As an employee, exactly what maternity leave and pay you are entitled to will depend on both how long you've been working at your company for and on what your company policy provides over and above the statutory allowances, if anything. It can be incredibly confusing to wade through the various policies so here's an outline of what you may be entitled to by law. But whatever your basic legal entitlements are, do be sure to check your contract and with your HR department as your company policy may offer more generous terms to future mums than the statutory benefits.
Ordinary Maternity Leave & Statutory Maternity Pay
Regardless of how long you have worked for your employer, as an employee you will be eligible for at least the statutory 26 weeks of Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML). If you will have worked for your employer continuously for 26 weeks up to and including the 15th week before your baby is due, are earning an average of at least £90 per week (referred to as the Lower Earnings Limit), and have been paying National Insurance contributions, then you will be entitled to take this leave with the Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP). There are some breaks in employment that don't affect your SMP entitlement, see here for more details.
SMP is paid for 39 weeks. This is at 90% of your salary for the first six weeks with no upper limit, and at £117.18 per week - or 90% of your weekly wage if that is less than £117.18 - for the remaining 33 weeks. This payment figure was increased as of April 6 2008.
How do I organise maternity leave & pay?
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In order to claim your ordinary maternity leave and statutory pay you need to inform your employer of your pregnancy and planned dates for maternity leave at the latest by the 15th week before your baby is due (ie the 25th week of your pregnancy).
Your employer should respond within 28 days to say when your ordinary maternity leave will end. You will need to give your employer 28 days' notice of the date you intend to start your maternity leave, in order to claim your maternity pay. If you change the date you want to leave, you need to give them 28 days' notice. Your employer will also need your MAT B1 maternity certificate confirming the due date (this can be provided by your midwife or GP anytime on or after 20 weeks but you may have to ask for it rather than expect it to be automatically issued).
Additional maternity leave
If you will have worked for your employer continuously for 26 weeks up to and including the 15th week before your baby is due then you will also be entitled to a further 26 weeks of unpaid additional maternity leave (AML) when your OML ends.
If you're entitled to AML then your employer should assume that you are taking it, in which case you will need to inform them if you plan to return to work before the end of AML and give them at least 2 months' notice of your return date.
So when should I tell my employer that I'm pregnant?
If you're claiming OML and SMP then the latest you can tell your employer is by the 15th week before your baby is due. But before that the timing is really up to you and there are plenty of good reasons for telling your employer well before then, not least because you may need to tell them in order to take advantage of your right to have paid time off to attend medical appointments and scans. Although many mums-to-be prefer to wait until they are into the second trimester, you may also want to tell your employer if you are having trouble with morning sickness and other pregnancy-related illnesses early on.
Many people will want to tell their employer before the pregnancy becomes obvious, as they'd rather tell their employer than have them guess.
When can I start maternity leave?
The earliest that you can start your maternity leave is eleven weeks before your due date, though if you have some holiday owing then you may be able to tack that on beforehand. Beyond that it's up to you when you start your maternity leave and it will depend on how your pregnancy is progressing, how you're managing at work, and how much time you want to have at home after the birth.
If you want to work right up until your due date then you should be able to, but be aware that if you're off work with a pregnancy-related illness in the last four weeks before your due date then your employer can force-start your maternity leave. The latest day your maternity leave can begin is the day after the birth.
You may work up to ten days for your employer during maternity leave, without losing your SMP.
Do I need to tell my employer whether I am coming back to work or not?
You don't need to give a return date to your employer, as they should assume that you will take the ordinary maternity leave of 26 weeks, and, if you're entitled to it, the AML of a further 26 weeks unless you tell them otherwise. If you plan to return to work before the end of AML you should give your employer at least 2 months' notice of your return date.
However, your employer will probably want some indication of whether you plan on returning to your position or not. If you're not sure and want to keep your options open then you can tell your employer that you plan to return, if you change your mind later then you can hand in your resignation with the usual notice period required.
If I decide not to return to work will I have to pay back my maternity pay?
If you do decide not to return to work you won't have to pay back your statutory maternity pay. Your SMP is not dependent on you continuing to work after pregnancy and your employer will claim back most of the money from the government. However, your employer's maternity policy may offer more generous terms and an incentive level of pay for returning to work afterwards, if that is the case the individual agreement may be based on you paying back any extra money over and above the SMP if you decide not to return to the company - check the advance agreement or your contract for details.
Will I be able to go back to my old job after maternity leave?
If you return to work after OML you have the right to return to exactly the same job. If you return after AML you still have the right to return to the same job, but if the employer can argue that this isn't practical - if the job no longer exists for example - then your employer has to offer you a suitable alternative with very similar terms and conditions.
I'm not eligible for SMP, can I claim any benefits at all?
If you're not eligible for SMP, either because you're self-employed or have started a new job recently, then you may still be eligible for Maternity Allowance (MA). If you have been working (as either an employee or self-employed) and paying National Insurance contributions for at least 26 weeks in the 66-week period prior to the last week of your due date, or you have earned an average of £30 a week over a 13-week period within that time-frame, then you will be eligible for Maternity Allowance (MA).
Like SMP, MA is paid for 39 weeks from the time when you stop work, and at the earliest from 11 weeks before your due date. It's worth either £108.85 per week or 90% of your average weekly salary, whichever is the lower figure. You can find out more about MA here.
MA is not liable to income tax or National Insurance contributions.
You'll need to sort this out ahead of your baby arriving as the you can't put in a claim for MA beyond the day after the birth, and it's not what you want to be sorting out from your recovery bed!
How do I claim Maternity Allowance?
You claim MA through your local job centre or Social Security office. You'll need to contact either of these for the MA1 form, which you'll then need to return to them along with your SMP1 form (provided by your employer), your MAT B1 form (from your midwife of doctor) and proof of your earnings.
And if I'm not eligible for SMP or MA?
If you're not eligible for either SMP or MA then you may be eligible for a Sure Start Maternity Grant (SSMG) for families on low incomes. There are also other benefits and exemptions you may qualify for. Ask at your local job centre / benefits office for details, or click here for more information.
The DirectGov website is full of useful information on what you are entitled to, how to work out what your status is, what to do if you feel your employer isn't offering you the right maternity pay, and what to do if you are going abroad and need to claim payments.
