Maternity Rights

MATERNITY RIGHTS

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYEES

Maternity Rights

Guidelines for Employees

These notes are intended to assist you in making an application for Maternity Leave / Pay and have been prepared as a general guide to help you understand your Maternity Rights.

Nothing in this document overrides any rights you may have under statutory legislation or the Agenda for Change Conditions of Service or the Hospital / Community Medical and Dental Staff Conditions of Service, where applicable. Further clarification is contained within Section 15 of the Agenda for Change Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook and Appendix VI and Appendix VII of the Hospital Medical and Dental Staff Conditions of Service Handbook.

If you do not qualify for NHS Contractual leave and pay entitlements within the Agenda for Change Conditions of Service or the Hospital Medical and Dental Staff Conditions of Service, you may be entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay or Maternity Allowance and details are given in the attached guidelines.

There are also a number of other policies which you may apply to you and these can all be found on the Intranet/Public Folders or can be obtained from your Human Resources Department, these are as follows:

· Paternity Leave

· Adoption Leave

· Parental Leave

If you require any further information or have any queries relating to your maternity leave, please do not hesitate to contact your line manager or the Human Resources Department:

OPERATIONAL DIVISION

Hayfield House, Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy

Tel: 01592 643355

DUNFERMLINE & WEST FIFE CHP

Lynebank Hospital, Dunfermline

Tel: 01383 565256

KIRKCALDY & LEVENMOUTH CHP

Cameron Hospital, Windygates

Tel: 01592 226829

GLENROTHES & NORTH EAST FIFE CHP

Cameron Hospital, Windygates

Tel: 01592 226791

INTRODUCTION

All pregnant employees, irrespective of length of service or hours worked are entitled to a period of maternity leave and have the right to return to work, provided they are not on a fixed term or training contract, (see Section 4).

To qualify for paid maternity leave i.e. NHS Contractual Maternity Pay and/or Statutory Maternity Pay you must have been working full or part-time, be entitled to paid leave in respect of normal sick absence and satisfy the undernoted conditions:

· You must continue to be employed by NHS Fife until immediately before the beginning of the 11th week before the expected week that your baby is due.

· All staff employed within NHS Fife qualify for maternity leave. To qualify for Occupational Maternity Pay you must have completed one year’s NHS service 11 weeks prior to the week your baby is due.

· You must have been employed for a minimum period of 26 weeks with NHS Fife at the beginning of the 14th week before the expected week that your baby is due to qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay. Part weeks count as full weeks. Any other NHS employment within the 26 week period prior to joining NHS Fife does not count for the purposes of SMP.

If you continue to work after the 11th week before the week your baby is due you can choose the date you want your SMP to start.

· You must notify your Head of Department of your intention to take maternity leave and the date you wish to start your maternity leave and whether or not you intend to return to work, by completing the attached application form before the end of the 15th week before your baby is due, where possible.

· Have average earnings of at least more than the National Lower Earnings Limit.

· You must submit the original certificate of expected date of confinement (MAT B1), at least 28 days and no later than 21 days before the commencement of your maternity leave. This can be obtained from your doctor or midwife once you are 20 weeks pregnant.

In exceptional circumstances only, notification as soon as practicable is acceptable.

If however, you do not satisfy the above conditions you will be entitled to unpaid maternity leave for a period not exceeding 52 weeks.

How much maternity leave and pay you are entitled to is determined by a number of factors including; your length of service, your National Insurance contributions and whether you intend to return to work following the birth of your baby. To help you understand your entitlements, this guide has been divided into four sections:

Section 1 – Returning to work following maternity leave

Section 2 – Not returning to work following maternity leave

Section 3 – Undecided on whether to return to work following maternity leave

Section 4 – Employees on Fixed Term, or Training Contracts

The final part of this guide ‘Additional Information’ applies to everyone and provides general information pertaining to maternity, paternity, parental, adoption leave and flexible working.

SECTION 1: RETURNING TO WORK FOLLOWING MATERNITY LEAVE

Maternity Leave & Pay

If you intend to return to work with the same or another NHS employing authority and satisfy the conditions detailed in the introduction, then you will be entitled to maternity leave and pay outlined in the attached guidelines.

Maternity Leave

The earliest date on which you can commence maternity leave is the beginning of the 11th week before your baby is due. However, you may commence your maternity leave at any time from the 11th week, up to the expected date your baby is due.

Maternity pay is only paid for complete calendar weeks within each month i.e. if the 27th of a month is a Saturday you would be paid up to the 27th in that months pay however payment for 28th to 31st of that month would be paid in the following month.

After your Baby is born

By law you must have a minimum of two weeks maternity leave following the birth of your baby.

You should return to work following maternity leave on your first rostered day, which you will have agreed with your manager, from the date previously advised by your Human Resources Department. If you wish to return earlier, you must give at least 8 weeks notice to your line manager.

If you wish to return on a part-time or job share basis, you should discuss this in the first instance with your line manager, ideally prior to the commencement of your maternity leave, but no later than 8 weeks prior to your intended return date. There is no automatic right to return on reduced hours or to a different working pattern although requests will be considered on an individual basis.

Failure to Return to Work

If you do not return to work with NHS Fife for at least 3 months following your Maternity Leave, or if you notify your intention to return to another employing authority and fail to submit a copy of your letter of appointment/contract with your new employing NHS authority within 15 months of commencement of maternity leave, then you will be liable to refund the whole of the Maternity Pay received, less any contractual/Statutory Maternity Pay due.

SECTION 2: NOT RETURNING TO WORK FOLLOWING MATERNITY LEAVE

Maternity Leave & Pay

If you do not intend to return to work following the birth of your baby but satisfy the conditions identified in the introduction, then you will be entitled to maternity leave and pay as detailed in the attached guidelines.

Maternity Leave

SECTION 3: IF YOU ARE UNDECIDED ON WHETHER YOU WISH TO RETURN TO WORK

If you are undecided whether you wish to return to work following the birth of your baby, you will be paid as if you are not returning to work (see Section 2). Your post, however, will be held open and if you decide to return, provided you meet the qualifying criteria for contractual and Statutory Maternity Pay, then the additional monies will be paid to you in a lump sum following a period of 3 months after your return date as follows:

6 weeks - 1/10th of full pay

2 weeks - full pay (less SMP already paid)

18 weeks - half pay

SECTION 4: EMPLOYEES ON FIXED TERM OR TRAINING CONTRACTS

If you are on a fixed term or training contract, which expires between the 11th week before, and the 6th week after the week your baby is due and you satisfy the conditions identified in the Introduction, you will receive 39 weeks paid maternity leave and the remaining 13 weeks of unpaid maternity leave if you would otherwise have qualified for this (see Section 1).

Your contract will not be extended to cover a period of unpaid leave only. However, if you take up your next NHS appointment on or prior to the expiry of an absence on maternity leave (paid and unpaid) up to 52 weeks, it will not constitute a break in service.

If you are on a planned rotation, as part of an agreed programme of training, you have the right to return to work in the same post or in the next planned post within the same or another employing authority to enable you to complete the programme of training.

If you have no right of return because your contract would normally have ended if pregnancy and confinement had not occurred, the provisions of Section 1 (Failure to return to work) will not apply if the declaration to return was signed in good faith.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Previous NHS service

Previous NHS service will normally be considered if unbroken (i.e. a break in service of 3 months or less will be disregarded), when considering length of service for the purpose of calculating paid leave entitlement. There are further exceptions where a break in service should be disregarded, for more details refer to Section 15 of the Agenda for Change Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook or Appendix VI of the Hospital/Community Medical and Dental Staff Conditions of Service Handbook or contact your Human Resources Officer.

Annual Leave

Annual leave will continue to accrue during maternity leave, whether paid or unpaid. This may have implications when approaching a new leave year, therefore, it may be advisable to take your leave before and/or after the maternity leave period. The amount of annual leave taken in this way, or carried over, should be discussed and agreed between you and your line manager.

Please note that NHS Fife's current policy is to authorise up to a maximum of one working week of basic contracted hours of carry forward annual leave.

Maternity leave, paid and unpaid, shall count as service when calculating additional annual leave entitlement for long service, if appropriate. Please check with your local Human Resources Department if you have any queries about the impact of maternity leave on your leave entitlement.

Public Holidays

There can be no payment in lieu, accrual or carry forward of public holidays falling during paid or unpaid leave.

Sick Leave

If you intend to commence your maternity leave after the 11th week before the expected week that your baby is due, but prior to this date you are off sick then the following will apply; -

If you are absent on sick leave prior to the 4th week before your baby is due, you will be treated in accordance with the normal provisions for paid sick leave.

Odd days of pregnancy related illness during this period may be disregarded if you wish to continue working until the maternity leave start date previously notified to the employer.

If you are you are off sick at the start of or in the last four weeks before the expected week of childbirth, with a pregnancy related illness, then your maternity leave will normally commence from the beginning of the fourth week before the EWC or the beginning of the next week after the employee last worked, whichever is the later.

If you are absent on account of sickness during or after the 4th week before your baby is due, with an illness which is certified as unrelated to pregnancy, your absence shall be dealt with in accordance with the normal provisions for paid sick absence until the date which you have notified as the intended commencement date of maternity leave.

Antenatal Care

You are entitled to time off work with pay to attend ante-natal care in accordance with Section 55 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. If requested by your line manager, you may have to produce a certificate of pregnancy, signed by your GP or midwife and any document showing your appointments for the purpose of receiving ante-natal care.

Ability to Work

If, prior to the 4th week before your baby is due it is considered by a registered medical practitioner that you are unfit to carry out all or part of your normal duties, or that you or your baby are at risk were you to continue in your normal duties, but you have not been advised by your own GP to refrain from work; then where possible, alternative work will be provided for you, for which you will receive your normal rate of pay.

In certain situations, advice may be sought from the Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Service (OHSAS) and may include Health and Safety workplace assessments. These terms will also apply to those who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding their baby. It is the employer's responsibility to ensure that a risk assessment is carried out, where required.

Early Childbirth

If your baby is born earlier than the eleventh week before the EWC and you have worked during the actual week of childbirth, your maternity leave and pay will commence on the first day of your absence.

If your baby is born earlier than the eleventh week before the EWC and you have been absent from work on certified sickness absence during the actual week of childbirth, your maternity leave and pay will commence the day after the day of birth.