Maternity Leave

The rules related to maternity leave are detailed and the following is a brief introduction only.

The Employment Rights Act 1996,(ERA) and the Maternity and Parental Leave Regulations 1999,(MPLR) set out the law relating to maternity leave.

• Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML)
  
  All female employees are entitled to 26 weeks maternity leave.
  
  Maternity leave can commence at the earliest, 11 weeks before the expected date of the confinement (EDC) and at the latest, the day after the birth. The first two weeks leave after the birth is called compulsory maternity leave and an employee is not permitted to work during this period for any reason. A breach of this provision may result in an employer being liable to criminal prosecution.
  
  Although a woman may give notice to her employer of when she wishes her maternity leave to commence, it may be started earlier if the birth occurs earlier or pregnancy related sickness occurs after the start of four weeks before the expected week of childbirth (EWC). In either case, the employer should be notified as soon as is practicable, in writing otherwise the right to OML will be lost.
  
  The notice that an employee is required to give her employer, must occur before the end of the 15th week of the EWC and her proposed date to start OML.
  
  A woman is entitled to change the proposed date for OML, however she must provide her employer with 28 days notice of the varied date or new start date.

• Additional Maternity Leave (AML)
  
  Where a woman has been employed for at least 26 weeks at the start of her 14th week before the expected week of childbirth, she will be entitled to a further 26 weeks unpaid AML commencing the day after OML ends.
  
  Within 28 days of receiving a woman's notice of when she intends to take leave, an employer must notify her of when the OML or AML ends. A woman is entitled to return to work before the end date of her OML or AML provided she gives her employer, at least 28 days notice.

• Returning To Work
  
  An employee has the right to return to her job on the same terms and conditions as before she she took leave and be entitled to the benefit of any pay increases or other additional benefits which have occurred in her absence.
  
  If during a woman's absence on OML or AML, her position becomes redundant, her employer must offer her (before the end of the existing contract), suitable alternative vacancies. The new position, taking into account the employee's current terms and conditions must not be substantially less favorable than her previous position.
  
  A failure by an employer to offer a suitable vacancy, which would enable an employee to return to work, will amount to an automatically unfair dismissal.

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)

A woman's entitlement to SMP depends on her satisfying certain minimum periods of continuous employment and weekly earnings. It is possible therefore in some circumstances, that a woman is entitled to OML but not SMP. If a woman does qualify for SMP it will be for the first 26 weeks of her OML. The first six weeks will be at 90% of her average pay; the remaining 20 weeks will be capped at the current statutory maximum of £108.85 or 90% of her average weekly wage, whichever is the lowest.

Where a woman gives birth on or after 1st April 2007, SMP will be extended from 26-39 weeks.

If an employer dismisses an employee or subjects her to a detriment for a reason connected to her pregnancy, maternity leave or asserting a statutory right e.g., her right to attend antenatal appointments, her dismissal will be treated as automatically unfair. It may also be appropriate to claim for sex discrimination.

As an employee, you should be aware that if you feel that you have been discriminated against, unfairly treated, refused time off to attend antenatal classes/appointments or denied payment for attending such classes/appointments, suffered a detriment or have been unfairly dismissed due to a reason connected with your pregnancy or birth of a child, then you must first bring the matter to your employers attention through the company's internal grievance procedure, before commencing a claim in the Employment Tribunal.

There are strict time limits for commencing claims in Employment Tribunal and Courts.

If you believe you have a claim, complete our Free Claim Assessment Form online now. We will then respond to you usually within 48 working hours, including a free, initial assessment of your claim.

Alternatively, you can download the free claim assessment form and send it to net employment solicitors at the address on our contact page.