Appendix 2 - Pregnancy & Maternity Rights Policy
You will almost certainly have more questions than this Policy can cover, but it is important that you feel that you are getting the support you need from us. Do therefore feel free to contact your Manager at any time, who will be very happy to help you, in total confidence, about any matter surrounding your pregnancy, whatever that may be.
During OML (Ordinary Maternity Leave) and AML (Additional Maternity Leave), all the terms of your contract of employment continue unchanged and you will receive all of your contractual benefits except salary.
First things first – notifying us
On becoming pregnant, we ask that you notify us as soon as possible so that we can undertake a Health & Safety risk assessment which we are obliged to do. You need to notify us in writing, including the following information, no later than the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth that:
you are pregnant;
the week in which your child is due (note that for these purposes a week begins on a Sunday);
whether you intend to take ordinary maternity leave and/or additional maternity leave;
when you want your maternity leave to start; this date cannot be earlier than the 11th week before the EWC.
You should enclose a Form MAT B1 signed by your GP or midwife with your letter which confirms the EWC. This is usually issued around week 19 of pregnancy.
If you are absent from work wholly or partly because of pregnancy on the first day after the beginning of the fourth week before the EWC, your ordinary maternity leave will start the following day. You do not need to notify your Manager that you intend maternity leave to start, but you will not be entitled to OML unless you have notified your Manager as soon as is reasonably practicable that you are absent from work wholly or partly because of pregnancy and the date your absence began. Such notification must be in writing. If your illness is for a reason unconnected with your pregnancy, you may take sick leave as usual. Similarly, if you give birth before your ordinary maternity leave has started, your OML period will begin on the day that follows childbirth. Again, in such circumstances you do not need to notify your Manager of the date on which you intend to start ordinary maternity leave, but you are not entitled to OML unless you have notified your Manager as soon as is reasonably practicable that you have given birth and the date on which birth occurred. Such notification must be in writing.
If you write to notify to let us know that your maternity leave has had to start prematurely due to your pregnancy or premature childbirth we will write to you confirming:
the date on which your ordinary maternity leave period will end.
the date your additional maternity leave period will end.
The above notification will be given to you where we have been notified of:
the intended start date, or that it has been triggered by premature absence or premature childbirth within 28 days from the date in which the Company received the notification;
a variation, within 28 days of the date on which your ordinary maternity leave period started.
Ante-Natal Care
You are entitled to reasonable time off work with pay to attend for ante-natal care at appointments made on the advice of a registered medical practitioner, registered midwife or registered health worker. Please ensure you give your manager as much notice as possible of the times when you will be absent from work and try to arrange the appointments as near to the start of end of the working day as possible. Your manager may ask you to produce your appointment card before permission is grated for time off.
Maternity Risk Assessment
Employers are only required to take action specifically to protect a pregnant worker when they have been advised in writing of the employee’s condition (i.e. that she is pregnant), has given birth in the last six months or is breastfeeding.
If you are employed in a position which has been identified as posing a risk to your health or that of your unborn child, you will be notified immediately, and arrangements will be made to eliminate that risk.
For this reason, you are required to notify your Manager as soon as you are aware that you are pregnant. Arrangements will then be made to alter your working conditions or, if this is not possible, you will be offered a suitable alternative job for the duration of your pregnancy.
If there is no alternative work, we reserve the right to suspend you on full pay until you are no longer at risk.
These alternative arrangements may continue for six months after the birth of your child if you are still considered to be at risk.
If you have any concerns about your own health and safety at any time, you should consult your manager immediately.
Holidays
You continue to accrue contractual and statutory holiday during OML and AML. Where possible, you should arrange to take all of your outstanding holiday entitlement for the year, before you go on maternity leave. Any leave not taken by the end of the holiday year may be carried forward to the next holiday year, but should be taken as soon as possible from the end of the maternity leave. No payment will be made in lieu unless there are exceptional circumstances and only then at the Company’s discretion.
Pension
The period during which Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) will be paid is treated as pensionable service.
During OML the Company will continue to maintain the employer contributions that the Company would usually make into the Pension Scheme i.e. based on what your earnings would have been if you had not been on maternity leave. The Company will continue to make these employer pension contributions during any period of AML during which you are in receipt of maternity pay. However, once you have exhausted your entitlement to maternity pay the Company will then cease to make any contributions for the remainder of your AML.
Prior to your maternity leave we will clarify with you what you would like to do with regards to employee contributions during your maternity leave period.
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
Please note that, for calculation purposes, qualifying maternity weeks run from Sunday to Saturday.
Instead of salary, you will receive SMP (Statutory Maternity Pay) (see below).
If you stop work and meet all of the following conditions you are entitled to receive SMP. You must therefore:
have been continuously employed for at least 26 weeks ending with the 15th week before the Expected Week of Childbirth (EWC)
have your average weekly earnings in the 8 weeks up to and including the qualifying week, i.e., the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth, is at least equal to the Lower Earnings Limit for payment of NI contributions.
provide medical evidence of the EWC.
You must notify us of your EWC and inform us of the date on which you wish SMP to commence if that is different from the date of commencement of OML and provide your Manager with form MAT B1 confirming your EWC.
For the first six weeks SMP is payable at the earnings related rate (equivalent to 90% of earnings) and for the remaining 33 weeks at the statutory rate as set by the Government, (or 90% of average weekly earnings if this is less than the standard rate).
Maternity Allowance
If you are not eligible for SMP, you may qualify for Maternity Allowance, which is claimed from, and paid by, the Department of Work and Pensions. You should ask your local Benefits Agency, Social Security or Jobcentre Plus Offices for advice.
Maternity Leave
Your OML starts on a date of your choosing (the “intended start date”), which may not be sooner than the beginning of the 11th week before your EWC. However, there are exceptions:
If you resign, or are dismissed before the intended start date, you lose the right to any maternity leave (either OML or AML), although you may still qualify for SMP (see below).
We reserve the right to refer you to a doctor specified by Tracklements should we consider that you are prejudicing your health by working too close to the birth.
Tracklements will confirm to you in writing the date upon which your 52-week maternity leave period will end.
You are legally prohibited from working during the two weeks immediately after the birth, four weeks if you are a factory worker; this is known as the ”compulsory maternity leave period” and is considered part of the maternity leave period.
During the 52 weeks’ maternity leave period all contractual benefits except for your pay will be maintained as if you were not absent.
If you wish to return to work before the end of your OML or AML period you will need to give us 8 weeks’ notice. Without giving us 8 weeks’ notice, we may postpone your return until you have given us 8 weeks’ notice or until the end of your OML or AML, whichever is sooner. You will not be entitled to any salary if you return to work during the period of postponement.
If you decide to return to work early and this is at the end of the first 26-week period known as “ordinary maternity leave” you are entitled to return to the job you were in before your absence. If you return to work either during or at the end of the second period of 26 weeks’ known as “additional maternity leave”, you may be able to return to your original job (or another job which is suitable and appropriate).
The above information is given for guidance purposes only and confers no extra rights to you beyond those provided by statute.
Keeping in Touch Days
We hope that you will stay in touch throughout your maternity leave and wherever possible, indicate what your intentions are with regards to returning to work and when, if you are not intending to return to work, please let us know as soon as possible.
We encourage you to come into work or attend training days during your maternity leave to keep in touch (KIT). You are entitled to be paid for up to 10 KIT days during your maternity period without your maternity benefits being affected. Your normal salary will be paid, this will however be offset by any SMP you are receiving at the time. Please note KIT days must be taken as whole days and cannot be split into hourly chunks. The Company is not obliged to offer such days and you are not obliged to accept it.
Illness at the end of Maternity Leave
If you are unable to attend work at the end of your OML or AML period because of sickness, our normal arrangements for sickness absence will apply. However, if it is a pregnancy related illness, you must notify your Manager.
If you decide not to return to work after Maternity Leave
If you do not wish to return to work after your OML or AML, please let us know as soon as possible. You need to resign in writing, giving us the notice required in your contract.
Ending your Maternity Leave so that you and/or your Partner can use Shared Parental Leave.
If you wish to return to work you and/or your partner can choose to opt in to the SPL scheme. Important eligibility criteria apply and full details are contained our Shared Parental Leave Policy.
Your return
At least two weeks before you are due to return to work, you may be invited for an informal meeting with your Manager in order to discuss any material points concerning your return to work. These include:
updating you on developments at work;
considering whether any retraining needs have arisen, because of staleness or new technical or other developments. It is our aim to ensure that your maternity leave does not put you at a disadvantage in relation to skills or other training needs;
providing you with the opportunity of indicating whether you wish to be considered for flexible working.
The interview will also provide an opportunity to discuss and explain any necessary and unavoidable changes to your work.
The opportunities for flexible working will depend on the needs of the Company, but we recognise that individuals will be interested in varying their working hours after their return from maternity or paternity leave. We will make every effort to accommodate requests for part‑time working, provided that your duties can still be effectively carried out on such a basis. Any request for a contract variation should be made under the flexible working policy.
Right to Time off to Accompany a Pregnant Woman
If you have a qualifying relationship with an expectant mother or her expected child, you may be entitled to unpaid time off to accompany her to an antenatal appointment on up to 2 occasions. Employees accompanying the expectant mother to her ante-natal appointments are entitled to unpaid leave for 1 or 2 appointments. The time off is capped at six and a half hours for each appointment.
We may ask the employee for a declaration stating the date and time of the appointment, that the employee qualifies for the unpaid time off through his or her relationship with the mother or child, and that the time off is for the purpose of attending an ante-natal appointment with the expectant mother that has been made on the advice of a registered medical practitioner, nurse or midwife