notice to your employer to start your leave. You should give notice in writing by the end of the 15th week before your baby is due (that’s about 25 weeks’ pregnant) to be able to take your maternity leave.  They should respond to you in writing, and if they have a maternity policy in the organisation they’ll undoubtedly meet with you to discuss all relevant details.

The earliest your maternity leave can start is 11 weeks before your baby is due. You can ask for it to start at any point after that, although if your baby is born early, maternity leave starts the day after the birth.

For the latest information on statutory maternity leave entitlement, take a look at the Gov UK website.

If you feel your rights as an employee have been breached during your maternity leave, then getting legal advice can help to protect you and reach an agreeable settlement.  Call QualitySolicitors today on {{phone}}, and our Free Initial Assessment offers a free five-minute chat so you can see how we can help you, without it costing you anything to find out.

In order to qualify for statutory maternity pay, you need to meet certain eligibility requirements.  First of all, at the time of writing (December 2014) you must earn on average more than £111 per week, give the correct notice to your employer (at least 15 weeks before your due date), and give proof that you’re pregnant if asked by your employer (showing them your MAT B1 certificate will suffice).

As well as the eligibility criteria above, you must also have been employed by a company for longer 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 equates to 90% of your normal average pay for 6 weeks followed by either £138.18 or 90% of your normal average pay (whichever is lower) for a further 33 weeks.

Income tax and National Insurance payments are applied to statutory maternity pay in the normal way.

One other thing, if for any reason you’re taken into police custody during your maternity pay period then your maternity pay will be stopped and it won’t resume.

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.

Again there are different levels of payment, depending on which eligibility criteria you meet, but a maternity allowance of up to £138.18 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.

If you need legal advice about any aspect of maternity pay or maternity allowance then please get in touch with QualitySolicitors on {{phone}}.  We offer Free Initial Assessment, which is a free five-minute chat so we can listen to you and let you know how we can help.

To be entitled to take one or two weeks’ continuous paternity leave, your partner must:

- Have been employed by the same employer for at least 26 weeks by 15 weeks before your due date

- Be the father of the child, or the mother’s husband, civil partner or cohabiting partner (same sex partners are included)

- Have, or expect to have, responsibility for bringing up the child.

To get statutory paternity pay, your partner must meet the conditions above and also:

- Still be working for your employer when the baby is born.

- Have average weekly earnings of at least the lower earnings limit for National Insurance Contributions.

Naturally it makes sense to tell your employer that you intend on taking paternity leave as soon as you can, but you do need to tell them no later than 15 weeks before the baby is due in order to benefit, and in order for our employer to arrange for any changes that may be necessary in your absence.

You do also have to state whether you intend on taking one week or two weeks paternity leave.  The choice is one or two weeks, and the time must be taken off in one block rather than spreading it out over a longer period.

If you qualify for paternity pay, then you’ll receive statutory paternity pay which is either (at the time of writing in December 2014) £138.18 per week or 90% of your normal average weekly pay.  You’ll receive the lower of these figures, although employers may pay more if such a consideration has been made in your employment contract’s terms and conditions.

For the latest information on statutory paternity leave and pay entitlement, take a look at the Gov UK website.

If you’d like legal advice on any aspect of paternity pay or paternity leave then you can talk to QualitySolicitors using our Free Initial Assessment service.  This is a free five-minute chat so you can let us know about your circumstances and we can let you know how we can help.

If your baby arrives early, your maternity leave will start automatically the day after the birth. Your employer can also start your maternity leave if you are absent from work for pregnancy related reasons in the four weeks before your official due date.

If you’ve worked for your employer as an employee (as opposed to an agency worker or self-employed) for 26 weeks or more by the time there’s 15 weeks before your due date, then you’re entitled to statutory maternity leave.  That means you can take up to 52 weeks off work to look after your baby.

Statutory maternity leave comprises ordinary maternity leave, which is 26 weeks, and an optional additional maternity leave which is up to another 26 weeks.

If you qualify for statutory maternity pay then, at the time of writing in December 2014, you’re entitled to £138.18 or 90% of your average normal pay (whichever is lower) during your ordinary maternity leave.

If you feel that you’ve been treated unfairly by your employer with regard to any aspect of your maternity leave then you may benefit from taking legal advice.  If you call QualitySolicitors on {{phone}} then we can offer you our Free Initial Assessment service.  This is a free five-minute chat that we can offer simply to listen to your problem so we can quickly explain how we might be able to help.

For peace of mind this can feel like a very valuable service, and it won’t cost you a penny to find out if we can help.