Occupational Maternity Pay

[Lolv22]

Hi everyone, hoping you can help me out as I’ve confused myself regarding maternity pay and am worried I won’t be entitled to OMP.

I joined my current school in September 2021 and am due my second child in October 2022. My school’s policy states that I have to have had ‘4.7.1.Staff with at least twelve months continuous service at the 11th week before the
Expected week of childbirth, will be entitled to receive contractual maternity pay as
follows, in addition to payments set out in paragraph 4.8:’ I won’t have been there for 52weeks + 11 by the time baby is due, but I will have been a teacher at another school. My question is, does this refer to the specific school or does working in the teaching profession count? Ny new school is not in the same authority as the last and it is also an academy.

Really hoping you can help me out.

thanks in advance!

As far as I am aware unless it’s in the same local authority , which yours isn’t, then it would have to be specific to that school. It’s common in lots of workforces - I guess to discourage people from going on MAT leave straight away etc .

I think you will just get stat mat

Actually have a read of this neu.org.uk/advice/maternity-rights it depends if your academy has its own policy, see above

4.7.1.Staff with at least twelve months continuous service at the 11th week before the
Expected week of childbirth, will be entitled to receive contractual maternity pay

To me this sounds like you need to be working for them for a year at the point your baby is 29 weeks gestation.

Academies and City Technology Colleges (CTCs)

CTCs and academies can establish their own maternity provisions, provided that they observe the basic statutory rights set out in Section 4.

However, teachers who were employed at the predecessor schools and transferred to the employment of the academy or CTC when it assumed that status retain their previous contractual rights, including their rights under the Burgundy Book maternity scheme.
Teachers who took up their post after their academy or CTC had acquired its new status are in a different position. They will be covered by the establishment’s own scheme. This may be inferior to the Burgundy Book scheme in certain respects. Continuous employment may, for example, be dated only from their date of appointment to the academy or CTC, so that teachers’ previous continuous service in the local authority sector may not count towards the qualifying period for maternity leave and pay. Academies and CTCs may, however, choose to recognise previous employment and the NEU urges them to do so.

Yes, as pointed out above, it's not 52 weeks plus 11? It's whether you've been there 52 weeks by the time you're 29 weeks pregnant. Which it sounds like you will have been.

This is correct, it's not 52+11

As long as you have been with the school a year, by the time you are 29 weeks pregnant then you will juuust about scrape into the OMP package. Im a midwife in the NHS and we have a rule that as long as you have worked for the NHS as a whole then you still qualify even if it's a different hospital? Does the same apply for you if you're in the same authority or county etc?

No, sadly I won’t have been there a year at that point as only joined in September 2021 so unless I am misunderstanding I don’t think I’m entitled. Appreciate all the responses though

A question about occupational maternity leave if you are a teacher.

I have just started a new school in September. It is in the same local authority as my last school however my last school was part of a trust. Am I still entitled to occupational maternity leave or should I wait for 52+11 by the time I’m 29 weeks pregnant. Our first baby was an IVF baby after some miscarriages so it could take us time again this time round