Maternity can be a complicated area and the last thing you want to do is get something wrong, then find you have a discrimination claim to deal with. I thought it would be useful to share with you some of the questions we are frequently asked and the advice we give to them.
- How much maternity leave is an employee entitled to?
All employees, no matter what their length of service, are entitled to take the full 52 weeks maternity leave, even if they have only been employed with you for one day. The 52 weeks is made up of 26 weeks Ordinary maternity leave and 26 weeks Additional maternity leave.
- Do I have to pay Statutory Maternity Pay? (SMP)
Yes, if the following criteria is met:
- - The employee has worked for you for a continuous period of at least 26 weeks ending with the qualifying week (the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth)
- - Her average weekly earnings in the eight weeks up to, and including, the qualifying week (or the equivalent period if monthly paid) have been at least equal to the lower earnings limit for National Insurance contributions.
The good news for nursery owners is that you may be able to recover some or all of the SMP you pay. How much you can recover depends on the amount of Class 1 National Insurance contributions you pay a year.
If an employee does not qualify for SMP they may be entitled to Maternity Allowance (MA), which is paid by the Benefits Agency and not the employer.
- Do employees still get holiday when on maternity leave?
While employees are on Ordinary and Additional maternity leave, both their contractual holiday entitlement and statutory holiday entitlement under the Working Time Regulations continue to accrue. We recommend that employees take their annual leave immediately before the period of maternity leave begins or carry over the holiday to the next holiday year.
- I have a staff member on maternity leave who wants to return to work part-time. Do I have to allow this?
Many employees think they have an automatic right to return to work part-time after having a baby. This is not true. They do, however, have a statutory right to request flexible wor
king. The request must be made in writing and you have a statutory duty to consider the request seriously and to refuse it only if there are clear business grounds for doing so. This can be difficult for nurseries, as often employees request to start work later in the morning and finish earlier. This can cause a headache with staff ratios and also not having staff available at the end of the day to meet with parents.
In short, make sure you understand maternity legislation, ensure your maternity policy is up to date, and don't discriminate against employees because they are pregnant.
