How soon is too soon?
It was reported by the BBC recently that the Manager of
Reading Women’s Football Club, Kelly Chambers, returned to
the workplace just 12 days after giving birth but employees and
employers should avoid following this example if they want to stay
within the boundaries of the law.
Working in the first two weeks after
childbirth (or in the first four weeks in the
case of factory workers) is prohibited
by the Maternity and Paternity Leave
Regulations 1999. It is a criminal offence
for an employer to allow a woman to work
during this period of compulsory maternity
leave.
It’s safe to say that Kelly Chambers is an
unusual case (and as she was watching
the game from the stands she probably
couldn’t be said to have been working in
any event) as most mothers won’t want to
return to work so soon after giving birth but
what are an employee’s rights to maternity
leave?
All employees are entitled to up to 52
weeks maternity leave regardless as to
their length of service but of course they
can take less.
Maternity leave can not start any earlier
than the beginning of the 11th week before
the expected week of childbirth, unless the
baby is born prematurely. Maternity leave
must always start on the date the baby is
born (if it hasn’t already) so an employee
76
can’t use their annual leave entitlement if
they have already had their child.
An employee should notify her employer of
the fact that she is pregnant, the expected
week of childbirth and the date when she
wants her maternity leave to start. She
doesn’t have to do this until the end of the
15th week before the baby is due but it
is sensible to notify the employer before
then in order to be entitled to time off work
for antenatal appointments as referred to
below.
It is important that the employer replies to
this notification within 28 days to confirm
the date upon which her maternity leave
will end.
A woman can request a change to the date
she wishes to start or end her maternity
leave but there are time limits by which
such a request must be made – 28 days
and 8 weeks respectively.
Pregnant employees are also entitled
to paid time off to attend antena tal
appointments and since October 2015 an
employee (or agency worker) who has a
“qualifying relationship” with a pregnant
woman (or her expected child) is also
entitled to take time off to accompany the
woman to antenatal appointments but this
right is to unpaid time off only.
A woman continues to accrue holiday
entitlement while on maternity leave and
it is worth noting that if she prevented
from taking all of her leave entitlement in
the year in which it accrues, she must be
allowed to carry it over to the next holiday
year.
This is an exception to the normal rule on
holiday which is that an employee must
use it (in the year it accrues) or lose it so it
is sensible to assess the amount of holiday
a woman will have outstanding as at the
date she is due to start maternity leave and
encourage her to take that holiday before
her maternity leave starts.
Employers are entitled to have reasonable
contact with employees who are on
maternity leave.
What is reasonable will depend on
individual circumstances such that the
timing and method of any communication
should be agreed with the employee
in advance of her maternity leave
commencing. Employees on maternity
leave should certainly be notified of internal
vacancies and staff social events as a
minimum, unless they choose not to be.
By Sam Dickinson