Maternity repayment - do I have to?

[Mumsupportneeded]

Hi there,
im in need of some advice. I am due to return to work in March after 1 year maternity leave (some enhanced).
A new career opportunity has come up with better hours pay etc that I’ve been offered. My old job paid enhanced maternity leave and are trying to enforce pay back. There was nothing in my contract/ parental/ maternity docs prior to going on leave about the need to repay.
However they did send a doc highlighting the rule for me to sign agreeing to it but I didn’t see this as it was sent during my maternity and not in advance (i have not signed). Am I obliged to repay, even though notice of repayment was made during my maternity leave and i didnt sign agreeing?
Having to do so will meaning staying as it is too large a sum to repay.

Based in the UK

The fact there is a maternity company polcy that existed before they sent this email that doesn’t mention it I think is the thing that might be in your favour.

@Comefromaway thanks, I guess I just don’t know what’s correct. If they legally are then I will go back and work as required but just when there is a possibility of a new role with improved pay and flexibility I have to consider 🤞🏻

you’ve been on mat leave for nearly a year, and received notification 2 weeks after the start of your mat leave regarding requirement to repay if you didn’t return, which was sent to your personal email address?

Appreciate it may have arrived just before the birth, so you maybe you didn’t see it for a week or two, but to be honest I think you’ve had plenty of notice. You could have chosen to change your maternity arrangements months ago, or ask to be put on statutory pay, but you didn’t. So whether you signed it or not, you accepted those terms by continuing your leave and receiving the pay.

yes there would have been a “qualifying” period to be eligible for enhanced payment, but these policies are also partly a retention tool to encourage mums back to work.

unless you were already actively planning NOT to return after your leave, you would have accepted those terms anyway - why would you not? It’s only an issue now because you’ve had a job offer.

if the new job hours and pay are that much better, but you can’t afford to repay in a lump sum, then why not ask if your current employer would accept instalments?

Ah. I just found it in one of your updates - personal email.

Honestly I think I'd focus on negotiating a compromise if you want to leave. It sounds like they had an administrative lapse that they tried to remedy as soon as the person in charge of this policy returned from her own maternity leave and (giving you the benefit of the doubt that you're not missing an available policy that always included this info) then they have some responsibility here.

But you not reading communications from your employer's HR department at any point during your year-long leave is not particularly reasonable, and you've contributed heavily to this situation by doing so. You had plenty of time to work with them after they emailed you (that was the time to say "wait I would have made different pregnancy and maternity leave plans if this information was communicated clearly earlier so it's not acceptable to add this clause now"), decline further enhanced pay, and/or try to adjust your return date. So your own lapse has exacerbated the situation greatly.

I'd probably point out that the poor communication of policies on their part affected your planning and decision making and offer to repay a portion of the amount that you can manage (potentially on a monthly plan).

I have a full maternity schedule HR laid out for me with the pay per week and month so I knew exactly what I was getting. No mention of repayment in those

Make sure you’ve printed off every single document including their maternity policy which didn’t contain it

If it turns out that you would have to pay it back, do check with the new job to see if they can wait for you before you decline the offer!

@GravyBoatWars Fair it was a complete miss of the email on my part as I was in labour at the time, hoping to come to a resolution

1. how long do you have to return for?
2. Can you ‘return’ to payroll now but use annual leave? Do you have enough accrued annual leave from the period you were on maternity leave so you can tag on to be counted as part of your notice?
3. Will you be able to negotiate a start date with the new employer that allows you to work the required return period?

Try contacting Pregnant and Screwed, they may have an idea

Sorry haven’t RTFT but does your normal contract of employment say you’ll comply with your staff handbook rules? And is the repayment of enhancement covered in there? If so that could be an extension of your contractual obligations?

@OOOtil2025 I believe it says I’ll comply but not mentioned in any company policy’s/documentation that repayment was required until my maternity started

Just seen your update that it wasn't mentioned in the maternity policy prior to you going on maternity. Id send them a letter contesting repayment based on the fact they hadn't made it clear and see if they will agree to let you keep it. In terms of the law it's so grey with things like this that it could go in anyones favour but I'd imagine the company wouldn't want the risk or reputational damage of it going to a ET so I'd try and fight them

I don’t think you normally get a separate contract when you go on maternity leave. I would think the company maternity policy is part of your terms and conditions of employment so applies to any employee. If it’s in the policy I expect you would have to pay back.

On the other hand, in the interests of behaving honestly and with integrity, the company have paid you the extra money when they did not have to and they did send you the info (which you did not read/sign/return)so you owe them it back and should be willing to come to agreement and not wriggle out of it.

For me, it was part of the company maternity policy which was available seperately but formed part of my contract. Surely, even if it was not, i would have thought that this would be akin to a salary overpayment which is still recoverable, but I really don't know, sorry. Best to speak to your Union if you are member

I think morally you should pay it back. Many older women had really short periods off on maternity leave and really low maternity pay. We argued for enhanced arrangements for those following behind even though we personally didn’t benefit. The only exceptions to paying back enhanced maternity benefits of which I am aware are discretionary for those with very prem babies with serious disabilities / health problems.

OP, Not RTFT but I worked as a FT teacher before DD1 was born - she is now 25. After my term of Maternity Leave, I couldn't face the hour commute and to put her into nursery, so I resigned. On day 2 of being a SAHM, I was called by a local Headteacher that I had met during ML. He was desperate for a teacher to help him out. It was literally a 10 minute walk, 2 minute drive from home. I took DD into the school and said that IF I could find suitable childcare, I would get in touch. DH worked at a university. They had a lovely nursery which was able to accommodate DD so I agreed to 4 half days per week. However, I played hardball and said I would only work there if they wrote my contract to start so I wouldn't need to pay the enhanced maternity pay back. They were desperate and agreed on the spot.

Sometimes, it's worth being a bit cheeky as you have nothing to lose and potentially a lot to gain. In my case, I got them through 2 lots of GCSE students, an OFSTED inspection and when I finally left 4 years later after running the department for a year and having DD2, the department was in a far better place. The Head and I are still friends.

I am not clued up on this but this is what it says on Acas:

They do not return to work and have taken enhanced maternity pay
The employee must repay some or all of their enhanced maternity pay if the written terms of their employment say so.
If this money does need to be repaid:

• the written terms must be clear about the circumstances
• you should remind the employee informally about this repayment, for example in any regular meetings you have with them, before they start getting this money

it doesn’t sound like they followed this at all, surely you need to be made aware at the very least before you go on maternity leave? Like I say I don’t know but that’s what makes sense to me, they haven’t made it clear and that is on them.

Also OP, not sure if anyone else has mentioned this but if you don’t go back, you should be paid for the annual leave you have accrued up to the leave date.

Fair enough not to read your emails during labour but the email is still there for you to read anytime after. Where you genuinely not aware or trying to claim that you ‘missed it’ as an argument not to repay. You can’t have your cake and eat it. Either way I think it’s a little shady to go down a legal route for a company that has given you enhanced pay.

Another vote for seeking advice from pregnant then screwed: https://pregnantthenscrewed.com/

I agree taking a legal route would be shitty. You have taken their money and decided not to return to the company.

if it’s a big company I’d be very suprised this isn’t in writing somewhere, it won’t be the first time it’s cropped up.

If the repayment condition was introduced after you started maternity leave, and you did not sign an agreement, it is unlikely they can legally enforce repayment.

Not true.

It's not in your contract, it wasn't highlighted before maternity leave started, and you never signed agreeing to it.
They've no chance.

Are you sure it's not in any policy for the company at all?
It's unlikely it would be in a contract as things like enhanced pay are a policy usually. And repayment terms may be in other policies because it may be applied to any discretionary payments or things like special training. So I'd check very carefully before going into bat.
Your best bet may be to go back to work and negotiate eg do you have a holiday balance accrued and you can offset that? Just call it quits?