Maternity Rights are back on the agenda following the rushed legislation we flagged last month which will give women whose babies are due to be born after the 1st October 2008 the same employment rights during periods of additional maternity leave as they currently enjoy during ordinary maternity leave.
In this Maternity overview, HR Advantage team member Nicky Machin summarises the main Maternity rules:
Once an employee has informed their employer that they are pregnant, there are many considerations for both parties to ensure that the maternity leave and the periods preceding and as the employee returns to work, run as smoothly as possible. There are 4 key rights that employers must observe in relation to any employees which are pregnant.
Paid time off for ante-natal care
Employers must allow reasonable time off for ante-natal sessions at the employee's normal rate of pay. The pregnant employee may include time off for relaxation and parenting classes, in addition to medical appointments, if these are recommended by their doctor. The emphasis with this is that the time off should be reasonable and this also applies to the employee, who should attempt wherever possible to arrange appointments outside of working hours.
Maternity leave
All pregnant employees are now entitled to 52 weeks of maternity leave, no matter how long their length of service, although this is still viewed as being made up of 26 weeks of ordinary maternity leave (OML) and a following 26 weeks of additional maternity leave (AML). Employees must have notified their employer of their pregnancy and intended start date of maternity leave at least 15 weeks before their expected week of childbirth (EWC), although they cannot receive any paid time off for ante-natal care until they have informed their employer that they are pregnant. If an employee is off with a pregnancy related illness in the 4 weeks before the baby is due, then maternity leave starts automatically, regardless of any previous agreement. An employee does not have to take maternity leave, but there is 2 week period of compulsory maternity leave (4 weeks for factory workers) which the employee must adhere to.
Employees may work for up to 10 days during their maternity leave, without ending their maternity leave or losing statutory maternity pay (SMP) or maternity allowance (MA). These days are to allow the employee to 'keep in touch' with work and may be used to work or attend conferences or meetings. Additional pay for these working days can be agreed and may be offset by the employer against SMP, but the negotiated rate must be above minimum wage and fair to the employee.
Maternity benefits
The employee may be entitled to SMP or MA. SMP and MA is payable for up to 39 weeks of maternity leave, although some employers have a policy to either increase the weeks the employee will be paid, or to pay their employees at a higher rate. SMP is calculated from an average week of pay worked out from the 8 weeks prior to and including the 15th week before the employee?s EWC. If the employee is awarded a pay rise during their maternity leave, the SMP should be re-calculated and backdated to the start of SMP payment.
Protection against unfair treatment or dismissal
The employer must ensure that the pregnant employee is treated fairly during their pregnancy and also during maternity leave. The employee cannot be made redundant because they are pregnant, terms and conditions of employment can't be changed without the agreement of the employee and the employee shouldn't be given unsuitable work. There should also be a thorough health and safety assessment carried out for all aspects of the employee's job. It is the employer's responsibility to remove any risks, or exposure to risk and if this is not possible due to the employee's work, they should be offered suitable other work, or be suspended on full pay until the start of their maternity leave.
If you would like further information on employee's right during maternity leave, or would like help with conducting a risk assessment, then please contact
