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Info Centre - Maternity leave and returning to work

This page is taken from Returning to Work: a guide for parent, produced by NCT and Working families and sponsored by DHL, Russell Jones and Walker and Pregnacare.

Basic maternity rights

If you are an employee you are entitled to 52 weeks maternity leave, regardless of length of service or the number of hours worked. Your maternity leave is divided into two halves:Parents Guide Cover

  • First 26 weeks is known as Ordinary Maternity leave (OML)

  • Second 26 weeks is called Additional Maternity Leave (AML)

There are slightly different rights to return to work depending on whether you return during or at the end of OML or AML. You may start your maternity leave and pay anytime from 11 weeks before your baby is due, unless you give birth before then. You can work right up to the birth if you wish. There is a compulsory two weeks period of leave after you have given birth (unless you work in a factory, when you must take four weeks off after the birth). If you are off work with a pregnancy-related sickness during the last four weeks before your baby is due, your employer can insist you start your leave then.

Holiday

Holiday continues to accrue over the maternity leave period; the amount depends on your employment contract and the start and end of the contractual holiday year. Returning employees often use holiday to create a phased start.

Pay

The amount of money paid whilst on maternity leave will depend on your entitlement to Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) or Maternity Allowance (MA). Your employer may also offer enhanced benefits over and above the legal minimum, depending on the terms and conditions of your employment contract. This may be written into your contract or in a separate employee manual or handbook. You can also find out by asking your employer or union representative.

Keeping in touch days

You may work for up to 10 days without bringing maternity leave to an end or losing Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) or Maternity Allowance (MA). These days are known as Keeping In Touch days (KIT days) and can only take place if both you and your employer want them.

You cannot be made to work during maternity leave, nor can you demand to have work during maternity leave. The new regulations on KIT days do not say anything about how much an employee should be paid for working. However, there are other rules about pay – under the National Minimum Wage Act and the Equal Pay Act and your employment contract – which your employer must stick to.

You must get your SMP as normal during the week in which you work a KIT day. It will then be a matter for agreement between you and your employer as to how much you get paid on top of that.

Many employers will probably top up the SMP for the day on which you have worked in order to make it up to a normal day’s pay, or they may just pay a normal day’s pay on top of your SMP.

Considering your options

Your options for maternity leave and working after your maternity leave can vary. What works for you will depend on your career ambitions, your family finances, availability of childcare and your health. Working out some possible options now will help to build a working pattern that will achieve the goals and balance you want in life.

Read more about maternity leave.