Advice Please - maternity & service

[beepbeep]

I work for one of the public services, I have had 3 maternity leaves in 9 years, one lasting 6 months and two of 8.5 months each (we are entitled to maternity leave of up to one year, then it becomes a career break)

I have been told that because I took longer than 6 months maternity leave with my last 2 children that anything past 6 months doesn't class as service (despite paying my pension, and all my work insurances, union fees etc being taken by my employers out of my Stat. maternity pay for this time). I also worked some keeping in touch days during this time for which I received pay.

This has resulted in them changing the date that I receive my payment increments (usually paid each year for first 10 years service on your joining date - mine was 09th Dec.), they have changed it to 28th April. The result of this is that I won't get this years increment payment as we have an increment freeze starting April 01 for 2 years, in effect I won't be getting a pay rise for 3 years compared to everyone else's (who hasn't taken maternity leave!) 2 years.

So a male (or female for that matter!) who joined the same date as me will be being paid more than me for next 3 years because I took maternity leave.

I've contacted our pension providers who still have my retirement date as 09 Dec as I have never gone down to nil pay and stopped paint my pension. So my employers state my employment payment doesn't finish until 5 months after I can start drawing my pension.

This just doesn't seem right to me. Is it????

Thanks for reading.

That doesn't sound right - AFAIK mat leave doesn't interrupt continuous employment. If you take more than 6 months leave, then you don't have the right to return to exactly the same job, but you can still expect to go back to work without continuous service being broken.

The site xperthr.co.uk says this...
"Absence on both ordinary and additional maternity leave must be taken into account for the purpose of calculating statutory benefits, such as redundancy pay, that are based on length of service. Ordinary and additional maternity leave also counts as service for contractual rights based on length of service."
HTH

No. Your employer is wrong and discriminating against you because you have taken maternity leave which is unlawful (the legislation is the Equality Act 2010).

See here for continuous service www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Understandingyourworkstatus/Workersemployeesandselfemployment/DG_175988

If you employer won't agree to rectify this after you've politely pointed it out then you should raise a grievance citing maternity related discrimination.

Have you got this guff from your employer in writing?

Yes it is in writing, confirmed as not being classed as service via email from payroll and the work maternity policy states that only first 6months class as service for increment purposes. I've never noticed my increments didn't come at the right time until this year when a colleague was looking at his payslip as he'd just got his. I emailed payroll to query it and they told me I wasn't due it until April because of my maternity leave

Then due to pay freeze that means I won't get it for 3 years

Ok, you need to reply in writing citing the link that I gave you above and that to treat you differently because of the maternity leaves you have taken is discrimination against the protected characteristic of pregnancy/maternity as defined by the Equality Act 2010. Explain how you have been disadvantaged and explain how your colleagues who have not taken maternity leave have not suffered a detriment.

Then put something about you expect it is just an innocent oversight so if they could correct their error asap you would be very grateful and would consider it an end to the matter.

sits on hands about Payroll involvement

Thanks all, this is what I've come up with so far (thanks to you!!)

I am writing in reference to your email dates * in which you advised me that my increment date had been moved due to the first 26 weeks only counting as service.

I am advised that there is legislation in place that specifically states that absence on maternity leave is not a break in continuous service, and must be taken into account for the purpose of calculating statutory benefits that are based on length of service.

I believe that the moving of an increment date due to maternity leave is actually unlawful and to treat a female member of staff differently to others because of the maternity leave they have taken is discrimination against the protected characteristics of pregnancy/maternity as defined by The Equality Act 2010.

Due to the change in my increment date I will not receive an increment in payment that was due in December until after the anticipated 2 year pay freeze. So meaning that colleagues that have not taken maternity leave but joined on the same date as me will be paid more than me pro rata and shall not suffer a detriment as I will.

I would like to think this is an oversight on the part of employers name and that you will correct the error as soon as possible by reinstating my increment date to 09th December and reimbursing my financial losses due to this.

should they back date my loss pre the legislation coming in or 2010?

Just wondering if i would be within my rights to do this or whether to settle for a change in policy (would be happy with this!)

It's contractual not statutory benefits (statutory means specifically legislated for and pay rises are not subject to those terms).

You need to set out what your financial loss is and if you have been losing out prior to October 2010 you would still have been able to argue sex discrimination. You could ask for interest but you need to judge the potential benefit against the potential risk of really upsetting your employer.

You may want to go a bit less formal to begin with because otherwise you run the risk of looking a bit fighty and like you want to sue them rather than pointing something out they should have known in a firm but helpful way.

You can give the links and legal stuff in such a way as to look helpful because they will need to redo their policy, rather than a "I'm taking you to a tribunal" way.

will do, will have another go at it in the morning!! Thank you