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Maternity Rights

There are a number of maternity rights which can be claimed by pregnant women. The three which can be claimed by anybody are:

• The right not to be dismissed on the grounds of pregnancy or childbirth
• The right to have time off work (maternity leave)
• The right to have time off work for ante natal care

The other maternity rights are dependant on certain conditions and are:

• The right to statutory maternity pay
• The right to extended maternity leave
• A right ot alternative work or pay after being suspended due to maternity

NOTE: 'suspension due to maternity' does not mean losing your job because you are pregnant. See below for details.

The Right Not To Be Dismissed

Everyone, regardless of how long they have worked for the employer has the right not to be dismissed because they are pregnant or have given birth, no matter how inconvenient it may be to the employer. If they are dismissed for this reason, then they will automatically have a case for unfair dismissal, and should speak to their solicitor to start proceedings.

The Right To Maternity Leave

All employees are entitled to have a maternity leave of 18 weeks, regardless of how long they have worked for the employer. In cases where the employee has worked for the employer for a long time they may become eligible for extended maternity leave.

Maternity leave is not a requirement, and it is up to the employee as to whether to take it or not. However, an employee cannot begin her maternity leave earlier than the the 11th week before the expected date of childbirth, and within six weeks of the birth date, any day on which she is absent from work for reasons connected with the birth will automatically begin her maternity leave.
Once her maternity leave is over, a woman may return to her old job and the same rate of pay.

To have the right to maternity leave and return to her job afterwards, a woman must inform her employee in writing that she is pregnant, at least 3 weeks before her maternity leave starts. She must also give at least 3 weeks notice of the date on which she intends her maternity leave to start.

The Right To Time Off For Ante Natal Care

Any employee has the right to paid time off work to attend any ante natal care which is recomended by a medical professional (doctor, midwife etc.).

Everyone is entitled to have 18 weeks off work for maternity leave, and return to their old job, but if the employee has worked for the employer for at least a year on the start of the 11th week before their expected date of childbirth they have the right to extended maternity leave of 29 weeks.

To qualify for extended maternity leave, a woman must have fulfilled the requirements for statutory maternity leave (giving her employer notice) and must also inform her employer, in writting, that she wishes to invoke her right to have extended maternity leave, and to rturn to work. If she fails to inform her employer of this, it will be taken that she wishes only the statutory 18 weeks maternity leave, and so will lose her right to return to work after 29.

The Right To Maternity pay

While everyone has the right to maternity leave, not everyone has the right to be paid for their maternity leave - that is dependant on certain conditions, however if you can not claim maternity pay, you are entitled to a state maternity allowance. To qualify for maternity pay, the following conditions must be true.

• You must be earning sufficient money to be compelled to make national insurance contributions
• You must have been employed by your employer for at least 26 weeks on the 15th week before the expected date of birth
• You must be closer than 11 weeks to the expected date of birth, or havfe recently given birth
• You must have stopped work, and bee on maternity leave
• You must have given medical confirmation of the expected date of birth to your employer, and informed him of your intention to take maternity leave, at least 3 weeks before you began your maternity leave.

Maternity leave is paid at a rate of 9/10 of your weekly pay for the first 6 weeks, and £62.60 for the remainder of the weeks. You may only claim maternity pay for up 18 weeks. The £62.60 sum for the last 12 weeks is set by the governmnet, and may be subject to change.

The Right To Be Offered Alternative Employment on Suspension

An employer is required to suspend an employee, where she is a new or expectant mother and her work may cause harm to herself, or her baby, or where she is a new or expectant mother who is currently working nights, but has a doctors certificate saying that she should not be working nights.
If there is suitable alternative employment available, you have the right to be offered it, and if you are not, you should see your solicitor to comence proceedings. If you are suspended, and there is no suitable alternative employment, you have the right to be paid your normal wage, unless you have unreasonably turned down suitable alternative employment.