Women employees who can satisfy general qualifying conditions are currently entitled to the following by reason of pregnancy:-

1. Paid time off to receive ante natal care
2. 26 weeks ordinary maternity leave
3. Protection from dismissal by reason of pregnancy or childbirth
4. Protection from detriment by reason of pregnancy or childbirth
5. Maternity pay
6. Right to return to work after maternity leave

Protection from dismissal

Any dismissal that is related to any of the following will be deemed to be automatically unfair:-

1. Her pregnancy
2. Where a contract of employment is terminated at the end of the maternity leave period
3. The fact that she took maternity leave
4. Where she is made redundant and certain requirements are not met

A woman can make a complaint to an ET if she is subject to any such treatment.

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)

A woman is entitled to SMP in certain circumstances if she can meet the qualifying requirements (see below).  She may also be entitled to further maternity pay by virtue of her contract of employment.

There are four conditions that must be met to qualify for SMP:-

1. She must have been continuously employed by her employer for 26 weeks, ending with the week preceding the 14^th week before the expected week of confinement
2. She has ceased to work for the employer wholly or partly because of pregnancy or confinement
3. Her normal weekly earnings (for the period of 8 weeks ending with the week preceding the 14^th week before the expected week of confinement) must not be less than the lower limit for the payment of National Insurance contributions
4. She must have become pregnancy and reached or been confined before reaching the start of the 11^th week before the expected week of confinement

The right to SMP is not conditional upon an intention to return to work after the confinement.

SMP is payable for each week during the ‘maternity pay period’ for 26 consecutive weeks.

The rate of SMP is 9/10ths of the employees’ normal weekly earnings for the period of 8 weeks immediately preceding the 14th week before the expected week of confinement.  This rate continues for the first 6 weeks of the maternity pay period.

After the first 6 weeks, the payment for the remaining 20 weeks is set at £106.00 per week or 90% of the woman’s average weekly earnings.

The above calculations do not exclude any additional contractual benefits, but it should be noted that an employer is entitled to set SMP off against any contractual remuneration.

Right to return to work

An employee who takes ordinary maternity leave (OML) is also entitled to the benefit of the normal terms and conditions of their contract of employment for this period.  Likewise, the employee is also bound by any obligations arising out of those terms and conditions. The only exceptions are terms relating to wages or salary - you are still obligated to pay her statutory maternity pay.

Examples of contractual terms and conditions that continue during OML include:

• gym membership
• participation in share schemes
• reimbursement of professional subscriptions
• the use of a company car or mobile phone (unless provided for business use only)

Whether or not you should pay a bonus to an employee on maternity leave depends on the type of bonus and the terms of the particular bonus scheme.

An employee returning to work after the OML is entitled to return to the job in which she was employed before her absence.

An employee returning to work after the additional maternity leave period (AML) is entitled to return to work on terms no less favourable than would have applied had she not been absent at any time since the commencement of the maternity leave period.

The rules covering non-cash benefits applicable during maternity leave are complex and changed for women whose expected week of childbirth (EWC) commenced on or after 5 October 2008.

Essentially employers are now obliged to provide non-cash contractual benefits for example company cars, mobile phones, accommodation and insurance policies during both OML and AML. However the position concerning pension contributions is more complex.

Parental / Paternity Leave

Parental Leave

The right to parental leave can be exercised by any employee who has one year’s continuous service and who has, or expects to have, responsibility for a child.

The current period of parental leave is set at 13 weeks for each child, with up to 18 weeks leave for a disabled child.  The entitlement must generally be taken before the child’s 5th birthday and is currently unpaid leave.

Employees are also protected from being subject to any detriment or being victimised as a result of taking such leave.

There is a right to return to work after parental leave, and dismissal as a result of exercising this right is deemed to be automatically unfair.

Paternity Leave

Entitlement to paternity leave is available for the purposes of caring for a child or supporting the child’s mother on the birth or adoption of a child.

An employee must have been continuously employed for at least 26 weeks ending with the week preceding the 14th week before the expected date of the child’s birth, and must be either the child’s father or the partner of the child’s mother and have or expect to have responsibility for bringing up the child to receive this entitlement.

The employee may take either one weeks leave or two weeks consecutive leave.

The employee is entitled to all the normal benefits of his contract of employment during such leave.