Maternity Pay- estimated week of delivery

[MadamePuddleduck]

Are there any employment lawyers or anyone who has a contract with the same provision and can help me please?

My maternity pay criteria includes the following:

1. One year's continuous service at the estimated week of delivery
2. Estimated week of delivery always starts from the Sunday before your estimated due date

This is completely ambiguous, does it mean:

1. One year's service by the Sunday before your EDD; or
2. One year's service by any point in the week beginning with the Sunday before your EDD?

For eg:

• employee has one year's service on 1st March 2023;
• their estimated due date is 3rd March 2023
• their estimated week of delivery begins on 26th February 2023
• so they will not have 1 year's service by the first day of the EWD
• but they will gain 1 year's service in the course of their EWD

Does anyone know the answer to this please? Please don't suggest contacting HR- I have tried, they are refusing to help me.
Thanks so much in advance.

Hopeful bump

Not a lawyer but this seems very clear cut to me and I read it as scenario 1.

You must have 1 year of service by the date that is the Sunday preceding your EDD.

If your HR are so rubbish the won’t clarify they may also be lax on enforcing such a strict cut off. I know of colleagues that were just under the year service required for enhanced leave, and in general my employers have tended towards giving them enhanced leave, especially when there are just a few days in it.

I agree, not a lawyer but have experience with HR. I read it the same as the PP and seems clear cut, you'd need 1 year service by the Sunday before your EDD.

Thank you both. Not what I wanted to hear, but still thank you! I am a lawyer but know nothing about employment law, and it didn't seem clear cut to me. Interesting that it did seem clear to you. I was leaning towards it meaning the other scenario (mainly because of the words "starts from," rather than "on,") but I couldn't tell whether that was what I was persuading myself of because it's what I wanted it to mean...