EMPLOYMENT LEGISLATION

MATERNITY LEAVE – CHANGES
A basic summary (PL507 Rev 3)

The Government is committed to helping working parents. Changes to maternity leave rights benefit women whose expected week of childbirth (EWC) begins on or after 6 April 2003.

At the same time, the Government is introducing rights to paid adoption and paternity leave, and the right for parents of young children to apply to work flexibly. These rights, together with existing rights to parental leave and time off for dependants, provide parents with more opportunities than ever before to balance work and family life, whilst being compatible with, and beneficial to, business efficiency.

This document provides only basic information on the key changes to maternity leave – many maternity-related rights and obligations remain unchanged, including the right to time off for antenatal care, the two- week period of compulsory maternity leave after the birth, the maternity health and safety suspension provisions, and the right to protection from detrimental treatment on grounds of maternity. This document does not attempt to describe the detail of the changes and should not be taken as an authoritative statement of the law.

Detailed guidance on both the existing and the new rights is given in Maternity rights (PL958), which is available from the DTI website.

Women whose babies are due on or after 6 April 2003, and their employers, will benefit from revised, simplified rights to maternity leave.

Start dates

Women whose expected week of childbirth (EWC) begins on or after 6 April 2003 benefit from the new maternity leave provisions.

Women whose EWC is on or after 6 April 2003 benefit from the new leave rights even if their babies are born earlier than expected.

The changes to maternity leave provisions do not apply to women whose EWC is before 6 April 2003, even if their babies are born later than expected on or after 6 April 2003.

Length of maternity leave

The length of ordinary maternity leave is increased and pregnant employees are entitled to 26 weeks’ ordinary maternity leave, regardless of how long they have worked for their employer.

Ordinary maternity leave is normally paid leave.

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).

There is no change to how early a woman is able to start her maternity leave – the earliest date 
continues to be the beginning of the 11^th week before her baby is due.

Returning to work after maternity leave

There is no longer provision for an employer to write to a woman before the end of her ordinary maternity leave period to ask the date on which her child was born and whether she intends to return after her additional maternity leave period. This means that a woman who intends to return to work at the end of her full maternity leave entitlement is not required to give any further notification to her employer.

An employee who wants to return to work before the end of her maternity leave needs to give her employer 28 days' notice of the date she wants to return to work.

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.

Other changes

Statutory Maternity Pay and Maternity Allowance

The Department for Work and Pensions is making changes to Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) and Maternity Allowance (MA). The most important of these increase the length of time covered by SMP or MA and increase the amount paid.

Women who are entitled to SMP or MA and whose EWC begins on or after 6 April 2003 receive SMP or MA for 26 weeks.

Women who are entitled to SMP or MA and whose EWC begins on or after 6 April 2003 but who give birth prematurely, are entitled to receive SMP or MA for 26 weeks.

From 6 April 2003, the standard rates of SMP and MA are increasing from the current £75 a week to £100 a week (or 90% of the woman's average weekly earnings if this is less than £100 a week). There is no change to the current earnings-related rate of SMP (90% of average weekly earnings) which applies for the first six weeks of the pay period.

The new standard rates apply from 6 April 2003 to all women getting SMP or MA at that point regardless of when they expect their baby, or whether they qualify for the new extended pay period. The current standard rate of £75 applies up to 5 April 2003.

When the changes are fully in place, women either get:

• SMP from their employer worth 90% of their earnings for 6 weeks, followed by 20 weeks at £100 (or 90% of earnings for the full 26 weeks if this is less than £100 a week).

Or

• MA from their local Jobcentre Plus / social security office worth £100 a week for 26 weeks (or 90% of their earnings for 26 weeks if this is less than £100 a week).

Full details of the revised SMP and MA schemes can be found in the leaflet NI17A (October 2002 version) which is available from your local Jobcentre Plus/social security office. Details are also available from the Department for Work and Pensions website.

Full details of the existing SMP and MA schemes can be found in the leaflet NI17A (April 2001 version) which is available from your local social security office or Jobcentre Plus office. Details are also available on the Department for Work and Pensions website.

Further information about the SMP scheme for employers is additionally available from the Inland Revenue's helpbook E15 Pay and time off work for parents (copies available on 08457 64 66 46). For additional help, employers may phone the employers' helpline on 08457 14 31 43 

Employers’ recovery of payments

Existing arrangements for employers to recover Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) continue – employers are able to claim back 92% of the payments they make, with those eligible for small employers’ relief able to claim back 100% plus an additional amount in compensation for the employer’s portion of National Insurance contributions paid on SMP.

In addition, under the new arrangements, employers who need to, can get funding in advance for payments of SMP from the Inland Revenue.

Other Family Friendly Rights

Right to apply to work flexibly

A right for parents of young, or disabled, children to request flexible working is being introduced. From 6 April 2003 eligible employees who are parents of children aged under six, or of disabled children aged under 18, will have the right to apply to work flexibly. Their employers will have a duty to consider such requests seriously. See Flexible working – the right to apply (PL516)

Right to paid paternity leave

A right to paternity leave and pay is being introduced. Eligible employees can take up to two weeks’ paid leave to care for their new baby and support the mother. The right is available to employees whose children are expected to be born, or are born, on or after 6 April 2003. See Paternity leave and pay (PL514).

Rights to paid leave for adoptive parents

A right to adoption leave and pay is being introduced. The right is available to individuals who adopt, or one partner of a couple where the couple adopt jointly. A right to paternity leave and pay for the other member of the couple, or an adopter’s partner, is also being introduced. Employees whose children are placed with them on or after 6 April 2003 benefit from these adoption and paternity leave and pay rights. See Adoptive parents – rights to leave and pay (PL515).

Rights to parental leave and time off for dependants

Employees – both mothers and fathers – who have completed one year’s service with their employers are entitled to 13 weeks’ (unpaid) parental leave to care for their child. Parental leave can usually be taken up to five years from the date of birth or in cases of adoption five years from the date of placement (or the child’s 18^th birthday, if that is sooner).

Parents of disabled children are entitled to 18 weeks’ parental leave (previously 13 weeks) up to the child’s 18^th birthday, providing they have the qualifying length of service. See Parental leave (PL509) (228Kb).

All employees are also entitled to take a reasonable amount of (unpaid) time off work to deal with an emergency or unexpected situation involving a dependant. See Time off for dependants (96Kb).

Further information

Both employers and employees can use the DTI website and its interactive guidance site - TIGER to work out entitlements to paternity and maternity leave and pay.

Employers can get more information on SMP from the Inland Revenue. For additional help, employers may phone the employers’ helpline on 08457 14 31 43.

Further advice on employment law matters, including the new rights, as well as good practice guidance is available from offices of Acas.

Small businesses can register at businesslink to receive reminders and updates about changes to employment law. Information is also available on a wide range of help for small businesses.

Information on all aspects of employment legislation can usually be provided by accountants, citizens advice bureaux, employer organisations, legal advisers, low pay units, trade unions and a number of private sector and voluntary bodies.

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Last updated 4 March 2003