[Revised 31/12/24]

Note from 6th April 2025 a new right to 12 weeks neo-natal leave and pay will come into effect. A note about this will be published when the full details are clearer.

Ante-Natal Appointments & Classes ~/

Mothers

• Have the right to a reasonable amount of time off with pay to attend appointments or parental classes recommended by a registered midwife or doctor.
• An employer may request proof of an appointment for the second or subsequent appointments but not for the first appointment

Fathers, Spouses and Civil Partners

• The above or an individual who is in a long term relationship with the expectant mother are entitled to be given time off (without pay) to attend a maximum of two appointments.
• The time off allowed is up to 6.5 hours per appointment which includes time for traveling, waiting and attendance at the appointment.
• The employer does not have the right to demand proof of the appointment.
• Note in a surrogacy arrangement, the intended parent may be entitled to the above.

Minimum Continuous Service requirement

No minimum service is required to qualify but you must be in permanent employment- except for agency workers who will need to have been working for 12 weeks to qualify.

Keeping In Touch (KIT) Days

To keep in touch with what is happening at work while you are on maternity leave, you may find it useful to attend, for example, some training or briefing sessions to keep abreast of any changes. Keeping in Touch Days are not compulsory. You are eligible to be paid by your employer for attending KIT Days.

No matter how short the time spent working or training on a (KIT) day, that day will count as one day of the total of 10 days permitted for KIT purposes.

TIP – take up of KIT days is voluntary by the woman but they can be useful in keeping an individual up to date with important changes at work and may make the transition back to work easier.

Managers should bear in mind that an individual may be reluctant to use such days particularly if the birth and/or after care has been difficult.

Maternity Allowance ~/

While on maternity leave, up to 10 days may be used for working or training for your employer and those days will not break a woman’s statutory maternity leave.  The employer has discretion as to whether to provide any payment on such days.

An employer is free to agree to pay normal remuneration during maternity leave rather than the lower statutory rates of pay

This is different to statutory maternity pay. This allowance is for women who are self-employed or on low earnings and, therefore, are not eligibile for statutory maternity pay (see the next heading below).

The allowance is payable for up to 39 weeks at the rate of whichever is the lower of a) 90% of her weekly earnings or b) the statutory Maternity Allowance rate which is £184.03 per week (£172.48) effective from 08/04/2024.

Maternity Leave & Pay – Statutory Requirements ~/

Statutory Maternity Leave

Statutory Maternity Leave is up to 52 weeks leave which consists of 26 weeks Ordinary Maternity Leave plus 26 weeks Additional Maternity Leave.

The leave may start from the 11th week, or later, before the expected week of confinement. However, to protect the health of mother and baby, maternity leave must start in the following events, whether or not the mother wishes:

• the day after the baby is born early or;
• the mother is ill with a pregnancy-related illness in the 4 weeks before the baby is due
• Maternity Leave must be taken for the 2 weeks immediately following the birth of the baby. That is a legal requirement for the welfare of mum and baby. Those weeks will normally count towards your Ordinary Maternity Leave. Factory workers must take a minimum of 4 weeks maternity leave when the child is born.

Statutory Maternity Pay  ~/

Maximum payment of 39 weeks.
–  The first 6 weeks are paid at an average of 90% of weekly earnings.
–  The remaining 33 weeks are paid at either £184.03 (£172.48) per week or, if lower, 90% of the mother’s average weekly earnings

During both Ordinary and Additional Maternity Leave, the contract continues except for the right to contractual remuneration. That is because the right to Statutory Maternity Pay will often arise. (N.B. certain other entitlements may be affected).