Potentially not going to be paid maternity pay

[User13355]

Hello, when I joined my company in 2020 there was nothing in my contract about maternity pay (so just statutory). In 2022, the company sent out an announcement via email that maternity pay will now include 6 weeks full pay in 19 weeks half pay. This is reflected in peoples contracts who joined the company after the announcement but employees there previously have not had their contracts amended.
I am now pregnant. The company has now rolled back on a policy that was included in that 2022 announcement relating to Christmas leave. I am now really worried I'm not protected with the maternity pay. Do I have a leg to stand on if they say it's changed and being scrapped?

Contact the charity 'pregant then screwed' as they can advise on this, if you are not a member of a union.

No I am not a member of a union I am in the private sector. Thank you!

I would think that if you have the amendment by email then this applies to all contracts. Presumably you have a further email rescinding the Christmas part? But nothing rescinding the maternity part?

Have you told them you are pregnant? If you haven't (officially) told them then I would do so ASAP, as if the maternity element has not been rescinded by the time you notify them then even if they do rescind it it would only be effective from the date that occurs - not from prior to that so if you've notified you are already covered.

That's my logic not law however and I've heard good things of the charity mentioned above.

They can't roll back on something without telling you there's been a change

Tell them you're pregnant and you will have what's already in place

I am only 6 weeks pregnant it feels very soon to tell them. I was hoping to try and get a promotion in before telling them so I would get a higher pay but I suspect if I tell them now they will not promote me. But it would still be better to get the pay if that is definitely the case.

Hi OP, we just wanted to flag that we've got our regular legal advice clinic running with Maternity Action at the moment - they may be able to help with your question.

You can be in a union in the private sector!

If they haven't cancelled the newer maternity policy then it's still in place. If they cancel before you tell them you are pregnant you probably won't be able to get it. If you tell them(in writing) and they cancel it after you should still be entitled.

You're going to need to weigh this up - as far as I'm aware, if they rescind it before you tell them you are pregnant, you won't be entitled to the now-defunct policy. If you have already told them before they tell you, you'll be entitled to it.

But you're right that it's not without risk telling them; especially in terms of things like promotions, where it's quite "easy" to hide discrimination. Incredibly unfair, but not difficult. So if you suspect they'd do this, or you're just not sold on telling them yet, you've got to weigh up the potential cost of missing out on the old policy.

How have you found out that it's going to be cancelled? If they've already sent the comms about the christmas part being cancelled, you'd expect the maternity part to have been included if that was being cancelled too.

Enhanced pay arrangements arent contractual usually anyway so business can withdraw or improve without consultation. Are you sure it doesn't apply to you anyway as a policy?
Theyve taken a really strange approach to limit the policy not to all staff as surely its a benefit for employees and a retention tool for all regardless of length of service. So theyre saying they happy operating a two tier workforce which penalises their longer serving staff......nuts!!

I think it was supposed to apply to me and all employees. The problem is the person who brought this policy into effect has left and the new people at the top are making things worse within the company. So I am just pre-empting since I don't feel protected (as it's not specified in my contract). When I have reached out to HR to request it be added to my contract that have not been replying to me.

They didn't say the Christmas part was cancelled, they just specified the dates we were expected to work and one of the days we were previously told would not be a working day (per the policy) is now a working day. And when questioned they doubled down on this. So it made me not trust they would keep to their other policies.