Ante-natal Care
26.1 You have the right not to be unreasonably refused paid time off during working hours to receive ante-natal care. The Company asks that you are considerate to your colleagues and make every effort to book appointments outside your shift time or at the beginning or end of shifts to cause the least disruption.
26.2 The appointment must be made on the advice of a registered doctor, midwife or health visitor. After the first appointment, you must be prepared to produce a certificate confirming your pregnancy and your appointment card. Time off for ante-natal classes will be paid at the appropriate hourly rate, the calculation of which depends on whether or not you have regular hours. If your partner is pregnant, you are entitled to unpaid time off for up to two antenatal appointments. If you wish to exercise this right, you should notify the Nursery Manager of the date and time of the appointment.
Maternity Leave
26.3 You are entitled to a maximum of 52 weeks maternity leave comprising of Ordinary Maternity Leave and Additional Maternity Leave.
26.4 You are entitled to Maternity Leave provided you notify the Company on or before the 15th week before the baby is due of:
- your pregnancy; and
- your Expected Week of Childbirth (EWC); and
- the date on which you intend your Ordinary Maternity Leave to start. This date cannot be earlier than the 11th week before the EWC; and
You must also provide the Company with the original Maternity Certificate (MAT B1) issued by your doctor.
26.5 Ordinary Maternity Leave is a maximum of 26 weeks in duration.
26.6 You can choose to work right up to childbirth unless there are health and safety reasons which prohibit this.
26.7 Ordinary Maternity Leave commences on the date chosen by you except:
- where you are absent from work for a pregnancy-related reason (supported by a Fitness for Work note) in the four weeks before your EWC, when your leave begins on the day after the first day of absence.
- where your baby is born earlier than your chosen start date, when your maternity leave begins on the day following the birth.
Additional Maternity Leave
26.8 You will be entitled to Additional Maternity Leave. This is an additional period of 26 weeks’ maternity leave following immediately after the end of the Ordinary Maternity Leave. You therefore receive a total maximum period of maternity leave of 1 year.
Information from you – Intended Start of Maternity Leave
26.9 At the same time as giving the Company the Maternity Certificate and informing us of your pregnancy, you should also give notice of the date on which you intend to start maternity leave. If you cannot provide this information on or before the 15th week before the EWC you should do so as soon as is reasonably practicable.
26.10 If you change your mind about your intended start date of leave, you must give the Company at least 28 days’ notice either before the original or new start date of leave, whichever is the earliest.
26.11 If you give less than 28 days’ notice of the date on which you intend to start maternity leave, you must also give an explanation for the delay. Depending on circumstances, the Company may refuse to allow you to start your maternity leave until the 29th day after receipt of notice.
Information from the Company – Expected Date of Return
26.12 Within 28 days of receiving your notice of intended start of Maternity Leave, the Company will send you a letter stating the expected date of your return from maternity leave.
26.13 The Company will assume unless otherwise advised by you that you wish to take your full maternity leave entitlement.
26.14 If maternity leave is triggered automatically by pregnancy-related absence in the four weeks before the EWC or by premature birth, the Company will notify you of your new expected return to work date within 28 days of receiving notification of the absence or birth.
Maternity Payment Period
26.15 Most employees are entitled to maternity benefit for the first 39 weeks of Maternity Leave. Maternity benefit is either Statutory Maternity Pay paid by the Company or Maternity Allowance paid by the Department of Work and Pensions.
Statutory Maternity Pay
26.16 You will qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) if:
- you have been employed by the Company for 26 weeks prior to the 15th week before EWC; and
- you pay sufficient National Insurance Contributions; and
- you notify the Company at least 28 days before the date you want payments of SMP to commence, or if not reasonably practicable, as soon as is reasonably practicable. If giving late notice, you should give the Company an explanation of the delay.
26.17 SMP will not be paid before the 11th week before the EWC.
26.18 There are two rates of SMP, an earnings related rate and a prescribed rate. The earnings-related rate is paid during the first 6 weeks of Ordinary Maternity Leave and the prescribed rate is paid during the following 33 weeks of Maternity Leave giving a total of 39 weeks maximum entitlement of SMP.
26.19 The earnings-related rate of SMP is 90% of your average weekly earnings. Your average weekly earnings are calculated on the basis of average earnings during the 8 weeks immediately preceding the 14th week before the EWC.
Maternity Allowance
26.20 If you do not qualify for SMP, the Company will give you a form SMP1 to explain why you do not qualify. Employees who do not qualify for SMP will normally qualify for Maternity Allowance.
26.21 Maternity Allowance is paid at either 90% of average weekly earnings or the prescribed rate whichever is less.
26.22 Maternity Allowance is claimed by you from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). You would receive Maternity Allowance from the DWP not the Company. It is your responsibility to claim Maternity Allowance from the DWP at a Benefits Office.
Working during the Maternity Payment Period (MPP)
26.23 If you work for the Company during the 26 weeks of your MPP you will receive normal remuneration for the periods you work.
26.24 If you:
- are taken into legal custody, or
- work for another Company
during the Maternity Pay Period you must notify the Company (and the DWP if you are claiming Maternity Allowance) as soon as possible, as your entitlement to SMP or Maternity Allowance may be affected.
Notice of Actual Date of Birth
26.25 You should inform your manager as soon as reasonably practical of your baby’s actual date of birth.
Returning To Work
26.26 As set out above, you will have received a letter from the Company stating the expected date of return to work. The expected date of return will be the first working day after the end of the full period of maternity leave to which you are entitled. If you wish to return to work on hours different to those you left on, you will need to apply for Flexible Working in accordance with the Flexible Working Policy, see Section 31 of this handbook. Please note that this is a separate process to your return date.
Returning to Work Earlier than the Expected Date of Return
26.27 If you wish to return before the expected date of return, you must give notice to the Company in writing at least 8 weeks before your new intended return date, or if that is not reasonably practicable, as soon as reasonably practicable. If the notice is given late, it must be accompanied by an explanation for the delay.
26.28 The Company will write to you within 28 days of receipt of your notice to confirm the new intended start date.
26.29 If less than 8 weeks’ notice is given by you, the Company may be entitled to refuse to allow you to return to work until the 8 week period has been given.
26.30 In any event you are not permitted to return to work within 2 weeks’ of the actual date of birth.
Returning to Work Later than the Expected Date of Return
26.31 If you wish to postpone your return to work until after the end of your full entitlement to maternity leave, you must contact your manager and submit a medical certificate confirming that you are suffering from a medical condition which prevents you from working, or provide another authorised reason (such as holiday or parental leave), for your returning late.
The Job
26.32 If you return at the end of Ordinary Maternity Leave, you are entitled to return to the same job.
26.33 It may not be practicable for the Company to offer you the same job after taking Additional Maternity Leave. If this is the case, the Company will offer you suitable alternative employment (unless a redundancy situation arises).
Health & Safety
26.34 Some circumstances exist where the Company may have to suspend you on full pay because of your condition. These circumstances might include:
- where your pregnancy makes you unable to do your job adequately
- where it is unlawful for a pregnant woman to do a particular job
- where you are engaged on night work and produce a medical certificate that states that for health and safety reasons you should not continue working at night
- where a health and safety risk to yourself and/or the baby has been identified but cannot be eliminated.
26.35 Before such action is taken, every possible effort will be made by the Company to change your hours of work or working conditions if there is a health and safety risk, or to find suitable alternative work for you.
26.36 The Company is required to assess the risks to health and safety to which pregnant employees and others could be exposed. Please refer to the Company’s Health and Safety Policy for details.