Maternity leave legalities are an on-going process in the UK, with
rates for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) and Maternity Allowance
(MA) subject to revision by the Department for Work and Pensions
each April.
Another department of importance for maternity leave issues is
the Department of Trade and Industry, which is responsible for
employment legislation and sex discrimination. This department
legislates that is illegal for an employer to discriminate against
an employee because she is pregnant or has given birth to a child.
The statutory maternity rights form a minimum standard of protection
established by Parliament. Women and their employers can negotiate
a better option if they wish, however, an employee will still always
be able to claim her statutory rights if these are better than
those agreed with her employer.
To qualify for maternity leave and SMP, a woman must be working under an employment
contract. All the rights apply to full-time and part-time employees, no matter
how many hours they work (provided they satisfy qualifying income conditions).
Women who work for more than one employer are able to exercise their maternity
rights separately for each employer.
Maternity Leave Options
Ordinary Maternity Leave: Pregnant
employees are entitled to 26 weeks’ ordinary maternity
leave regardless of how long they have worked for their employer.
Ordinary maternity leave is normally paid leave. During this
period their employment contract remains intact and the employee
receives all contractual benefits except wages or salary.
Additional Maternity Leave: Women
who have completed 26 weeks’ continuous employment with
their employer by the beginning of the 14th week before their
expected date of birth can take additional maternity leave. Additional
maternity leave starts immediately after ordinary maternity leave
and continues for a further 26 weeks. Additional maternity leave
is usually unpaid.
Compulsory Maternity Leave: A
pregnant employee may not work for her employer immediately after
childbirth. This period of compulsory maternity leave lasts for
two weeks (four weeks if she works in a factory) from the date
of birth. An employee resuming work after ordinary maternity
leave is entitled to benefit from any bonuses or raise in pay
which may have been introduced while she was on maternity leave.
Sickness trigger: A
woman’s maternity leave starts automatically if she is
absent from work for a pregnancy-related illness during the four
weeks before the start of her expected week of birth, regardless
of when she has declared her maternity leave to start.
OTHER LEAVE ENTITLEMENTS FOR PARENTS
Since April 2003, male employees can take up to two weeks’ paid paternity
leave to care for the new baby and support the mother. As well, employees (both
mothers and fathers) who have completed one year’s employment with their
employer are entitled to thirteen weeks’ unpaid parental leave to care
for their child. The leave can usually be taken up to five years from the date
of birth.
Health and Safety
Because new and expectant mothers may be at risk from different physical, biological
and chemical agents, processes and working conditions may be able to claim
unlawful sex discrimination if their employer fails to carry out a risk assessment.
Some of the more common risks might be:
• Standing or sitting for long lengths of time
• Exposure to infectious diseases
• Exposure to lead
• Work-related stress
• Workstations and posture
• Exposure to radioactive material
• Other people’s smoke in the workplace
• Long working hours
• Excessively noisy workplaces
Maternity Leave Benefits
There are two main maternity pay benefits in the UK: Statutory
Maternity Pay and Maternity Allowance.
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is
paid by employers to women who qualify. Pregnant employees who
meet qualifying conditions (based on their length of employment
and average earnings) are entitled to receive from their employers
up to 26 weeks Statutory Maternity Pay. To take advantage of this
right, an employee must properly notify her employer.
The rate of SMP is 90% of the woman’s average weekly earnings
for the first six weeks and then the lesser of either £100
a week or 90% of her average weekly earnings for the remaining
20 weeks.
Women who are not entitled to SMP may be eligible to claim up
to 26 weeks’ Maternity Allowance
(MA) paid by the social
security/Jobcentre Plus office. This is a weekly payment ofeither
90% of their average weekly earnings or £100 a week, whichever
is less.
Payment of SMP
SMP is paid whether or not the employee intends to return to work for her employer.
Once entitlement to SMP has been established, the employer must pay SMP even
if the employee leaves the employment before the SMP starts or during the
maternity pay period.
Employer's Recovery
Arrangements for employers to recover Statutory Maternity Pay are possible.
Employers can claim back 92% of the payments they make, with those eligible
for small employers’ relief able to claim back 100% plus an additional
amount in compensation for the employer’s portion of National Insurance
contributions paid on SMP.
In addition, employers can get funding in advance for payments of SMP from
the Inland Revenue.
For more information, both employees and employers can receive detailed information
about legislated Maternity Leave laws at the following website:
http://www.tiger.gov.uk/
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