Maternity

Pregnant women have protection under discrimination law. Currently, if you are pregnant you are entitled to:

• Resonable paid time off for ante-natal care (including relaxation classes).
• When you inform your employer that you are pregnant (which you are obliged to do by the 15th week before your expected week of confinement (EWC)) they are legally obliged to conduct a risk assessment of your job.
• You have the right not to be dismissed, or suffer any other detriment (e.g. loss of promotion or pay rise) for a reason connected with your pregnancy.
• If you are dismissed then your employer is required to provide you with written reasons for that dismissal.
• 6 months Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML). If you have 6 months service at the 15 week before the EWC then you are entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP).
• Currently, the rate of SMP is 6 weeks at 90% of weekly pay, followed by 20 weeks at £117.18 per week.
• If you have one complete year of service by the 15the week before the EWC you are also entitled to 6 months Additional Maternity Leave (AML).
• If you are absent from work for a pregnancy related illness within 4 weeks of your EWC your employer is entitled to insist that your Maternity Leave should begin immediately.
• When you inform your employer that you are pregnant and that expected date of confinement then they are obliged to give you written notification of the end date of your OML.
• If you intend to return to work at the end of your OML then you are not required to give written notice of your date of return.
• If you intend to take AML and return at some point during this period, you must give your employer written notice 21 days before the date you wish to return.
• If you want to change your return date at any time you must give your employer 21 days written notice.
• You have the right to return to the same job, or one which is similar in all respects.

If any of these rights are infringed then you can take a claim to the Employment Tribunal. However, before any claim is lodged you must write to your employer to raise a statutory grievance about the issue. Failure to do this at the appropriate time is likely to result in your claim being rejected by the Employment Tribunal.

If you think you have been denied some or all of these rights, or simply want more information, then please follow the 'Ask the Experts' link, complete the form and submit it to us. We will respond to you within 2 working days. If your enquiry is more urgent than that, please ring us on the number below.