Maternity leave - now being denied

[BebeGlazer]

Hi, I have tried to return to my job but I’ve been told that there is no work for me. My boss says that I was never on maternity leave in the first place. (I did not qualify for maternity pay because I was part-time and did not earn enough, but did qualify for the highest rate of maternity allowances)

I actually have a letter from my boss entitled ‘maternity leave’ which begins “Dear X, thank you for informing me of your pregnancy...”

I am trying to compose a ‘wtf’ letter to him. Does anyone know the name of the letter described above? Does it have some technical term (Acknowledgment of pregnancy letter??)

Thank you!

I would get legal advice before you write anything - try Acas or Citizens Advice ( they have an online service)

I agree I have no idea of maternity law but seems unlawful to me .
How long had you worked there?

Maternity pay and maternity leave are two different things.

Depending on how long you've been off you are either entitled to return to the same job or a comparable job.

The biggest issues will be based on what your contract of employment is and what's your relationship with your company as I believe (I'm not an expert at all) there may be different rules for employees Vs contractors etc.

As others have said, you need legal advice before doing anything or responding.

Just because the employer did not provide the maternity "pay" does not mean you weren't on maternity "leave", very separate things. Your manager clearly has no understanding of the situation, can you deal with HR directly instead?

Thanks, there is no HR so it’s tricky. My boss has literally emailed saying I was never on ML and I must have been confused?! I want to email him saying that he sent me the X formal letter acknowledging my pregnancy as evidence that he has actually ‘approved’ by ML!

Ring ACAS immediately for advice

I am guessing you are not in a union?
The only other option is to contact ACAS.

What sort of leave is he saying you were on? Is he trying to say you resigned?

www.bbk.ac.uk/hr/policies_services/policies_az/maternity_policy_appendicies/draft_model_letter

Was it this letter?

How long have you been off?

Oh dear! My understanding is that you just have to notify your employer at a certain time before the due date to be eligible for mat leave - presumably you did that if they responded in writing? What else did the letter say? Did it agree when you would leave and how much leave you would take?

I would definitely contact Acas and your union if you have one. This sounds like nonsense by your employer to me.

You have rights. Check out Gov.uk and Maternity Action websites. Then phone ACAS.

This link may be useful OP.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/rights-at-work/parental-rights/maternity-leave-what-youre-entitled-to-and-how-to-get-it/

You are entitled to maternity leave no matter if you are entitled to money or not. To get your maternity allowance your employer had to complete an SMP1 form.

Your employer has to give you your exact same job after 9 months statutory leave, after the additional 3 months your employer has to give you employment but not necessarily the same job as before. He is pulling a fast one.

maternityaction.org.uk has fact sheets, advice and a helpline. Good luck.

He's implying that your employment ended when you left for maternity leave? On what basis? What a chancer.

It depends if the OP is an employee or a worker:
You aren’t entitled to maternity leave if you’re a ‘worker’. You’re usually a worker if you:

<strong>work for an agency - unless you have an agreement saying you’re employed by the agency</strong>

<strong>are a casual worker</strong>

<strong>Are on a zero-hours contract</strong>

That's from CAB.

If not eligible for maternity leave, there is a legal 2 weeks off.

The OP needs to go back to their contract carefully and get proper legal advice

Thank you everyone, there is some really helpful stuff here. He definitely did sign the Mat1 form. I will look at though all the links and have a think. Thank you

If you weren't on maternity leave then is he trying to say you don't work for him anymore?? Therefore did he send you a P45??

No, in fact I got a p60 !

Well if you were on contracted hours and he didn't issue you a p45 then your contract still stands as far as I know

Every employee gets maternity leave, regardless of pay or length of service.

Where does he think you disappeared off to if you weren’t on maternity leave?! You didn’t resign, so is he saying you were sacked for going on maternity leave?

Send him the relevant links. You are entitled to return to your job as normal, or, if you’ve been off six months or more, and if it is not reasonably practicable to return to your previous job, you must return to a suitable job on no less favourable terms and conditions. You’re also entitled to all the holiday you have accrued while off.

How long have you been off?

Don't have any more contact with him til you've spoken to Citizens' Advice or a solicitor - sounds very dodgy on their part so make sure you've got proper advice.

It has been ten months since I left, I emailed to give my ‘return to work’ date. I will look into getting advice from acas, thanks

So if he's not given you a p45 terminating your employment but you've not been on May leave where the buggery does he think you've been for 10 months

I know! He said that ‘maternity leave’ was a turn of phrase, not a legal thing. But you’re right - I should have had a p45 then.