Maternity leave as teacher

[Sunshine8537]

Hi all,

just a general question. I plan to go on Mat leave beginning of term (start of term) making my last day in school at Christmas.
the school are preparing for me to go off early for whatever really - this could potentially happen as I’m a high risk. If I was to go off sick for example beginning of November and they had to start from Mat leave 4 weeks before due date 16th Dec; what happens if baby comes before my due date. Would the 4 weeks they’ve brought it forward move to 4 weeks before baby was born?

Maternity leave starts the day after your baby is born if you haven’t already started may leave (I had my first the day after I finished work and was technically on holiday!)

Your Mat leave starts whenever you stop working rather than when your baby is born, unless you stop working in the school holiday (which is slightly different and, I think, depends on your contract).

So if you stop work in November then your mat leave and mat pay start then.

If you go off sick within one month of the due date, that is! Then it automatically triggers mat leave

Edit - before due date, not birth, apologies

I realise I'm not explaining it well - your work HR should be able to break it down for you.

With my first, I had her mid August and so "worked" till the day before the birth (although it was the summer hol).

With my second, I had him mid December but had to stop work due to complications on the 1st of December. As it was within 1 month of the due date it automatically triggered mat leave.

I think (check with HR) that if I'd stopped work on, say, 1st October, I'd be on contractual sick pay till one month before due date, (ie mid Nov) then switch to mat leave/mat pay

Simple answer is no. If Maternity Leave starts earlier than planned because of sick leave, then that is when it starts. It doesn’t them move depending on when the baby is born.

Your mat leave can start 4 weeks earlier if you go off sick, this is automatic and will be triggered only in the final 4 weeks of your EDD.
Or if your due to go off at christmas on mat leave as babys EDD is 25th december (example) and baby is born 1st of december. Your mat leave will automatically start on the 2st when baby is born, you cant move the dates even if baby is deciding to come earlier, so you cant have your baby on the 1st but start mat leave on the 23rd.

If you have any further questions regarding mat leave definitely speak to your head teacher or HR. they will be able to iron out any fine lines for you! X

Thanks for all your replies. I think there has been some cross wires. I am aware that if I go on sick leave that my Mat leave would automatically start 4 weeks before due date. Eg if I went on sick now and my due date was 30th Dec then it would start on 30th November. However if the baby came on 20th December would that mean they take my mat leave from 20th November?

Not always. It depends on whether you're taking your mat leave on 20th of november.
If you choose to go on the 20th of november, it doesnt matter then when baby is born.
If you plan to take it on 20th of december but baby is born on the 20th of November, mat leave would start from the date baby is born.

Im taking my mat leave on 3rd of november, baby is due on 15th. If he come on 31st of october, my mat leave would start on the 31st when baby is born. Or the following working day if his birth date falls on a weekend.

Yes I understand however…
My plan is to start Mat leave 5th Jan with my last day in school being 19th Dec. However if my doctor signs me off now I’ll be off on sick pay until 4 weeks before due date - which is 10th Jan so it would trigger to start Mat leave 10th Dec. So I’d be on sick pay until 10th Dec. However if the baby comes on 1st Jan would that mean my mat leave would then change to 1st Dec triggered by employer? I’d already be off so it’s no doffeeent other than the pay.
meaning my four weeks full pay mat leave would start from 1st Dec instead of originally 4 weeks before mat leave 10th Dec. This would mean my 50% pay would start earlier too

No the mat leave would be triggered when your sick pay finishes, exactly 4 weeks before your due to go off on mat leave anyway.
So if it finishes on 10th december and thats exactly 4 weeks before your due date. You'll have mat leave from the 10th only not the 1st

If you’re not off sick but your baby comes a few days before your intended last day then your mat leave starts on day baby is born

No my understanding is it's 4 weeks before the date on your matb1 form. That doesn't change even if your due date is revised or your baby comes early

Hi. I was high risk in my last pregnancy (twins). I was due 27th of January. I planned to start my leave on the 6th of January when we returned after Christmas break. I knew I could alter it to start sooner if needed. At 29 weeks, my consultant signed me off work. I was huge, in pain with PGP, and generally struggling. I was signed off at the beginning of November time. My sick leave would have taken my until just before New Year, and then my mat leave would have triggered as I would have hit 36 weeks.

My girls decided to come on Christmas Eve, 35 weeks. My mat leave started the day after birth (technically).

I understand your question. And no. If you are on sick leave for a pregnancy related illness, they will trigger your maternity to begin in the 36th week. If you give birth in the 36th week, they can not back the maternity to start 4 weeks earlier again.

Also, for you to be aware as you've said you are high risk, new legislation has come in for parents of premature babies in regards to additional fully paid leave.

On another note, please look into shared parental leave as a teacher. It can massively boost your income.

Finally, if you plan to return to work September 2026, you can officially return on the first day of the summer holidays and receive fully pay for the 6 weeks. You DO NOT need to go in to work in July to do this☺️ congratulations, I hope all goes smoothly.

I was due to go on maternity leave at 38 weeks. However I ended up in hospital at 34 weeks with pre-eclampsia. My school requested a sick note which said pre-eclampsia on it and I thought it would trigger my maternity leave early as it was a pregnancy related illness. They actually accepted the sick note until I was 38 weeks and had my c-section date booked. Then my maternity pay actually started at 38 weeks when baby was born. I don't know if this just depends how HR in school put it through and if it's a bit of luck on the staff?

The exception is if your baby is born earlier than 36w and then mat leave starts on the birthday I believe.

Congratulations!

Just out of curiosity, when would you return to work? A friend of mine is trying and keeps saying she wants to try to conceive before Christmas as this would give her longer off. I had my kids pre teaching days so I am of no help!

Thank you.
so really if your Mat leave is triggered, baby coming early is a bonus.

i didn’t know about the additional pay for perm babies - thanks

ive already looked into shared parental leave. I’m taking 12 months this time so it will really help.

so really if your Mat leave is triggered, baby coming early is a bonus.

Quite an odd pov op - a healthy baby is worth more than the difference of a few hundred pounds surely?

I’m hoping to start Mat leave 5th Jan so I get paid over Xmas. Once my SMP runs out I’d go on shared parental leave. I think it’s around May half term it runs out. You can take shared parental leave in 3 blocks.

so first day of half term I say I’m available to work for the length of holiday (but it’s the holidays - so you’re not physically in and they can’t make you go in because they’d have to make everyone)

then I’d say I’m available to work first day of summer holidays and then October and Xmas officially going back first day of spring term.

thanks for your comment however you don’t know my situation.

obviously a healthy baby is priority but being able to support a family Financially is important too.

not that I have to explain myself however I was coming from the point of view of having more time with the baby rather than being at home 8 weeks before baby is born on ‘Mat leave’

That’s great that your school had that compassion. There has been two pregnancies before me who have had their Mat leave triggered. I am high risk due to placenta previa so I may have to have a csection like yourself. I’m not sure if they would look at my situation differently though. We shall see. Alls I know is it’s getting very difficult for me (both mentally ans physically) and I’m only 21 weeks. I work in a specialist provision so I’ve had to take a step back as it is

Your SPL plan works out perfectly. Your return date could be the first day of the Christmas holidays for the extra 2 weeks of pay before you're officially back on site in the spring term.

And don't forget to request a couple of KIT days to boost the pay too:)

I totally understand where you were coming from with the comment about it being a bonus if they come a little earlier if your mat leave is triggered. I think there is a perception that maternity pay in teaching would be reasonable, and it's far from it. All of my friends have better mat pay, from NHS workers to the private sector (who get 6 months full pay). Ours is pitiful. Having as much time with our babies is so crucial, so I get it.

My anxiety from being high risk with the twins was atrocious and I was relieved the consultant signed me off. I've never has sick leave before I felt I'd be letting my classes down. But i didn't realise how much I needed it. My blood pressure came down almost immediately, and I was able to prioritise rest so I could get my girls to 35 weeks. I truly believe if I wasn't signed off, the stress and nature of the job would have made them come earlier.

With my single I worked until 38 weeks but it was very uncomplicated. Please look after yourself. You're replaceable everywhere else❤️