Download Maternity Policy

Maternity
Policy statement
The aim of this policy to provide guidance to employees in relation to their legal entitlements and to, also, clarify
the steps which must be taken by the employee in certain circumstances to ensure that their rights are not lost.
Where specific queries arise, employees are encouraged to seek guidance from the Manager.
Procedures

All women are entitled to 52 weeks’ maternity leave regardless of their hours or length of service. During these
52 weeks, employee’s contracts will continue and many of their contractual benefits will continue to accrue.
The first 26 weeks of leave will be referred to as Ordinary Maternity Leave and the next 26 weeks as
Additional Maternity Leave making one year in total.

All women who have at least 26 weeks’ service at the relevant time (see below) will be entitled to Statutory
Maternity Pay payable for up to a maximum of 39 weeks. Other women may be entitled to Maternity
Allowance.

All women have the right to return to work after Maternity Leave subject to the following the correct notification
procedures as set out below. All women also have the right to take time off for ante-natal care.
These rights are set out in further details below
Time off for Ante-Natal Care

Once an employee has established that they are pregnant, they may take time off to attend an ante-natal
appointment as advised by their doctor, registered midwife or registered health visitor.

The employee must produce to the Pre-School a certificate (known as a Form MATB1) from one of the above,
stating that they are pregnant and giving the expected date of confinement. The employee should also
produce evidence of the ante-natal appointments that they are expected to attend, such as an appointment
card.
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Maternity

Employees should try and give the manager as much notice as possible of their appointments and wherever
possible, try to arrange them as near to the start or end of the day as possible.

Employees will receive full pay for the time off for such care and for reasonable time travelling to and from
such appointments.
Who Qualifies for Statutory Maternity Pay and How Much Will They Receive?

Employees will automatically qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) if they are pregnant and have been
employed by the Pre-School for 26 consecutive weeks by the 15th week before the week in which they expect
their baby. If employees meet these requirements they will be entitled to receive SMP whether or not they
intend to return to work, and even if, for whatever reason, their employment ends after they have met the
necessary requirements.

If an employee is eligible, the earliest they may claim SMP is from the 11th week before the week in which they
expect their baby. Thereafter, they will receive 6 weeks’ pay at 90% of their average weekly pay (AWE) and
up to a further 33 weeks’ pay at the lower rate which, since 6th April 2012, has been £135.45 per week or 90%
of average weekly pay, whichever is lower per week. SMP is treated as earnings and is therefore subject to
PAYE and NI deductions.

In order to qualify for SMP, employees must give the Pre-School the correct notifications.

Notice – Employees are required to give at least 28 days’ notice in writing of when they want their SMP to
start. They must also give medical evidence of their Expected Week of Childbirth (EWC). Maternity Certificate
MATB1 can be used for this purpose. This notice can be incorporated with the notices they are required to
give in order to qualify for Ordinary Maternity Leave and, if they are eligible, for Additional Maternity Leave
(see below).

Should an employee decide not to return to the Pre-School, but take up other paid employment after the birth
of their baby or during any period they are in receipt of SMP, or should leave the European Union (EU), it is
their duty to advise the Pre-School, who will cease to pay any further SMP from the Saturday before the week
in which they commence their other duties or go outside of the EU.

It is very important that an employee works up to the 15th week before the week in which they expect their
baby. If they do not, they will lose their rights to SMP, unless they are certified as incapable of work.
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Maternity
How does an employee take Maternity Leave?

Notice – Employees are required to follow a notification procedure in order to take any maternity leave. If they
fail to give proper or any notice, the Pre-School will regard this as a disciplinary matter and the usual
disciplinary sanctions for misconduct will apply, where appropriate.

The earliest start date for Maternity Leave is the beginning of the 11th week before the week in which the
employee expects their baby. However, they may, for example, work right up to the date of childbirth if they so
wish, subject to health and safety requirements. Where health and safety regulations do not allow them to
continue in their normal job, they will either be offered suitable alternative work or be suspended on medical
grounds on full pay.

All women are required to take at least 2 weeks of their Maternity Leave after the birth of their child.

Employees must notify the Pre-School in writing of their intentions to take Maternity Leave by the 15th week
before the week in which they expect their baby. They will need to inform the Pre-School:-

Unless an employee gives 28 days’ notice of a change in the date for the start of their leave, they will leave
work on the date on which they have notified the Pre-School that they intended to begin their Maternity Leave.

In order to make administration as easy as possible employees should discuss their leaving date with the
Manager as soon as possible and provide confirmation of the week in which they expect the birth of their baby
from their doctor or midwife.

If an employee is absent from work before the birth owing to sickness they will be treated as being sick and
will receive normal sick pay if they have not yet begun their Maternity Leave. If, however, an employee has not
yet begun their Maternity Leave and is absent from work for a pregnancy related illness after the beginning of
the 4th week before the week in which they expect their baby, their maternity leave starts automatically and the
Pre-School will be entitled to treat this absence as the beginning of Maternity Leave.

An employee’s Maternity Leave will automatically commence on the birth of their child if they have not yet
begun Maternity Leave before this date.
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Maternity
Salary and Benefits Whilst Absent from the Pre-School

During the Maternity Leave period, an employee’s contract of employment will continue and their contractual
terms and conditions will continue to accrue.

This means that, whilst an employee will cease to receive ordinary basic salary, all other benefits will remain in
place. For example, holiday entitlement will continue to accrue.
Return to Work

All women may return to work at any time during the 52 weeks Maternity Leave period or at the end of this
period. If an employee wishes to return before the end of their Ordinary Maternity Leave they must give at
least 28 days’ notice in writing to the Pre-School. If an employee wishes to return before the end of their
Additional Maternity Leave they must give at least 8 weeks’ notice in writing to the Pre-School.

Employees will be expected to return to work at the end of the 52 week Maternity Leave period. Failure to
return to work on that date will be treated as an unauthorised absence unless they are sick and can produce a
current medical certificate before the end of the Maternity Leave period.

Employees have the right to return to their job if they take Ordinary Maternity Leave. The rules are different if
the employee takes Additional Maternity Leave. In this situation, employees have the right to their job, or a
similar job if it is not possible to give them their old job. Similar means the job has the same or better terms
and conditions. If the employee unreasonably refuses to take the similar job, the Pre-School can take this as
their resignation.

If an employee decides, during the Maternity Leave period, that they do not wish to return to work they should
give written notice to terminate their employment to the Pre-School as per their contract of employment.
Legal framework
The Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999
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Maternity
Further guidance

Gov.UK
This policy was adopted at a meeting of
(name of provider)
Latest review
(date)
Date to be reviewed
(date)
Signed on behalf of the provider
Name of signatory
Role of signatory (e.g. chair, director or owner)
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