Paying back maternity leave

[JE55321]

Would love some advice. I would like to leave my job in September as I have been accepted onto a teacher training course. However I have only been back at work 11months and in the maternity policy they say that if you leave before 12 months the enhanced maternity leave should be paid back. This isn't very clear in the policy, it is only mentioned in an appendix as part of an agreement to sign (which I was never asked to) and I wasn't aware of it at the time. Now I'm very nervous about it and wonder if anyone has experience of not being made to pay in so close to the threshold or having to pay pro rata?

Have you got any annual leave you can save and take at the end to try and extend your last day beyond the 12 month threshold? It's worth asking your employer if they'd consider a pro rata arrrangement as it's so close to the end, although contractually I think they have the right to reclaim it in full as you signed the agreement.

So you came back in October 2020? I work in HR for a fairly flexible employer but we'd be claiming it back from you if it's within the policy - otherwise where do we draw the line? If we decide 11m is close to 12m, then what about those who leave after 10m?

Oh just re-read and it seems you didn't sign the agreement? You might be in a better position then though they could say you implicitly accepted the agreement when you took the money. Maybe try contacting ACAS or your union if you're in one for advice.

They can’t reclaim it if you weren’t aware of it at the time. Did you not have access to the policy before receiving the money?

It's just not actually in the main policy. The appendix is an agreement that the employee is meant to sign to receive the enhanced pay, and that is where it is mentioned. I was never asked to sign it so didn't pay it enough attention. Which obviously is my fault. But yes really hoping that I could come to some sort of pro rate agreement given the lack of clarity around it and also that this particular thing I want to do had to be September.

By the time you've served notice you will have been back 12 months.

If the course starts in September and you've already been back 11 months, by the time you leave you'll have reached the 12 month criteria

When did you go back to work?
Your op makes it look like you went back 11 months ago, but if that was the case, then you wouldn't be posting?

Oh yes, sorry. Meant will have been back 11 months by September.

Can you use annual leave to push back your leaving date?

So if you needed to sign the form to receive enhanced pay but you didn't sign the form should you even have received it in the first place?

Did they give you the form before you took mat leave? If they provided all the information, and you accepted the enhanced pay then you'll need to pay it back.
Or have they only just given you the form now? If you never saw it before then they cant enforce it now.

You just have annual leave though. Dont take any and use it all to get you over the 12 months.

Was the appendix given to you at the same time as the main policy; so you had it all when your leave started, or did you get shown the appendix later?

That’ll be important, I think. If it was accessible to you, it could be argued that you accepted the clause even if you didn’t sign. That’ll be more difficult if you didn’t have access to it, or if it’s a new policy.

But I expect that they’ll want the money if it’s within 12 months, as otherwise they’ll create a precedent. Hopefully they’ll have some flexibility there.

Do you have enough annual leave to take September off?

What is the actual start date for your course? If you have say, an induction day early in September but teaching doesn't start until later, that would be less for you to cover with annual leave and more doable.

If you had the form before you had the money that will count.

How close to the 12 months is it? Have you checked the actual date in September that the teacher training course starts? As someone else said, can you use annual leave to extend your leaving date and scrape the 12 months?

Thanks! The annual leave suggestion should take me through to mid September and hopefully at that point it's so close to 12 months there would be some flexibility or agreement on pro rata payback that it should be ok.

This was my situation several years ago. When I left someone from HR contacted me to say the money was due back, I said fine as we had budgeted for this. I asked how I should pay it back and it turns out there was no mechanism in place for me to actually do that, and nobody ever contacted me about it again!