Working on Mat Leave

[USaYwHatNow]

I work for the NHS but looking to offer private complementary therapies as I am training in acupuncture. I'm currently on maternity leave but will shortly be entering the phase of accrued annual leave to extend my maternity leave.

Am I allowed to work privately during this period?

Do you mean it will be self employed work?
You can do self employed work but not work for a new employer

Thank you- yes, self employed work. Appreciate I need to ask HR also but just wanted a general guide as most of my friends work in HR and cba with the questions!!

If you are on annual leave, yes. If receiving SMP, no you shouldn't be working.

She can legally do self employed work while getting SMP

Self employed, yes, but you need professional liability ensurance and also clarify are you working ‘as a nurse’ doing acupuncture or are you just an acupuncturist during this time - that might make a difference to insurance and any risk to professional registration should you poke someone badly and injure them

Insurance

@Unexpectedlysinglemum yes thank you I'm currently looking into the right indemnity cover

Im not sure how it works for nurses, but doctors have to potentially accept an extra 10% of hours for the NHS before they can do private work, otherwise it affects their pay progression. Is it the same for nurses? Seems unfair if not, so might be worth checking