maternity leave etc - legal stuff

[munchkinsusie]

i've been looking on the internet to figure out exactly all the legal stuff for maternity leave and i think i understand but it's very confusing. could someone please confirm the following - and let me know if there's anything else i need to know. (ps - intend to work up to approx week 36 and come back to work after 10 months approx). i know my employer won't have a clue since it's such a small company - i don't think they've ever had anyone go on maternity leave before!

-need to notify employer of the date on which my maternity leave will start by the end of the 15th week before due date
-if i decide to work up to due date; if i'm off work for any pregnancy related reason in the four weeks leading up to due date, employer can start my maternity leave then.
-you get 26 weeks paid materinity leave; at 90% of pay for first 6 weeks and then at a lower rate (i think £100ish?) for next 20 weeks. you should still get all rights and benefits you would have accrued if you'd been working (eg, leave is still earned - so if you get 20 days per year then you get 10 days leave for the 6 months you're off).
-you get a further 26 weeks additional maternity leave. benefits do not continue for this time - so no leave accrued.

some questions: if i want to work past the date i said i'd stop, can i? similarly can i stop work earlier than i said i was going to? what do i have to do legaly in each case?

hope someone can help - thanks!

I think most of that is right - but my understanding was that you continue to accrue benefits even during the unpaid bit of the maternity leave (i.e. you'd get your holiday pro-rata for months 6-10)

Someone please put me straight on that if I've got it wrong.

Not sure about the question of leavebut you also need to get a MatB1 certificate from your midwife (usually at 24 or 28 week appointment) and give this in to your employer alongside any letter of confirmation on dates.
Sorry, but I'm not sure about working after the dates you have said, can't see that it would be a problem though. You can stop work earlier, your date is only suggested and can be changed as long as you have informed them you are pg!!!Don't know if any of this is helpful but hope it is

In the AML peiod you do continue to accrue holiday, but at 20 days a year (statutory right) rather than at your employers rate.

Did you check out the maternity alliance website?

just been to the maternity alliance website which is very clearly laid out. it says that you do accrue leave during your additional maternity leave at a rate of 20days per year as you were saying pidge.

It varies a little. At my company (big corp) I cannot continue to work past the date that I have given to finish but can finish prior to this (i.e to hege my bets I have given the date as the my expected week of delivery).

I continue to accrue benefits at usual rate (inc holiday).

This varies between companies but mine exceeds statutary and is...
12 weeks on full
8 weeks on half pay
6 weeks on £100 pw
Then I'm on my own up to 12 months total.

Sorry to butt in on this thread, but can I ask another question about maternity leave please? I understand that you get 90% of your average pay for the first 6 weeks, but does anyone know how the average is calculated? I have recently cut my hours in half due to tiredness and will probably not go back to full time hours before I go on maternity leave in December, so not sure if pay will be based on full time pay, part time or an average of the two. Any ideas?

Apparently -(but really not sure) it should be calculated as an average of previous x months. x = 3to 6. Sorry not much help!