Paying Back EMP??

[FriendlyAndFunny]

Hi, i’m currently on maternity leave with my first baby. My work offers an enhanced maternity pay for the first 6 months, and the maternity policy states ‘If you have less than one year’s service from the start of your maternity leave, you will have to pay
back all of the Company maternity pay that you have received (excluding any statutory maternity pay) if you leave the Company (for any reason other than redundancy) within six months of the end of your maternity leave’

I started my maternity leave less than a year after joining the company, hence why this is relevant.

Me and my partner were planning on hopefully becoming pregnant with baby 2 before DS turns 1, meaning i’d still be on maternity leave.

My question is, if i ended up in a situation where I had to take back-to-back maternity leave, would i then have to pay back the EMP if i decided to leave the company after that second leave was over? I feel as though the wording of ‘one years service’ isn’t very clear if that includes leave or not.

employment includes maternity leave, so you shouldn’t have to pay the first lot back as you’re still employed afterwards. Then you’ll have been there more than a year so shouldn’t have to pay the second one back.

do you get free legal advice through a union, or bank account etc? If so it might be worth checking with them.

Won't you go back to work before starting a second maternity leave? Like how soon after giving birth are you planning on trying for another baby?
Also won't you have to go back to get your second lot of maternity leave/pay?

Me and my partner were planning on hopefully becoming pregnant with baby 2 before DS turns 1, meaning i’d still be on maternity leave.

Are you planning on having baby number 2 before your first baby turns 1? If not, you’ll need to fit in another 6 months at work before going off with baby number 2.

Are you planning on having baby number 2 before your first baby turns 1? If not, you’ll need to fit in another 6 months at work before going off with baby number 2.

We’re hoping that I’ll become pregnant sometime before Baby1’s first birthday, not necessarily give birth but just trying to understand what my work situation could potentially be if i did get pregnant very quickly so that my partner can adjust his work situation if needed.
For example, if i had back-to-back maternity leave or leave 2 started less than 6 months after leave 1 ended would i need to ensure i came back from leave 2 and worked the additional time to avoid paying the extra back.

Would need to see the wording of the policy but mat leave counts as employment so you’d likely meet the criteria even if part of the 6 months was a second mat leave. However, you could be clobbered for your second mat leave if you aren’t earning in the right weeks to qualify for a second lot of SMP/EMP.