Resigning when on maternity leave

[Bunny2607]

Hi everyone
i started my maternity leave on 28th January 2022. I get 6 weeks at 90% pay then SMP for the next 33 weeks. I’ve calculated this takes me to 28th October. I’ve previously confirmed to my employer i’d return to work on 20th September, but i’m now in talks with another employer and there’s a chance i’ll be taking a new job and therefore resigning from my current one. The new job isn’t available til November, so if all goes to plan i’m wanting to extend my maternity leave til 28th October and basically not return to my current job. My questions are:

1. can I extend my mat leave when i’ve already said i’ll go back on 20th September


2. at what point do I hand my notice in? Can I do it now and still be entitled to maternity pay til end of October?

thank you in advance

You are entitled to the full maternity leave so you just need to let them know you plan to return on 28th October
You should give the required notice period (as per your contract) to leave on the 28th October assuming that is when you wish to leave. You will be entitled to holiday pay - i.e. untaken vaction, for the duration of your maternity leave.

Is your 6 weeks of 90% pay part of an employee benefit (OMP)....if so, would you have to pay this back if you don't return to work.
I've just returned from mat leave with OMP and my contract states I have to work for 3 months after mat leave ends to 'keep' the OMP.

I’m not sure I don’t think so, my employer has just followed whats on the government website about maternity pay. How do you know if its an employer benefit, is it in your contract for example? Thank you x

No it's just standard SMP, you won't have to pay anything back.

Yes it'll be in your contract. Any conditions you need to meet to qualify for mat pay and the terms of it should be detailed in there.

Yeah that's just standard maternity pay. Tell them you're extending your leave then make sure you give full notice.

Tell work now you want to return on the 28th and then resign as per your contract notice.

Resign at the last possible moment and then you'll get the full year's annual leave entitlement paid to you as a lump sum.

Thank you everyone :-)

Yes you can extend. You aren't committed to returning yet. You are required to give 8 weeks notice that you are returning. Until then they should assume you are off for 12 months.

Hand your notice in when it's due and not before as you are entitled to be paid for all accrued annual leave. If you hand your notice in too early you will miss out on some if this.

Resigning during Maternity leave

Im currently on maternity leave and due back to work on July 10th. I don’t get SMP but I do get maternity allowance as I hadn’t been at this job long enough to get SMP. I don’t want to return to this job once my mat leave ends. When do I give notice of this? And if I do it sooner rather than later do I lose any holiday entitlements I’ll accrue until the end of my Maternity leave?

I’d be so grateful for any help on this. Many thanks x

You are entitled to 39 weeks of paid mat allowance so calculate when that ends and give your required notice period according to your contract before this ie. If it's four weeks then write to them four weeks in advance of that - alternatively you could give eight weeks notice that you will not be returning and your exit date is (insert last day of the 39th week to ensure you get all mat allowance available)
Resigning with any earlier end date will lessen the amount of paid annual leave you have built up so it's best to do it as above. You'll be paid for that in a final pay packet.

Thank you for your reply,
I just checked my contract and it states any holiday from the previous year untaken will be forfeited. Is that correct while on mat leave? It’s just the majority of my holiday entitlement were from last tax year and don’t know how all this works.

@Anonymouslyme12 you build up annual leave the entire time you have been off on mat leave (because you can't be on annual and mat leave at the same time) so you are entitled to this. I'm not sure if you mean annual leave unused before you went on maternity but I would highly doubt that they will make you forfeit this - if you ever have issues with how they treat you post maternity you can contact Pregnant Then Screwed as they will be able to advise you.

I just checked my contract and it states any holiday from the previous year untaken will be forfeited. Is that correct while on mat leave? It’s just the majority of my holiday entitlement were from last tax year and don’t know how all this work

During maternity leave you continue to accrue annual leave and the above doesn't apply.

You will be entitled to a payment for all annual leave accrued during your maternity leave up to your last day of employment.

Thank you. You’ve been so helpful xx