MNHQ here: post your pregnancy & maternity work questions here for FREE legal advice from Maternity Action

[JuliaMumsnet]

Free online advice clinic 7th March - 11th March 2022 - OPEN NOW.

Welcome to the first clinic of the year and happy almost-spring to all of you.

Mumsnet and Maternity Action are once again teaming up to provide an online legal clinic, offering free advice on pregnancy, maternity and parental rights at work from volunteer employment lawyers who are members of the Employment Law Association. All past clinics here.

Whether you have a question about maternity leave, your request for flex work, your rights as a pregnant worker, or think you may be discriminated against by your employer because of being a parent or parent-to-be, this is the place for you.

The clinic will run for a week from Monday 7th to Friday 11th March and is one of several that we hold each year. The Maternity Action team will do their best to provide all answers during the week and at the latest by the Tuesday of the following week. More information on where to go for more help once the clinic has ended is here.

How it works:

1. If you have a question about your rights at work during pregnancy, maternity or parental leave please post it online from today and before the 11th March. Please give as much information as possible but remember that this is an online forum and can be viewed by the public – including your colleagues and employer. Please don’t name your employer publicly if you are likely to be taking action against them in future. You can use private message to disclose any information you'd prefer to keep off the public forums.
   

1. Please send your name and the name of your employer by private message to @MaternityActionfreeadvice so that it can be passed on to the volunteers to do a conflict of interest check. We cannot post a reply until you have sent this information by private message.
   

1. Once your advice has been posted online, you will have an opportunity to provide feedback. This helps us to find out whether you found the advice helpful, whether it helped you to resolve your situation at work and some information about you. All survey responses are anonymous and confidential. Providing feedback will help us to see what improvements can be made in developing this type of online free legal advice clinic. Fill out the survey here.
   

Ts and Cs – please read

The advice provided to an individual poster is based only on the information provided by that poster. Advice on this thread is also particular to the individual who has asked for it and is likely to be specific to that person’s situation. A poster may have provided further relevant information by private message which will not appear on this thread. So please take care if you choose to apply that advice to your own situation - it is recommended that you first take legal advice from one of the sources we have suggested here.

Mumsnet, Maternity Action and Maternity Action's volunteers accept no liability for any loss suffered as a result of an individual choosing to follow advice provided to another poster's question on the thread.
The lawyers, all of whom are specialists in employment law, will be working as volunteers for Maternity Action in respect of the clinic. Any personal information collected as a result of the clinic will be held by Maternity Action and will be deleted after 18 months. If you wish to make a complaint about the service you received, you can use Maternity Action’s complaints policy here.

[pinkpig1]

I'm on mat leave currently. I'm due to return in a couple of months. Do I have to return to doing my full time hours as I am planning only doing part time due to the lack of childcare. Do they have to allow this?

[zigazigaahfuck]

I'm not entitled to SMP as I'm in a new job, but my employer have said they will still give me 8 weeks at full pay before I drop down to SMP.

They didn't realise initially that I wasn't eligible for SMP (only MA) so will their goodwill gesture still stand if I have to claim MA instead of SMP? Is there anything legally that would block the goodwill gesture from happening?

[NotYourOscarSpeech]

I’ve had a difficult pregnancy (HG) and been signed off for basically the entirety. At the beginning as a reasonable adjustment I went down to PT (0.6) for an agreed period of 3 months. Most of this I was signed off for. Since then my (sick) pay has continued at 0.6. Assuming I’m off for the remainder of my pregnancy, am I a) entitled to contractual maternity pay as a full time worker and b) if not; entitled to insist that I return to work at 0.6 if they’re not willing to pay me full time sick and maternity pay?

[HeyBlaby]

Hi, I am a nurse with an NHS trust, I work permanent nights in the community (12.5 hour shifts)

I am 13 weeks pregnant with a high risk pregnancy, I have just returned from 3 weeks sick leave due to hyperemesis.

I find I am well in the day at home, however the night shifts are difficult and I am having extreme difficulty coping and sleeping in the day.

If my GP were to write a FIT note stating I cannot work night shifts, would my employer still be required to pay me my night shift enhancements if they move me onto day shifts?

Many thanks!

[TakeMyMoney]

I am struggling to do my usual duties at work because I have pgp, I have asked if I can be moved across into a different section of the department where I’ll be able to sit down for my whole shift and ease the pressure on my pelvis but I’m being told im not allowed to and if I can’t do my job, I’ll need to start maternity leave early. Is that right

[Missmxx]

I am currently on maternity leave with my daughter and my 52 weeks are due to end in the end of June, I am currently pregnant again and due in October, I won’t be working the qualifying weeks to get SMP but will I still qualify for maternity allowance? Also will the company still have to hold my position at work for me or can they make me leave?

[PeeAche]

I work for a very large corporation who have a "matrix management system" meaning that my performance and annual leave etc are not managed by the same people that I work with each day (project managers.)

My line manager is referred to as my "functional manager" and my PM reporting line is referred to as my "operational manager"

I downloaded the mat policy and followed the steps exactly. The main thing was to let my functional manager know, in writing, asap. Which I did (in December) and followed up with my MATB1 in February, as soon as it became available. Both letters clearly set out my pregnancy, my estimated week of childbirth, my mat leave intentions and my intention to return to work after 52 weeks.

I have had no written confirmation by return from HR, outlining my entitlements and accepting my MATB1. Nor have I been offered a risk assessment (I'm now 25 weeks).

I also recently found out that my functional manager has handed in his notice and is leaving. He will cease to be my manager whilst I am on maternity leave and I do not know who his replacement is.

I have a suspicion that he has just not handed over my letters or forms to HR and therefore the ball I assumed was rolling has not moved at all.

I have now passed the deadline for notifying HR 15 weeks before the start of my EWC. I gave my manager the letters in person so (other than the meeting entries in my calendar) I have no evidence that I actually notified him in December and again last month.

I have been at my company for years and I am entitled to their full package (which is 9 months at either full or 90% pay). Without this, I am royally screwed.

What do I do now? I need to act quickly. Do I write to HR directly and explain? My boss is still in post but he isn't responding to my calls and emails.

HR do not have a contact number or email, but there is a "help desk" form on the company portal. The requests go to a central team that also deal with facilities and IT requests.

If I have missed the 15 week deadline, are they still obliged to honour my request?

Thanks

[duckme]

My employer kept my 'temporary' maternity cover on after I returned. There isn't enough work for all of us and it has had a massive impact on my mental health since returning to work. Whilst I was away, parts of my job were given to another member of staff who was promoted to include the work that I used to do. This was done without an interview process or me being asked if I would like to be considered for the role. This person was given a pay rise to bring her in line with my pay and scale.
I did return to work doing different hours to what I did prior to leave, so I'm not sure where I stand. But I'm sure that the promotion in particular was done before I had notified them of my intent to go part time and therefore they should not have been stripping my role and sharing it around the office.
Do I have any rights here? Were they in the wrong?

[JuliaMumsnet]

Thanks everyone for your questions so far! Quick reminder to send your name and employer name by DM to @maternityactionfreeadvice if you've asked a question

[MaternityActionfreeadvice]

@NotYourOscarSpeech

I’ve had a difficult pregnancy (HG) and been signed off for basically the entirety. At the beginning as a reasonable adjustment I went down to PT (0.6) for an agreed period of 3 months. Most of this I was signed off for. Since then my (sick) pay has continued at 0.6. Assuming I’m off for the remainder of my pregnancy, am I a) entitled to contractual maternity pay as a full time worker and b) if not; entitled to insist that I return to work at 0.6 if they’re not willing to pay me full time sick and maternity pay?

Dear NotYourOscarSpeech

I'm sorry to hear you've had such a difficult time. The overarching question is whether it was agreed that your contract changed to 0.6 on a permanent basis.

To take your questions in reverse, if it was agreed that your contract is now 0.6 FTE, your sick pay, maternity pay and pay on return to work are likely to remain at 0.6 from the date of the agreement (although the calculation of sick pay and maternity pay can depend on your earnings during a particular period). On return from maternity leave you are entitled to return to the same job that you were doing immediately before your leave, which would be 0.6 FTE if it is now agreed that there was a permanent change to your contract and which you were working (or would have been working had you not been off sick) before the start of your maternity leave.

You have mentioned that your employer originally agreed to a temporary adjustment of working hours for 3 months and this was presumably agreed on the basis that your HG would pass and you would be able to return to work on your normal hours. If this is the case, any pay or sick pay should return to your normal full-time pay after the end of the 3 month period. However, you will need to check your contract to see how any contractual sick pay is calculated, for example, if it is based on your hours during a particular period it could mean that the temporary reduction in your hours is affecting your current sick pay. However, if your company sick pay is based on your normal contractual hours, this suggests that your sick pay should return to full pay once the end of the 3 month period has ended or should be continuing on 0.6 if it is now agreed that your contract has changed permanently.

Maternity Pay

In relation to your maternity pay, your Statutory Maternity Pay will be based on your average weekly earnings in the 8 weeks (if you are paid weekly) or 2 months (if you are paid monthly) before the end of the 15th week before your baby is due. If you were on 0.6 during this period, your SMP will be based on those earnings.

You will need to check your contract/employer's maternity policy to see how they determine your occupational maternity pay (OMP). A contract will often say that OMP will be based on the same calculation of average weekly earnings as for SMP which will mean that your OMP will also be based on 0.6. Or it may state that OMP is based on normal contractual salary which is arguably your full time salary although this may depend on what is now agreed with your employer.

Next steps

Firstly, it's important to be clear what outcome you would like. If you want to return to your full-time post (either before or after your maternity leave) I would suggest asking for a meeting to discuss your contractual hours and to be clear that the temporary reduction was for 3 months but after that period you reverted to your full-time contract.

If you have passed the 15th week before your expected week of childbirth your SMP will be based on your actual gross earnings during the 8 weeks/2 months prior and this cannot now be rectified, however, you can ask your employer to review your sick pay after the temporary reduction in hours has ended and to clarify how much OMP you will be getting.

Note: if it is agreed that you are now back on your full-time hours and you want to ask to return to work part-time after maternity leave, you will need to make an application for flexible work at least 3 to 4 months prior to the end of your maternity leave. There is more information on flexible work applications here: www.acas.org.uk/flexible-working and on the Maternity Action website.

If your preference is to secure a 0.6 FTE contract now it is important to contact your employer to ensure that this is their understanding too and ask for confirmation that this is a permanent change to your contract. I would suggest getting this in writing e.g. by emailing your employer and keeping a record. If you are not well enough to go into work to try to resolve this you can ask for a meeting by phone or online and think about who best to take this up with e.g. your line manager or someone more senior as well as HR. I hope that helps and best wishes.

[MaternityActionfreeadvice]

@HeyBlaby

Hi, I am a nurse with an NHS trust, I work permanent nights in the community (12.5 hour shifts)

I am 13 weeks pregnant with a high risk pregnancy, I have just returned from 3 weeks sick leave due to hyperemesis.

I find I am well in the day at home, however the night shifts are difficult and I am having extreme difficulty coping and sleeping in the day.

If my GP were to write a FIT note stating I cannot work night shifts, would my employer still be required to pay me my night shift enhancements if they move me onto day shifts?

Many thanks!

Dear HeyBlaby

Congratulations on your pregnancy and I am sorry to hear you have been unwell.

Regulation 17 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 state that where a new or expectant mother works at night and a certificate from a registered medical practitioner or a registered midwife shows that it is necessary for her health or safety that she should not be at work for any period of such work identified in the certificate, her employer shall suspend her from work for so long as is necessary for her health or safety. However, if there is suitable alternative work available, your employer can offer you suitable alternative day work.

If you are provided with suitable alternative day work the regulations state that:

For alternative work to be suitable for an employee for the purposes of this section—

(a) the work must be of a kind which is both suitable in relation to her and appropriate for her to do in the circumstances, and

(b) the terms and conditions applicable to her for performing the work, if they differ from the corresponding terms and conditions applicable to her for performing the work she normally performs under her contract of employment, must not be substantially less favourable to her than those corresponding terms and conditions.

If you are provided with day work and your employer does not continue to provide night shift enhancements, it is arguable that this is 'substantially less favourable' and you may have a claim for unauthorised deduction of wages, however, this is likely to depend on all the circumstances. We have more information on time limits and where to go for more help: maternityaction.org.uk/where-to-go-for-more-help-legal-clinic/
If you are in a union you should seek their support as soon as possible.

I would recommend that you discuss matters with your employer prior to getting the fit note to see what work is available and see if you can reach an agreement as your employer may continue paying you at the normal rate during a period of pregnancy-related adjustments in any event.

If, in discussion with your GP, you decide that you are not well enough to work, either now or later in your pregnancy, you should check your contract as you may be entitled to full contractual sick pay.

I hope that helps and best wishes.

[MaternityActionfreeadvice]

@pinkpig1

I'm on mat leave currently. I'm due to return in a couple of months. Do I have to return to doing my full time hours as I am planning only doing part time due to the lack of childcare. Do they have to allow this?

Dear pinkpig1

Thank you for your question.

(a) Flexible working requests

Provided you are an employee with at least 26 weeks’ continuous service, you are entitled to request flexible working (s80F Employment Rights Act 1996). This can be for any reason including e.g. to help with childcare. Flexible working requests can include e.g. requests to work from home, to reduce your hours, to change your start or end working times, or to work compressed hours.

We recommend that you ask for a copy of your employer’s flexible working policy or see if you can locate it e.g. within the staff handbook or on the intranet. We will provide some general information about the statutory application process below.

You can only make a statutory flexible work application once every 12 months. You must include the following information in your statutory flexible work application:

· State that it is an application for flexible work under s80F of Employment Rights Act 1996.

· State the working pattern you are asking for and the date you want it to start

· Explain what effect, if any, you think the new working pattern would have on your employer and how you think it could be dealt with (e.g. how they could ensure workload is being covered that you would not be able to do within your newly proposed working pattern)

· State whether you have asked before and, if so, when

· Sign and date the application

After you have submitted your formal application, your employer should consider your application and arrange to meet with you to discuss it in more detail. Your employer should allow you to be accompanied by a work colleague or representative to any meeting to discuss your request and any appeal (para 5 ACAS Code of Practice). It’s a good idea to bring someone with you even if you feel confident about the meeting, as they can help you take notes and act as a witness.

Your employer must deal with your request in a reasonable manner (which would include, for example, considering your views on any counterproposals they make). They should notify you of the outcome of your request (including their response to any written appeal you make) within a 3-month period (although this decision-making period can be extended by agreement). Given it can take up to 3 months to receive a final answer from your employer, if you are due to return from maternity leave in the next few months we recommend you put in any request for flexible working as soon as possible.

While you have the right to ask for flexible working, you do not have the right to get the arrangement you want. However, your employer can only refuse your request for one of the following reasons:

1. There would be a burden of additional costs;
   

1. It would have a detrimental effect on their ability to meet customer demand;
   

1. They are unable to reorganise the work among existing staff;
   

1. They are unable to recruit additional staff;
   

1. It would have a detrimental effect on quality;
   

1. It would have a detrimental effect on performance;
   

1. There is not enough work during the periods you want to work; or
   

1. Your employer is planning structural changes or reorganising work and the request will not fit with these plans.
   

If they reject your proposal, they should explain their rationale for doing so, and which of the 8 refusal reasons their decision falls under.

If your employer refuses your request for flexible working, there is no statutory right to appeal. However, para 12 ACAS Code of Practice states that it is best practice to allow appeals. If you appeal your employer’s decision, you should follow any workplace policy on appeals. You will have their reason for refusing your application and you can use this as an opportunity to rebut their reasons, or to propose further alternative working patterns.

Finally, if your employer refuses a perfectly reasonable, workable request out right; seriously mishandles the procedure; or has insufficient justification for their refusal, you may be able to challenge their decision under sex discrimination laws (depending on the circumstances, including the reasons given for refusal). It is generally accepted by Employment Tribunals that women tend to have more caring responsibilities than men, and therefore women tend to be more disadvantaged by having flexible working requests refused. For guidance on bringing an Employment Tribunal claim for discrimination, please check the Maternity Action and ACAS websites.

We recommend that you take a look at the following resources for further information on flexible working requests:

· Maternity Action advice on child friendly working hours: maternityaction.org.uk/advice/child-friendly-working-hours/

· ACAS Code of Practice on flexible working requests:


(b) Using accrued annual leave to work part time on a short-term basis

Whilst not a long-term solution, please note that you continue to accrue annual leave whilst on maternity leave, which you may not yet have taken. Check your contract of employment for your annual leave entitlement (by law, it should be a minimum of 28 days per year, which can include public holidays). Some parents choose to take this accrued annual leave all in one go at the end of their maternity leave, to effectively extend the time they have off to care for their child by around 1 month (but on a fully paid basis). However, other parents choose to spread the taking of this accrued annual leave out (e.g. taking 1-2 days per week for several months) to allow them to essentially work on a part time basis whilst continuing to earn a full time salary. This can often assist new parents financially whilst allowing them to ease back into the workplace (and may be a useful short-term solution if any formal flexible working request is still being considered by your employer). Booking annual leave must be done with your employer’s agreement so please follow your employer’s policy in this regard.

Good luck, I hope this goes well for you.

[MaternityActionfreeadvice]

@TakeMyMoney

I am struggling to do my usual duties at work because I have pgp, I have asked if I can be moved across into a different section of the department where I’ll be able to sit down for my whole shift and ease the pressure on my pelvis but I’m being told im not allowed to and if I can’t do my job, I’ll need to start maternity leave early. Is that right

Dear TakeMyMoney

I am sorry to hear of the difficulties that you are facing at work.

The first thing I would question is whether your employer has carried out a risk assessment to establish whether there are health and safety risks in relation to your job and what adjustments can be made. Standing or sitting for long periods are recognised as a risk in pregnancy. Your employer is under an obligation to individually assess risks during your pregnancy taking account of your individual role and any health conditions and to keep it under review.

It may help to show them this guidance for employers from the Health and Safety Executive. It may also be helpful to ask your GP for a Fit Note (or your midwife may be willing to provide a letter) stating that you are fit for work despite the pgp you are suffering from but that adjustments are needed to ensure that you can sit down to do your job so that you can continue working until the start of your maternity leave.

If there are health and safety risks at work you are entitled to reasonable adjustments to your working conditions or hours of work. If this is not possible or does not remove the risks, you are entitled to safe suitable alternative work, for example, to be moved to another department as you have already requested. If there is no suitable alternative work you are entitled to be suspended on full pay.

It is your choice as to when you take your maternity leave and you must give notice by the 15th week before your expected week of childbirth or as soon as possible. You must also give your MATB1 maternity certificate which you can get from your midwife once you are at least 20 weeks' pregnant. The earliest you can start your maternity leave is 11 weeks before your expected week of childbirth and the latest it can start is the day after childbirth (if you give birth before starting your maternity leave). However, you should note that if you are off sick for a pregnancy-related reason or because of a maternity suspension on health and safety grounds in the 4 weeks before your expected week of childbirth, your employer can automatically start your maternity leave and pay (but not before the 36th week of pregnancy).

Note also that you continue to accrue annual leave during your maternity leave so it is important to book your annual leave well before the start of your maternity leave period. It may help to resolve matters if you can set out for your employer when you wish to take annual leave, your intended maternity leave dates and the period for which you are seeking adjustments to your role.

I would suggest asking for a meeting to discuss the situation and send your employer the information from HSE above. It may be helpful to meet with your line manager or senior manager and/or HR. If you are unable to resolve it you can raise a grievance, however, I would suggest this as a last resort as it is not always a very constructive way of trying to resolve disputes. It is important to be clear what adjustments would need to be carried out to your role in order for you to continue working until you start your maternity leave ie regular breaks or an opportunity to sit down etc.

We have a model letter for writing to your employer and further information on how to manage health and safety disputes on the Maternity Action website here: maternityaction.org.uk/advice/health-and-safety-during-pregnancy-and-on-return-to-work/

I hope that helps and best wishes.

[MaternityActionfreeadvice]

@zigazigaahfuck

I'm not entitled to SMP as I'm in a new job, but my employer have said they will still give me 8 weeks at full pay before I drop down to SMP.

They didn't realise initially that I wasn't eligible for SMP (only MA) so will their goodwill gesture still stand if I have to claim MA instead of SMP? Is there anything legally that would block the goodwill gesture from happening?

Dear zigazigaahfuck

Yes, you can receive enhanced maternity pay from your employer as well as Maternity Allowance (MA) regardless of whether they provide occupational maternity pay as a contractual benefit or, in your case, as a gesture of goodwill. Any enhanced benefits are up to individual employers so unfortunately you can't insist on it.

You will need to claim Maternity Allowance directly from DWP. The claim form is here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/maternity-allowance-claim-form
You will need to wait until you are at least 26 weeks' pregnant to submit the MA claim form (or later if you still need to complete the required 26 weeks of employment in the 66 weeks before your baby is due).

Some employers deduct any SMP or MA from the occupational maternity pay that they provide so your employer may decide to reduce your 8 weeks' full pay by the amount of MA you are awarded by DWP but they don't have to. If their maternity policy is silent on the matter and your employer has not mentioned it, it suggests you will receive the enhanced maternity pay that is being offered and you will receive your MA in addition from DWP.

[MaternityActionfreeadvice]

Thank you to all those who have posted your queries so far.

If you have posted a query and not yet received a response we may not have a DM with your full name and the name of your employer. This is purely used for a conflict check and is not logged or stored in any other capacity.

If you have sent us this information already, your query is with a volunteer and will be posted as soon as it is received.

Many thanks.

[MaternityActionfreeadvice]

@Missmxx

I am currently on maternity leave with my daughter and my 52 weeks are due to end in the end of June, I am currently pregnant again and due in October, I won’t be working the qualifying weeks to get SMP but will I still qualify for maternity allowance? Also will the company still have to hold my position at work for me or can they make me leave?

Dear Missmxx,

Thank you very much for your question. Congratulations on your pregnancy and I hope you and your baby are doing well during your current maternity leave.

Job Security

Your employer cannot make you leave because you are pregnant again or because you go on a second period of maternity leave. You are entitled to the same maternity leave as you are enjoying currently with your daughter.

On your next maternity leave, if you take up-to 26 weeks of maternity leave, you have a right to return to the same job on the same terms as you had prior to your maternity leave. If you are off to over 26 weeks, then you have right to return to the same job and on the same terms as you had before your maternity leave, or if that's not possible for some reason, to a suitable alternative job on no less favourable terms. These rights apply no matter how many periods of maternity leave you have taken.

The situation may be different if your employer starts a redundancy process: if that happens please refer to the Maternity Action website for more information relating to redundancy during pregnancy, maternity and parental leave. Employees returning from maternity leave are not completely protected from redundancy, but they do have special rights including first refusal on any suitable alternative vacancies.

Maternity Pay

In terms of pay – as a first step speak to your employer about what they will offer. Look at your contract and any maternity pay policy. The policy may be drafted in such a way that you are entitled to enhanced maternity pay even for a consecutive maternity leave, or your employer may agree to offer this. Having that conversation is an important first step and hopefully you and your employer will be on the same page.

Assuming your employer does not offer enhanced pay, unfortunately, it seems that you may not be eligible for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP). When calculating SMP, there are some longwinded rules that explain what "snapshot" period your pay is assessed at to determine if you have a right to receive SMP (and if so the rate). Your 'qualifying week' is the week 15 weeks before the week of your due date. To be eligible for SMP, you would have to be paid at least £123 per week on average in the 8 weeks (if you are paid weekly) or 2 months (if you are paid monthly) before your 'qualifying week' (that is the "snapshot" period). If you are off on maternity leave receiving no pay in that snapshot period, then you would not qualify for SMP.

If possible, you could return to work during this snapshot period, to become eligible for SMP (if your earnings for that period are £123 or greater per week). That could involve ending maternity leave early, and either working or agreeing to use holidays in that period. If you are not able to work/take holiday or receiving any maternity pay from your employer during the snapshot period, you will not qualify for SMP. If you do not qualify for SMP, you are likely to qualify for Maternity Allowance (MA).


Maternity Allowance is the same as the flat rate of SMP (the difference is that you do not get the enhanced sum (90% of your average earnings) for the first 6 weeks). However, you should also bear in mind that if you are claiming Universal Credit, SMP is partially disregarded but MA is taken into account in full and you should seek further advice on your benefit entitlement.

To claim MA, you need to:

• Have been employed (or on maternity leave) for 26 weeks out of the last 66 weeks before your expected week of childbirth (you will meet this test as you are employed during your current maternity leave); and
  

• Over the 66 weeks before your expected week of childbirth have earned more than £30 per week for 13 weeks (this does not need to be in a row and as you will have received SMP at least, you will meet this test).
  

In order to claim the maximum amount of MA (£156.66 per week from April 2022), you should send payslips for the 13 weeks in which you earned the most money. These payslips can include the weeks that you have been receiving SMP or any weeks in your 66 week period in which your earnings were higher.

You can find the claim form here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/maternity-allowance-claim-form

You will need your MATB1 maternity certificate and an SMP1 form from your employer confirming that you are not entitled to SMP.

If you do find that there are any areas of disagreement with your employer about the rights above, then try and resolve it amicably in the first instance. You do have the option of raising a grievance but it tends to be best to try and resolve matters informally when you can.



I wish you all the best and please refer to the Maternity Action website for more information relating to pregnancy during maternity leave: maternityaction.org.uk/advice/pregnant-during-maternity-leave/

[Whambams]

I am due in August and my holiday allowance runs Jan-Jan.

1. Am I right in thinking I am entitled to all my annual leave for the year, even of I'm on maternity from August?
   
2. I can't carry over holiday, so can I use it when baby is born and start maternity leave a week or two later?
   

My job is low stress and home-based so I might as well work up 'til baby arrives so I have more time not paying for childcare the other side of birth.

[Jessica5950]

I am due to return to work having taken just over six months maternity leave. The man who was covering me is being kept on as ‘extra capacity’ but his new role is leadership of various departments that I was previously responsible for, essentially stripping my role of over 50% of its responsibilities. I lose ultimate responsibility of vast swathes of the company as his new role will not report to me but be on the same level. It essentially means, to me, my previous role has been divided up although they say the job description will remain the same and are claiming no change to my role? The reason given is that we need more capacity which I accept, but to lose so much of my previous role surely is not right? And means a loss of seniority in essence as my role is equivalent to CEO.

[Greybutterfly]

I have been advised that I have to continue paying my student loan repayment whilst on maternity. I am taking a year off and am entitled to 3 months full pay, 3 half pay plus smp, up to week 39 smp, then no pay for remainder.
Is it correct that my company will continue to deduct this for the first 6 months. Having to pay this out means I probably cannot now afford to take as much time unpaid. Is there any way I can defer this whilst on maternity?

[LaddieCthulu]

Hi,

I was interviewed, offered and accepted a conditional offer for a job in the NHS in January when I was 6 weeks pregnant. Idid not tell them as it was such early days. I completed paperwork in January where they askedme to say if I had a disability, which would INCLUDE pregnancy stating they would need to assess risk at the work place. I did not declare it as I was still only 7-8 weeks.

I have just received the unconditional offer thisweek as it takes the NHS ages to process hr docs. I am now about 14 weeks and wish to declare the pregnancy.

Have I done anything wrong? Could they pull my contract? My midwife said I have no duty to tell them until 25 weeks but the form worries me. I didn't even know if we would be proceeding with the pregnancy at that point though!

Any advice would be welcome.thanks.

[GrouchyLadybird88]

My company offers yearly pay rises that are performance based. These are awarded on the anniversary of your start date so everyone gets their pay review at different times of the year. Each year you are awarded either nothing, A or B. This year I have been awarded A but advised this has been adjusted to a pro rata amount as I was on maternity leave for 4 months of the year. Are they allowed to do this?

[LaddieCthulu]

I tried to message you my details but it said the nickname wasn't recognised, please could you advise?

[MaternityActionfreeadvice]

@LaddieCthulu

I tried to message you my details but it said the nickname wasn't recognised, please could you advise?

We have sent you a DM, hopefully it has come through and you'll be able to respond to it.

[MaternityActionfreeadvice]

@PeeAche

I work for a very large corporation who have a "matrix management system" meaning that my performance and annual leave etc are not managed by the same people that I work with each day (project managers.)

My line manager is referred to as my "functional manager" and my PM reporting line is referred to as my "operational manager"

I downloaded the mat policy and followed the steps exactly. The main thing was to let my functional manager know, in writing, asap. Which I did (in December) and followed up with my MATB1 in February, as soon as it became available. Both letters clearly set out my pregnancy, my estimated week of childbirth, my mat leave intentions and my intention to return to work after 52 weeks.

I have had no written confirmation by return from HR, outlining my entitlements and accepting my MATB1. Nor have I been offered a risk assessment (I'm now 25 weeks).

I also recently found out that my functional manager has handed in his notice and is leaving. He will cease to be my manager whilst I am on maternity leave and I do not know who his replacement is.

I have a suspicion that he has just not handed over my letters or forms to HR and therefore the ball I assumed was rolling has not moved at all.

I have now passed the deadline for notifying HR 15 weeks before the start of my EWC. I gave my manager the letters in person so (other than the meeting entries in my calendar) I have no evidence that I actually notified him in December and again last month.

I have been at my company for years and I am entitled to their full package (which is 9 months at either full or 90% pay). Without this, I am royally screwed.

What do I do now? I need to act quickly. Do I write to HR directly and explain? My boss is still in post but he isn't responding to my calls and emails.

HR do not have a contact number or email, but there is a "help desk" form on the company portal. The requests go to a central team that also deal with facilities and IT requests.

If I have missed the 15 week deadline, are they still obliged to honour my request?

Thanks

Dear PeeAche

Thank you for your query. I am sorry to hear that you have been let down by your manager. It sounds as if they have likely done nothing with the information you gave them which is unfortunate. You have complied with the requirements of the policy so you should not find yourself in a position where you are penalised as a result of your manager’s inaction.

Maternity leave cannot be refused, even if notice is late, as it would be automatically triggered by your baby's birth if it had not already started, and you would be required to notify your employer of the birth 'as soon as reasonably practicable'. However, in order to be entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) your employer must receive your MATB1 maternity certificate. SMP cannot be refused (providing you meet the qualifying conditions) as long as you provide your MATB1 at least 3 weeks after the start of your maternity leave/pay period or, if there good reasons for the delay, within 13 weeks of the date that your SMP would have started at the very latest.

However, it is important that you take steps quickly to escalate this and make sure the right people are aware. I would recommend the following:

Email your manager to follow-up. This email should be marked as ‘urgent’ and should do the following things:
Refer to the meeting in December and the follow-up last month
Refer to the documents that were shared with him at that meeting
Note you have not received any response as yet
Note that you have not been offered a risk assessment
Note that you require a response urgently.

The purpose of this email is two-fold. First, in the hope that it may spur your manager into action and allow you to get some acknowledgement and information. Second, it provides some written evidence that the discussions did take place (it would be an odd email to send if you had not in fact shared those documents with your manager, as they would likely just respond stating that it didn’t happen). Are you able to copy in anyone in HR or whoever does your payroll in order to ensure that the correct maternity pay is paid. It will usually be HR and/or payroll who need to see evidence of the MATB1 maternity certificate as they must retain a copy for their HMRC records.

At the same time, contact HR in whatever way you are able to explain the situation exactly as you have here. If your manager has ‘checked out’ from their role, it may be that you still do not get a response from them, so I would not suggest waiting for one before getting in touch with HR. Explaining the situation to HR and ensuring they have all relevant documents should mean that it is given more urgent attention and you can finally get the information you need. I would stress to them the anxiety that this delay is causing you. You should also flag that a risk assessment is urgently needed for your role.

Hopefully those steps will finally get the ball rolling, and you can then get information about your entitlement (and reassurance that you will definitely get your maternity pay). If there is any difficulty with this (e.g. it is suggested you have not complied with the policy because there is no record of the information having been received), you should escalate this internally. This can be done either by speaking with someone more senior within the business (e.g. your manager’s manager) or within HR. If you do not know who to contact, check whether the Maternity Policy has any appropriate contacts. If not, the Grievance Policy will detail where you can send a complaint.

If your employer refuses to pay your SMP you can contact HMRC's Statutory Payments Disputes Team on 0300 322 9422. They will provide a formal decision on your entitlement to SMP and, if necessary, order your employer to pay it. Note, however, as mentioned above, that you must have evidence that you sent your employer your MATB1 maternity certificate.

In the unlikely event that your employer refuses to pay your enhanced maternity pay, you can contact ACAS on 0300 123 1100 to register for early conciliation to see whether they can resolve the dispute. Failure to pay contractual maternity pay would give rise to a claim for breach of contract/unlawful deduction from wages. Please be aware that there are strict time limits which operate for bringing claims to the employment tribunal. Generally speaking, you have three months, less a day, from the date of the act or series of acts you are complaining about to contact ACAS if you want to make an employment tribunal claim (or think that you might want to do so). To be clear, the date from which the clock would start running would refer to the date on which your enhanced maternity pay was not paid, rather than the date of your meeting with your manager. Having said that, if you are told that you will not receive enhanced maternity pay and your employer is not budging after escalating it, I would suggest getting in touch with ACAS at that point, rather than waiting for your maternity pay not to be paid.

I wish you all the best and good luck with your maternity leave when it comes.