Maternity leave and work

[cheriosandmilk]

Hi just wondering if anyone would know the answer to this. My due date is 20th November which my matb1 also states. I have told work I would like mat leave to start on my due date 20th nov, they have told me they start maternity leave the Sunday before the due date so have told me I would need to start it on the 15th. Now I’m sure this is wrong as under uk law I can work right up to giving birth if I wish. I have spoken to hr who have confirmed that they start it the Sunday before, I told them this isn’t right and there response was to put it in an email and they will look into it. I work for a big well known company so surely their hr department should know the law and what my rights are. Am I wrong or is my employer wrong and I am entitled to start my maternity as close to my due date as I want to?
thanks in advance.

They are wrong, but probably confused trying to line it up with payroll - not your problem to work out.

Is it HR that's told you this or your manager?

@BodyBoarder
yeah so I spoke to pay roll who told me they were starting me from the 15th, so I then rang my hr department and tbh she seemed less informed than pay roll, told me she’d call me back with an answer.
when she did call she told me they start it from the Sunday before the due date then asked her why this is the case and her words “I don’t actually know this is what payroll have said”. So now I don’t know where to go with it

Put it in writing - email them and tell them the date you want your mat leave to start and specifically that you do not want to start it on the 15th. See what they respond, and then quote the law at them if you need to.

The Sunday thing is ringing a bell for me on maternity pay (separate to maternity leave) I think the pay is worked from the Sunday before so they are not having to manage part weeks. Leave starts on the date you agree or the day of birth whichever comes first. Work can also force you on mat leave if you’re off with any pregnancy related illness in the last 4 weeks.

Do you have any annual leave? Sometimes it can work better to have annual leave before the due date.

There’s something like a 5% chance of your child arriving on your due date.

It sounds like they are confusing the weeks used to calculate maternity pay (which always run from Sunday to Saturday) with that being the case when it is paid. It shouldn’t take more than pointing this out gently to them to get it sorted out.

www.xero.com/uk/guides/statutory-maternity-pay/

Your company might have their own policy that forces you to start it the sunday before for payroll reasons, I'm not sure how you argue against that? I started my mat leave on my due date (and gave birth that day!), I have today sent my hr email requesting my mat leave from my due date again too. It always goes from the day you request unless you have your baby before it in which case mat leave has to start from the day after you give birth, not the day of as I thought.

Thankyou for your replies, I am going to send another email now stating the date I want maternity (leave) to start, whether this is different to how they work out maternity pay it might be some miscommunication. I do have annual leave left to use which I was planning on taking before my due date so maybe they’ve got a bit confused. If not I will contact my union rep and remind them of my rights under uk law. Thanks again!

Worked in admin, closely with HR and have been pregnant 3 times so I am familiar with this. No they’re wrong, the Sunday thing is because maternity pay is paid weekly starting a Sunday and once you give birth you have to start your maternity, on all the forms yes technically you would put the start date as your due date but you are entitled to work right up until you give birth if you wish to do so, it’s on them to work out the balances that would be from them/mat pay. If you want to work right up until you give birth then email them explaining they need to look into the legalities as you have the right to work until you give birth should you wish to. If you use annual leave before your due date, if the baby comes whilst you’re still on annual leave then that will stop and maternity will commence.

Pretty sure the payment doesn’t have to start on a Sunday. Can’t find any guidance whatsoever that suggests it does.

The week of confinement always starts on a Sunday (due date will be in that week) and qualifying weeks start on a Sunday but payment weeks don’t have to.

They’re wrong OP, and if they say it’s company policy or contractual then they’re still wrong, they can’t overwrite the law.

The earliest maternity leave can start is 11 weeks before the expected week of confinement (which starts on a Sunday, so may be where they’ve gotten confused), and the latest it can start is the day after the mother gives birth.

Depending how big your payroll department is I would ask the person you are speaking to before you involve your union. Alternatively would your manager advocate for you?