Maternity leave- working at as a teacher

[MNic]

Hi everyone. My due date is 15th June 2024 and I plan to work for as long in June as I can before the baby is born. My school holidays start on 21st June, so I could be potentially missing only 1 or 2 weeks of the end of term. My employer is saying that I am not entitled to the summer pay, even though I would have worked the whole academic year and the pay over July and August are part of my contract. Instead, I will start my maternity leave the day I give birth and deductions of my salary begin then. I have requested that I be paid in full over the summer, but my employer says that this is not an option dispite my 11 years of service to the school. Is anyone able to give any advice?

Your maternity leave has to start the day you give birth.

Maternity leave pay starts the day you give birth. If you stop work before you give birth, you maternity leave starts from that day.
If you are signed off for maternity related health issues, you maternity pay would commence from week 36.

You can start your maternity leave on your due date at the latest (or when baby is born if early). So no you can’t be paid full pay over the holidays. It doesn’t matter how many years you have been with them it’s just the way it is.

If you work right up to birth, maternity leave starts the day baby arrives.
If you leave prior to baby arriving, maternity leave starts on that date.

It isn't negotiable.

You don't acrue holiday as a teacher either. I remember friends going back after maternity leave that then also had extra "holiday" to take!

The latest you can start mat leave (and mat pay kick in) is the day you give birth. That's just simple legislation. Being paid in full over the full summer is simply not possible.

Lots of teachers time their ttcing so they have an autumn term baby (off all summer on full pay then the following summer is off too on mat pay/go back 1 week before summer starts).

I guess where it seems unfair is that if you go on maternity in a regular job with several weeks holiday owing you don't then lose it.

But it is how it is!

Yes the flip side is that potentially you could return to work next June with a week before you break up and restart work so you get paid in full for next summer!

Unfortunately, your school is right. However, if you return in June next year, you will get the summer paid without having worked all year.
If you return earlier, you can return a day before a holiday, eg. Return the Friday before May half term.

Look into shared parental leave. This will allow you to effectively be "working" during July and August and then take your maternity starting in September.

I think going on shared parental leave ends maternity leave, and you can’t then return to maternity leave?

I don't know for 100% certain but there's a calculator you can use on one of the government websites. I played around with it and I'm almost positive there were options in relation to chopping and changing.

Have a read of this. https://www.teachersspl.co.uk/

Go straight to the union (and I mean central not your school rep) they will absolutely love this.

Just make sure you return to work just before a school holiday so they have to pay you in full then

I was lucky as my baby was born early September and I took my maternity from august 31st!

It's a right pain how yours has fallen.

Your holidays start really early-are you in England? Does your school follow the Burgundy Book?

Hi - a way round this is to take shared parental leave so you effectively 'return' to work during school holidays so you can accrue holidays like other professions can. Your partner doesn't have to take the time off work if they don't want to.

The website link shared above explains it all and the lady who runs the website can help you complete the forms

If you are in Scotland you would accrue holidays that you could take at the end of your leave. You don't accrue every holiday though as some are deemed "school closure days". Think it's about 40 days you accrue if you are off for the full year.

You have to take at least 2 weeks maternity leave when your baby is born, it is a legal requirement. I don’t think maternity leave can be dipped in and out of either eg 2 weeks mat leave then annual leave over summer, then back on mat leave. You will have to make your peace with summer holidays this year being maternity leave.

I think splitting mat leave will almost certainly be at employers discretion too.

Are you in Scotland?

Sorry OP, but of course you can’t start your maternity leave weeks after the birth. Where have you got the impression that you could?

I think their question is totally valid. Given that teachers are off in the summer it's sensible to ask if you can delay your maternity leave (and ultimately your maternity PAY) until you would be expected to be in work.

I didn’t say it was invalid. I asked where they got the impression that it was possible.