Nothing in my contract about maternity pay - NHS

[fauxflowers]

I've just had a read over my contract as I'm planning on ttc at the end of the year with DP. I'm really surprised that there's absolutely no mention of maternity pay in here and that's quite worrying. I don't know how I didn't pick this up when I was first given it, but I guess it wasn't something I was thinking about then.

I started my job for the trust in April 2019 and previously came from a GP surgery where I had been for a few years, none of that was taken into consideration though so I basically started with my current trust as new to the nhs and started on the bottom of the scale.

I don't want to discuss my ttc plans with anyone at work as they aren't the most pleasant people as it is, so is there anyway I can find out what I would be entitled to? I'm not sure if all trusts are the same. I started my trust just as it was going through a merge so my contract is with the new merge trust if that makes sense. I will state what trust it is if that helps as I've name changed anyway, I'm not at work for over a week so not sure how to access the staff intranet from home and not sure if it would even be on there anyway.

My role is permanent (full time) also just incase people were wondering.

It won't be in your contact it will be in the NHS terms and conditions. Look on NHS Employers and you'll find the T&Cs if you don't have a copy.

Are you employed on an Agenda For Change contract? (With banding etc?) If so, the maternity stuff is all set out nationally in here: www.nhsemployers.org/tchandbook/part-3-terms-and-conditions-of-service/section-15-leave-and-pay-for-new-parents-england-wales-and-scotland

If you are on an agenda for change contract then it'll be the standard NHS allowance.

Hi OP, I think you’re a bit mixed up. You won’t find this in your contract. NHS mat leave entitlements are national and can be found on the nhs employers’ website

I'm pretty sure I'm AFC, my pay is in banding and I pay the nhs pension etc.. I work for a large trust so I would assume it is definitely agenda for change? I'm glad I'm not going mad and thank you for your helpful replies, I wasn't too sure if it was all national but I'm off to take a look now!

In my trust it is found in NHS trust maternity policy document (usually somewhere on the local Intranet).

It won't be in your contract, your trust will have a maternity policy. This is standard across NHS England - 8 weeks full pay, 18 weeks half pay 😊

I'm NHS and it's not stated in my contract but there is a maternity policy on the intranet, also you could ask HR for advice they should be able to help. Also if you're part of a union they might be able to help.

At the moment, and obviously there is no saying how long this will be relevant, pregnant staff are leaving work at 28 weeks and starting mat leave at the usual time, eg 38 weeks.

My colleague is being paid for medical suspension for the gap between 28-38 weeks.

I hope this makes sense!

I will check on the intranet when I'm back from annual leave but assuming it is the same as on the nhs employers website. I did think about emailing HR but not sure i'd be able to do that anonymously.

Your Trust will have a parental leave policy. Usually 12 months of continuous NHS service (can change employer in that period) would qualify you for the full OMP package (8 weeks full pay, 18 weeks half pay) + SMP.