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Photo by katrinaelena/iStock / Getty Images
Photo by katrinaelena/iStock / Getty Images
 
 

Maternity Policy

Introduction

 

This Maternity Policy sets out the maternity provisions to which female employees are entitled, both before and after the birth of their child.  These maternity provisions comply with the relevant Legislation.

 

Time off for Antenatal Care Appointments

 

You are entitled to take paid time off during your normal working hours to receive antenatal care.  Antenatal care includes appointments with your GP, Hospital Clinics and any other appointments (for example relaxation classes) made on the advice of a Doctor, Midwife or Health Visitor. Where possible you should try to make these appointments for the beginning or end of the working day.

 

You should give your Line Manager as much notice as possible of the times when you will be absent from work.  You may be asked by your Line Manager to produce your appointment card.

 

Ordinary Maternity Leave

 

You are entitled to a 26 week period of Ordinary Maternity Leave irrespective of your length of service or the number of hours you work each week.

 

Additional Maternity Leave

 

You will be entitled to Additional Maternity Leave irrespective of your length of service or the number of hours you work each week.  This entitles you to a further 26 weeks leave following your Ordinary Maternity Leave.

 

Starting Maternity Leave

 

You can start your Maternity Leave at any time from the start of the 11th week before your Expected Week of Childbirth (EWC).

 

The only exceptions to this are:

 

  • If you are absent for a pregnancy-related reason at any time after the start of the 4th week before your child is due.  In this case your maternity leave will start on the first day of your absence;
     
  • if your child is born before you intended to start your maternity leave.  In this case your maternity leave starts on the day after your child is born.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notification Requirements

 

1                As soon as you are aware you are pregnant, you should notify your Line Manager (General Manager, Deputy Manager or Department Head) in writing.

2                As soon as the Line Manager has been made aware of the pregnancy, they will arrange for a risk assessment to be carried out – full details can be found on Llama.  A copy of the risk assessment should be kept on the Personnel File and a copy should be forwarded to the Human Resources Department.

3                The Line Manager should forward a copy of your written notification of pregnancy to either the Human Resources Department (for monthly employees) or the Payroll Department (for weekly employees), who will be able to provide information on both Maternity rights and Maternity pay entitlements and will issue the pregnant employee with a copy of the Maternity Guide.

4                In order to qualify for Maternity Leave, the employee must notify her Line Manager of her intention to take Maternity Leave by the 15th week before the Expected Week of Childbirth.

5                In order to find out if you qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay, the employee must provide medical evidence of their Expected Week of Childbirth in the form of a MATB1 Certificate signed by a registered practitioner or midwife.  This is available from the Doctor of Midwife after the 20th week of pregnancy.  As soon as the employee has received this form, she should give it to her Line Manager who will either;

 

a)    copy it and send the original directly to Payroll (if weekly paid), or

b)    forward it to the Human Resources Department, who will arrange for a copy to go on the Personnel File and the original to be sent to the Payroll Department (if monthly paid).

 

6                After the start of their maternity leave, employees who:

a)  go outside the European Economic Area
b)  are taken into legal custody or
c)  work for another employer

must notify their Line Manager immediately, as their entitlement to Statutory Maternity Pay may be affected.

 

7                Employees who are still working beyond the 4th week before their Expected Week of Childbirth, and who are subsequently absent due to a pregnancy related illness may automatically trigger their Maternity Pay Period/Maternity Leave. In certain instances where the absence is only for a few days, consideration will be given to allowing the employee to commence maternity leave as previously arranged.

8                Requests to move to shorter hours or revised duties before their Maternity Leave will be considered wherever practical. 

9                The Company reserves the right to require the employee to be examined by a Doctor where it is felt that her health or that of the baby, may suffer as a result of her continuing or returning to work.

10            As soon as is practically possible, the employee should inform her Line Manager of the date of birth of the baby, to ensure that, by Law, they do not return to work during the first two weeks following the birth of the baby.

11            The Company shall endeavour to ensure that, wherever possible, the employee returns to her same job, on no less favourable terms and conditions of employment than when she left.

12            Where it is not reasonably practical to permit an employee to return to her old job, then she shall be offered suitable alternative employment, where available.

13            Where it is necessary to offer the employee suitable alternative employment, she shall be advised as soon as possible after she has notified her date of return. A meeting shall be arranged with an appropriate member of management, so that the implications of the changes can be discussed.

14            The Company recognises that some women may not wish to return to work on a full time basis.  Please refer to the Flexible Working document which is held on Llama.

 

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)

 

To help you take time of work both before and after your baby is born; you may be eligible to get Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP).

 

To qualify for SMP you must:

 

  • be employed by the same employer continuously for at least 26 weeks into the 15th week before the week your baby is due.
  • have earned £102.00 gross per week on average in the 8 weeks immediately before the 15th week your baby is due.  Please go to www.direct.gov.uk for further information.  Gross means before Tax and National Insurance deductions.
  • have provided the Company with your MATB1 which is proof of your Expected Week of Childbirth (EWC).

 

As long as you qualify for this payment Statutory Maternity Pay is payable whether or not you intend to return to work and is not repayable if you do not return to work for any reason.

 

SMP is payable for a maximum of 39 weeks and is only payable if you are absent from work on maternity leave.

 

The exact amount of the SMP that you are entitled to receive will vary depending on your earnings and the amount of maternity leave you take.  As a general rule you can expect to receive the following:

 

If you qualify for SMP, we will pay;

 

  • 90% of your average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks, based on the earnings period above.
  • standard rate of SMP (go to www.direct.gov.uk for the exact amount) or 90% of your average weekly earnings (whichever rate is lower). This will be paid for the remaining 33 weeks.
  • If you receive a pay increase during your Maternity leave, your SMP will be re-calculated at your new salary and you will be notified in writing of any changes.

 

Maternity Allowance

 

If you do not qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay you may be entitled to Maternity Allowance (MA), paid by the Benefits Agency, for up to 39 weeks. In this case we will return to you, your MATB1 Certificate and Form SMP1 and you need these to make a claim directly to your local Benefits Office.

 

Enhanced Company Maternity Pay

If you have completed a year’s service by the 15th week before the Expected Week of Childbirth and have average weekly earnings of at least £102.00 gross in the 8 weeks immediately before the 15th week your baby is due, the Company will enhance your Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), as follows;

 

  • For the first 6 weeks of maternity leave, your Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) will be enhanced from 90% to 100% pay. For monthly employees this will be based on your normal basic pay including allowances.
     
  • For the following 6 weeks of Maternity leave, your Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) will be enhanced to 50% pay, however if this payment is less than Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), you will receive the higher amount of the two.
     
  • The remaining 27 weeks will be paid at Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) only.

 

  • Additional Maternity Leave remains unpaid. The remaining 13 weeks of Maternity leave will be unpaid.

 

Benefits and Your Contract of Employment

 

If you are on Ordinary Maternity Leave and providing you have given the required notice as detailed above, you will be entitled to the following:

 

  • All benefits which you were receiving immediately before you began your maternity leave will continue with the exception of remuneration.
     
  • Holiday entitlement will continue to accrue.

 

Whilst you are absent on Additional Maternity Leave you will be entitled to the benefits below:

 

  • All benefits which you received immediately before you began your maternity leave will continue for the full period of your Additional Maternity Leave apart from remuneration;
     
  • Holiday entitlement will continue to accrue.

 

Pensions

 

If you are a member of the Company Pension Scheme the company will continue to pay Employers Pension based on your normal pensionable pay for the full duration of your Maternity pay period, this will cease when you start your unpaid Maternity leave.

 

Holiday

Employees accrue holidays during both Ordinary and Additional Maternity Leave. Individuals have to take any holiday that has been accrued during the holiday year, these need to be booked through the normal Company Holiday Request Procedure.

We understand that your Maternity leave may run over holiday years, in this instance you will not lose any accruals and you may take those remaining within the first 3 months upon returning from your Maternity leave. If taking Holiday leave immediately prior to your Maternity leave, you can only take Holiday up to the due date of your baby, Your Maternity leave and pay will start automatically from the expected date stated on your MATB1 form.

 

Keeping In Touch Days

 

To support occasional training, or help keep in touch without losing Statutory Maternity Pay, we are introducing “Keeping in Touch” (KIT) days during maternity leave.  These KIT days allow the Company and you to make reasonable contact during a maternity period.  In addition, if you are on maternity leave you can still work for us for 10 days by mutual agreement without losing Statutory Maternity Pay.

 

An example of a KIT day could be to attend a training or refresher course. 

 

Important points to note include the following:

 

  • The decision to undertake a KIT day must be made by agreement between you and your Line Manager.
     
  • We have no right to demand that you undertake any such KIT work and you cannot insist that you undertake such work.
     
  • The KIT day will not bring your maternity leave to an end.
     
  • You can come into the office for one hour or a whole day.  This will still be a KIT day. 
     
  • You will be paid for the hours that you work and this will be at your normal hourly rate capped at your normal daily rate.
     
  • You cannot work more than 16 hours a week otherwise this will affect your Statutory Maternity payments.

 

Returning to Work After Maternity Leave

 

Individuals do not have to give notice if they intend to return to work at the end of either the Ordinary or Additional Maternity Leave period.

 

Their recommencement date will be their first normal working day following the end of their Ordinary or Additional Maternity Leave period.

Returning to Work Before The End of Ordinary and Additional Maternity Leave

If an employee intends to return to work before the end of her Ordinary or Additional Maternity Leave period, she must notify her Line Manager and Payroll (weekly)/Human Resources (monthly) in writing at 8 weeks before she intends to return.

If the employee does not notify her Line Manager, as above, then the Line Manager may postpone her return until they have had 8 weeks notice (although cannot postpone it past the end of the 52 week period).
 

Sickness at the End of Ordinary and Additional Maternity Leave

where an employee is unable to attend work at the end of her Ordinary or Additional Maternity Leave period due to sickness, the normal contractual agreements will apply.


The individual will need to contact her Line Manager and explain the reasons for her sickness and ensure that she forwards the relevant documentation for processing.
 

Employees Who Do Not Wish To Return At The End Of Maternity Leave

Any employee who does not wish to return at the end of Maternity Leave must give notice of her intention to resign in accordance with contractual arrangements.