EMPLOYMENT LEGISLATION

MATERNITY LEAVE
A basic summary (PL507 Rev 4, June 2005)

This document provides a basic summary of Maternity Leave. Detailed guidance is available in Maternity rights (PL958), from the DTI website.

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 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. A model letter for employers to use (if they wish to do so) is available in Maternity rights (PL958). 

The earliest date a woman is able to start her maternity leave is the beginning of the 11^th 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

Employer reimbursement level

• Employers recover 92 per cent of the SMP they pay by deducting it from their next payment of NI contributions, PAYE and other payments to the Inland Revenue.
   
• Small employers (those whose total NI liability is £45,000 or less in the previous tax year) may recover 104.5 per cent (April 2004) of the SMP they pay.
   
• Employers may claim money in advance to help with their cashflow.

Maternity Allowance (MA)

Women who do not qualify for SMP may qualify for MA. This is paid by JobCentre Plus and is based on the woman's recent employment and earnings record.

Qualifying conditions

• For employed women who do not qualify for SMP, the self-employed and recently employed
   

• A woman must have been empolyed or self-employed on at least 26 weeks of the 66 weeks ending with the week before the expected week of childbirth (the test period)
   

• She must also earn at least £30 per week on average.