Maternity leave and end of fixed term contract (external research funding)

[Englishrose35]

Hi - was wondering if anyone can help or advise on this although appreciate it is rather niche.

I have a part-time university contract which is a fixed term contract and due to end July of this year. I have been employed full time 2020-2023 and then part time since then to complete my PhD. I am funded by a charity/ external research funder but not a big one like MRC or NIHR. My other employer is NHS which is all fine.

I am pregnant and the due date is literally 2 weeks after my fixed term contract ends. So I would be starting maternity leave before the end of the contract. However I am not very sure whether I will be entitled to occupational or statutory maternity pay for the university side of things.

I have contacted HR and await a response. The policy is not very clear and does not mention definitely extending the contract - I guess the money for this would presumably need to come from the funding body? Are they legally obliged to pay me maternity pay or extend this?

Luckily I will have occupational and statutory maternity pay for my other part time role in NHS. But it doesn't seem right or fair that I won't get any from the university after this time if they don't extend the contract.

Has anyone had a similar situation with the university or funding and can advise?

Thanks

I don’t see why it is unfair, if you have a baby after a job ends, why would that job pay?

I’m not an HR professional but recently quit academia to avoid a scenario like this. At my old employer the policy was to pay your occupational pay even if your job ended, but they were clear this wasn’t a legal obligation. They may be legally obliged to pay your stat pay though, I can’t remember.

It’s worth understanding that if they don’t extend your contract they are making you redundant (it’s often not put like that in universities) and you are entitled to special legal protections if you are made redundant while on maternity leave (eg you should be offered alternative jobs without having to apply for them) but not if you are pregnant. So it may be worth planning to go on maternity leave 3 weeks before your due date, so that you will already be on it when your contract ends.

I think the university will pay statutory maternity pay but might not pay enhanced. This comes out of central university funds, not from your fellowship or grant so it won't impact that. Do start your mat leave early to be sure there is a week or two of salary to come back to afterwards.

Congratulations on your pregnancy! Almost exactly the same thing happened to somebody I managed - she just got SMP. She did start her mat leave at the earliest opportunity so that she got some paid time off before the baby came.

Hello - I have been in a similar situation. In that case I was able to start maternity leave before baby arrived (check institutions maternity policy for specific week of pregnancy in which you can). It is not uncommon as so many women struggle to work in last few weeks of pregnancy. It was a small amount of mat pay but helped.

You should get SMP as you would be there in the qualifying week which is the 25th week of pregnancy. Once you qualify you are entitled to SMP even if you leave or your FTC ends

If there’s no money in the research grant beyond the end of your contract who do you think should pay you ? Your Pi from her salary? Who will do the work you were contracted to do …?

Not in academia, but I was on a fixed term contract with a temp agency when I went on mat leave. They legally had to pay me smp throughout my leave, despite my contract having ended. In fact, I went part time but after the calculations week so I was actually earning more on leave than I had been in the previous weeks due to it being based on the full time earnings I had in the assessment period!

@LittleBigHead that is an unkind message. Universities are large organisations and SMP is a basic employment right for women. It is not the OP’s problem how the work gets done or where the money comes from.

@Blackcordoroys @LittleBigHead once the OP qualifies for SMP then she will be entitled to get the payment whether her FTC ends or she leaves the job. Her SMP can be claimed back anyway.

Do I still get SMP if my job ends after the 15th week before my baby is due?

Yes, you can still get SMP as long as you are employed in all or part of the 15th week before your baby is due and you meet the normal qualifying conditions stated above. Once you have qualified for SMP, you are entitled to receive it for the full 39 weeks (unless you start a new job for a new employer). This is true even if you are made redundant, you leave your job or a fixed term contract comes to an end at any time in or after the 15th week before your baby is due or during your maternity leave.

Remember, you do not have to repay your SMP if you are not going back to work – all employers can claim your SMP from HMRC.

Yes I fully agree re SMP. Enhanced pay isn’t likely or fair though (imo)

Universities have overhead on grants to cover costs like this out of central funds. They are legally obliged to cover these costs and it should not impact the grant holder.

I was in exactly the same position: working as a research associate on a research council-funded project and due to give birth around the time my contract ended (although I ended up having the baby early anyway). My university gave me contractual maternity pay for 9 months, even though my fixed-term contract had ended when the baby was a month old. This at a Russell group institution though, and it's clearly not the same everywhere.

Incidentally, I don't see why women in this position shouldn't be entitled to maternity pay, especially as so many researchers arrange their fertility around their fixed-term contracts. As can be seen from the fact my due date was at the end of my contract, I'd already delayed trying for a child until I was 9 months away from the end of my contract, so as not to mess up the project I was part of. I don't think people who work in the private sector on permanent contracts quite understand the pressures that researchers are under to arrange their private lives for the convenience of their universities.

Hi @mackerella - I’m really glad you were treated appropriately by your uni.
multiple people on this thread who have permanent contracts, including me, have expressed the same view as you. It’s been a minority who have disagreed, and others have challenged them. I don’t think this is an us and them situation.