Maternity Rights

An employee is entitled to 26 weeks ordinary maternity leave and an additional 26 weeks if they have been continuously employed for 26 weeks by the start of the 14th week before their due date.  The additional maternity leave begins automatically after the ordinary maternity leave finishes.

If an employee wishes to exercise their right to maternity leave they must notify their employer before the end of the 15th week before the due date.  The information they are required to give includes: -

• The fact that they are pregnant.
• The date that the baby is due
• The date that they intend to begin their maternity leave.

Maternity leave can commence whenever the employee wishes, the only stipulation is that it commences after the 11th Week before the baby is due.

When it comes to returning to work, the employee is not required to advise the employer that she intends to return at the end of either the ordinary maternity leave or the additional maternity leave. They are only required to give notice if they wish to return before the end of either period - in this situation 28 days notice must be given to the employer.

However the employer is allowed to contact the employee 21 days prior to the end of the ordinary leave to inquire whether the employee intends to return to work at the end of the ordinary leave or at the end of the additional leave.

As well as ordinary and additional maternity leave, the law also provides for compulsory maternity leave of 2 weeks (4 weeks for factory workers) for all employed mothers. An employer who allows a woman to work during a compulsory maternity leave period commits a criminal offence. Compulsory maternity leave is normally part of ordinary maternity leave so can generally be disregarded.

The employee could also be entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay during maternity leave. In order to qualify, the employee must have worked for the employer for at least 26 weeks and she must have earned more than the current lower level set for National Insurance Contributions. If an employee qualifies for Statutory Maternity pay then for the first six weeks of such leave the employee is entitled to 90% of her normal weekly pay. For the remaining 20 weeks, the employee is entitled to a minimum of £102.80 per week.

If an employee is dismissed due to her pregnancy or a reason connected with it then the dismissal is automatically unfair. The normal one-year's service required for unfair dismissal cases does not apply but the claim will still need to be presented within three months minus one day from the dismissal date. Furthermore, before the employee can be suspended and dismissed the employer must consider whether there is alternative work for the employee to do. If there is work but it is not offered to the employee she is entitled to make a claim in an Employment Tribunal.

The employee may also have a claim for sex discrimination if she is dismissed or treated less favourably than her co-workers because she is pregnant. The claim will again need to be submitted within three months minus one day from the last act of discrimination.

For further information on this and any other employment issue please use our enquiry form