Length of maternity leave
Pregnant employees are entitled to 26 weeks' ordinary maternity
leave, regardless of how long they have worked for their employer.
Most mothers will usually qualify to be paid Statutory Maternity
Pay or Maternity Allowance during ordinary maternity leave.
For more information (see below) Women who have completed
26 weeks' continuous service with their employer by the beginning
of the 14th week before their expected week of childbirth
("EWC") can take additional maternity leave. Additional
maternity leave starts immediately after ordinary maternity
leave and continues for a further 26 weeks. Additional maternity
leave is usually unpaid although a woman may have contractual
rights to pay during her period of additional maternity leave.
Notice of intention to take maternity leave
A pregnant employee must notify her employer of her intention
to take maternity leave by the end of the 15th week before
her EWC, unless this is not reasonably practicable. She must
tell her employer:
that
she is pregnant
the
week her baby is expected to be born
when
she wants her maternity leave to start
A woman
can change her mind about when she wants to start her leave
providing she tells her employer at least 28 days in advance
(unless this is not reasonably practicable).
Employers are required to respond to a woman's notification
of her leave plans within 28 days unless the woman has varied
that date, in which case the employer must respond with 28
days of the start of maternity leave. An employer must write
to his employee, setting out the date on which he expects
her to return to work if she takes her full entitlement to
maternity leave.
The earliest date a woman is able to start her maternity leave
is the beginning of the 11th week before her baby is due.
Returning to work after maternity leave
It is assumed that a woman will take her full leave entitlement
(either 26 or 52 weeks, depending on whether she qualifies
for Additional Maternity Leave) and then return to work. If
she wishes to return before she has used all her maternity
leave then she must give her employer at least 28 days' notice
of her new return date.
Sickness trigger
A woman's maternity leave starts automatically if she is absent
from work for a pregnancy related illness during the four
weeks before the start of her EWC, regardless of when she
has said she actually wants her maternity leave to start.
Statutory Maternity Pay
Pregnant employees who meet the qualifying conditions based
on their length of service and average earnings are entitled
to receive employers up to 26 weeks' SMP from their.
Qualifying conditions
She
must work for someone who is liable (or would be liable
but for low earnings) to pay the employer's share of her
Class 1 National Insurance contributions.
She
must have 26 weeks' continuous service with her employer
into the 15th week before the week her baby is due. The
15th week before the week the baby is due is known as
the qualifying week
She
must have average weekly earnings in the eight weeks up
to and including the qualifying week at or above the lower
earnings limit (LEL) for the payment of National Insurance
(NI) contributions (£79 a week from April 2004).
Levels and length of payment
Paid
for a maximum of 26 weeks.
Six
weeks at 90 per cent of her average weekly earnings (with
no upper limit).
20
weeks at a flat rate of £106 or 90 per cent of her
average weekly earnings if that is less than the flat
rate
Other aspects of UK employment
law for employees include:
Landau
Zeffertt Weir Solicitors