Extending maternity leave?

[lilachaze]

Does anyone know if I can extend maternity leave past the 12 months?
I am currently 22+2 and starting to think about mat leave.
If possible I would like to take 2 years off but is this allowed? - obviously I would not get paid anymore than the mat leave cover available, but would my job legally still be there for my return after 2 years or would I need to resign & look for another job instead?

You could maybe apply for a career break if your company offers it. They have no legal obligation to hold the job for you past your maternity leave as far as I am aware

No you can't extend it to 2 years. Your employer only has to keep your job open for 1 year. You do get annual leave when on maternity leave, so you could use it to get longer than a year, but that would only get you another month or so.

FYI, SMP is only paid for 39 weeks.

According to the gov website it is max 52 weeks
www.gov.uk/maternity-pay-leave/leave

m.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=5754

See if they offer a career break. They may or may not offer this so can't hurt to ask

Legally they only have to hold your specific job role open for 6 months, you have the right to return to a job after that within the company, up to 12 months. Any longer than 12 months you're looking at extended leave if they will agree or a career break. Check your company policies as it should all be explained in those.

Thanks everyone - I will look into career break and see how I get on.

Legally no but you can always ask your employer. A colleague at my work had 18months off