MNHQ here: post your pregnancy & maternity work questions here for FREE legal advice from Maternity Action

[RhiannonEMumsnet]

Free online advice clinic Monday 10th March to Thursday 13th March - OPEN NOW.

Mumsnet and Maternity Action are once again teaming up to provide an online legal clinic, offering free advice on pregnancy, maternity and parental rights at work from volunteer employment lawyers who are members of the Employment Law Association.

Whether you have a question about maternity leave, your request for flex work, your rights as a pregnant worker, or think you may be discriminated against by your employer because of being a parent, this is the place for you.
The clinic takes the form of a Q&A on this thread and will run from Monday 10th to Thursday 13th of March. The Maternity Action team will do their best to provide all answers during that time and at the latest by Friday. More information on where to go for more help once the clinic has ended is here. All past clinics are here.

How it works:

If you have a question about your rights at work during pregnancy, maternity or parental leave, post it below before the 13th March. Please give as much information as possible but remember that this is an online forum and can be viewed by the public – including your colleagues and employer. Please don’t name your employer publicly if you are likely to be taking action against them in future. You can use private message to disclose information to the volunteers that you’d rather not make public.

Please send your name and the name of your employer to [email protected] so that it can be passed on to the volunteers to do a conflict of interest check. We cannot post a reply until you have sent this information.

Once your advice has been posted online, you will have an opportunity to provide feedback. This helps us to find out whether you found the advice helpful, whether it helped you to resolve your situation at work and some information about you. All survey responses are anonymous and confidential. Providing feedback will help us to see what improvements can be made in developing this type of online free legal advice clinic. Fill out the survey here.

Ts and Cs – please read

The advice provided to an individual poster is based only on the information provided by that poster. Advice on this thread is also particular to the individual who has asked for it and is likely to be specific to that person’s situation. A poster may have provided further relevant information by private message which will not appear on this thread. So please take care if you choose to apply that advice to your own situation - it is recommended that you first take legal advice from one of the sources we have suggested here.

Mumsnet, Maternity Action and Maternity Action's volunteers accept no liability for any loss suffered as a result of an individual choosing to follow advice provided to another poster's question on the thread.

The lawyers, all of whom are specialists in employment law, will be working as volunteers for Maternity Action in respect of the clinic. Any personal information collected as a result of the clinic will be held by Maternity Action and will be deleted after 18 months. If you wish to make a complaint about the service you received, you can click here

Help, I’m struggling to work with back ache, siatica, mental health and sleeping as a result of my pregnancy…

I have annual leave booked in from 36weeks - 39 weeks (3 weeks) and my maternity leave starts at 39 weeks (I’ve done abit of AL first to prolong my maternity pay / 90% of wages over summer for financial reasons)

What I am asking; if my GP rules me off sick until 36 weeks due to pregnancy related illness, will they automatically start my maternity leave at 36 weeks, or can I still use my annual leave as already planned then my maternity leave start at 39 weeks?

I’m a primary school teacher currently on maternity leave. I would like to resign on May 31st. I have taken 3 blocks of SPL, equating to 3 weeks and 6 days. I’m returning to work on the 7th July; I believe I have worked out that, in total, I would’ve worked 10 weeks and 1 day by the 1st September (unsure when my school restarts for the next academic year). I understand I owe 13 weeks OMP, but my question is can my school contest SPL as working? How do I go about discussing this with my employer that I’m resigning, but will work 3 weeks in September to ensure I owe nothing back? How can I explain that SPL constitutes as actively working? Advice on how I can resign and explain all of this would be greatly appreciated!

Hi I went on maternity leave on 18th December and was awarded a pay rise from the 1st January but my employer says this will have no effect on my maternity pay is this correct?

I’ve recently returned from maternity leave, and asked about the accumulated bank holidays being added to my holiday allowance for this year, to be told I’m not entitled.

They’ve said as Bank Holidays are not part of our annual leave entitlement (they are in addition to our annual leave) they are not worked and cannot be accrued. In addition they’ve said the role is Our salaried and therefore paid a monthly salary - as apposed to wages - regardless of when bank holidays occur - therefore it is a static figure.

I was in fact given these days when I returned from my previous maternity leave, and my contract terms have remained the same. Have I just lucked out the first time and I’m in fact not entitled, or do I have a case to contest this?

Thank you

Hi there

Thanks for all your responses!

Please do remember to email send your name and the name of your employer to [email protected] after submitting your post, so that your query can be passed on to the volunteers to do a conflict of interest check.

We cannot post a reply until you have sent this information.

Hi there,
Thank you to Maternity Action and Mumsnet for providing this incredible service!

I am unsure that my employer has calculated/advised me correctly of the following information and would like advice on the below

-has my maternity pay (SMP + employer enhanced policy) been processed/paid correctly - I don't believe so

-how much time off I am entitled to based on statutory maternity leave and taking into account the shared leave I gave to my partner

-has annual leave accrual has been calculated correctly based on leave taken prior to mat leave

-do I have a case for discrimination for flexible (WFH) working not being available to me

I believe that my employer has a payroll & HR team who aren't experienced/qualified in maternity matters and so errors have been and are being made.

Many thanks
UnsureMumNeedsHelp

Please could someone help with the rules with regards to working a different second job whilst on maternity leave?

I am still on maternity leave but now no longer receiving SMP. I'm not due back to work until beginning of June but will be 'returning' in May but as being on annual leave so not physically returning until June.

I know I'm entitled to do up to 10 KIT days but I just can't face going back any earlier than necessary 😅 but we're a bit tight on money at the minute.

Ive seen casual weekend work advertised which would suit me as partner will be available for childcare but want to make sure I'm actually allowed to do it.

Thank you

Dear ByHonestRedBird

Thank you for your query. I'm sorry to hear you have not been well.

The Maternity and Parental Leave Regulation, reg. 6 states:

1. An employee’s ordinary maternity leave period commences with the earlier of:

(a) the date which she notifies to her employer as the date on which she intends her ordinary maternity leave period to start, and

(b) the day which follows the first day after the beginning of the fourth week before the expected week of childbirth on which she is absent from work wholly or partly because of pregnancy.

To find the start of the fourth week before the expected week of childbirth, you should count back four weeks from the Sunday immediately before your due date (on your MATB1 maternity certificate) or four weeks from the Sunday if you are due on a Sunday. Your maternity leave and pay can only be started by your employer if you are absent because of pregnancy from the day after the start of the four week period.

For example, if your due date is 20 June 2025, the Sunday before is 15 June 2025. The start of the 4 week period is 18 May 2025.

You should book your annual leave with your employer in the normal way. You should also give notice of the date you wish to start your maternity leave by the 15th week before your EWC (if you haven't already) or as soon as possible afterwards. Your Fit Note from your GP or midwife will need to end on the day before the start of the 4 week period above. If your annual leave is booked you are not absent 'because of pregnancy' and your employer cannot force you to start maternity leave during that period.

I hope that all goes well.

Dear Lui86

Thank you for your query. Paid annual leave and maternity leave are two separate rights. You are legally entitled to both but you cannot take holiday during your maternity leave. You continue to accrue paid holiday during maternity leave as if you were at work. In summary your rights to paid holiday are as follows:

· Legally, the minimum amount of leave your employer must allow you to take within the holiday year is 28 days. If you are not able to take this because your maternity leave overlaps your holiday year, you must be allowed to carry it forward and take it at another time.
· Any additional contractual entitlement to paid leave above this 28 days must be taken in line with your contract.

Bank holidays are fixed holidays (like summer or Christmas shutdowns) and cannot usually be taken at another time unless your contract allows it. For example, if your employer allows employees who are off sick on a bank holiday to take a day off in lieu, they should also allow women on maternity leave to do the same.

However, if you are only entitled to the legal minimum of 28 days holiday, including bank holidays, you must be allowed to take bank holidays after your maternity leave otherwise you will not have had your statutory minimum holiday entitlement for that year. If you work part-time, 28 days will be pro-rated.
I hope that helps.

My company has announced it is going to be making redundancies. I've not told them I'm pregnant yet and I'm nervous to in case it influences their decision and puts me more at risk. Am I more protected from redundancy because I am pregnant? Where can I find more info about my rights? Thank you for your help.

Thanks so much for coming back to me. My contract says "You will be entitled to 20 days’ paid holiday in each complete holiday year (pro-rated in your first year), rising by 1 additional day per year of service up to a maximum of 25 days, plus all public holidays observed in your Country. Our holiday year runs from 1 January to 31 December."

I've been with the company long enough that i now have the 25 days, but from the above, does it suggest the bank holidays should be accrued? Someone within HR has come back to me to say "Bank Holidays are not part of our annual leave entitlement - they are in addition to our annual leave - they are therefore not worked and cannot be accrued."

Thank you

Good Morning,

I'm 15 weeks pregnant (due 1st September 2025) and last week found out I am being made redundant from my role/company. My last working day will be 7th May 2025, if I don't find new employment before then.

I have been working for the company since May 2023, so I have completed over the 26 weeks necessary to claim SMP however I will not be employed by the company in the 8 weeks prior to birth?

What does this mean in terms of qualifying for SMP? If I get a new job, can I claim SMP with them? If I find new employment will I be exempt to apply for MA?

I'd like to find out what my options are.

I have been at my current place of work for 2 years although I have no formal written contract. I am considered an employee and I am paid on a monthly payroll. There is no HR department / person. I gave notice of my maternity leave and MATB1 form in accordance with the legal timeline but my employer has not formally acknowledged my maternity leave (only informally). I am due to go off work on annual leave from tomorrow up until when my maternity leave starts on 1st April. Given that I am about to go off work, I contacted the accountant to get confirmation that I would be receiving SMP as per entitlement and for them to confirm the payment schedule.

The accountant has confirmed I will received SMP including 90% of my average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks but said that the SMP payment weeks run Sunday - Saturday so I may only be paid for 3 weeks in April? My maternity starts on a Tuesday and from what I understand, my maternity pay weeks should then run Tuesday - Monday? I have asked the accountant to confirm this but their response is that my maternity pay schedule will be provided early April and that they need to check when they get the new tax year software in April (I don't know what this means?). I am confused as to why my SMP payment weeks/plan can't be confirmed before I go off work? Please help / advise... I am now feeling like I'm going off work without knowing what my income will be next month...

Thank you for your time and support

Hello!

thanks so much for offering this service!

I’m looking for some informal advice on the following situation.

I’m currently on maternity leave (around 28 weeks now).
Today I had that check in with HR ( I requested to keep in touch and discuss my come back date) and HR told me that they would like to have a formal conversation with me and my manager regarding organisational changes and that they wanted to find a time for this that works for me.

I asked if we could do this rather sooner then later as this uncertainty makes me nervous and they replied they will try to do it this week or next week.

2 years ago I was on maternity leave as well at the same company and found out through a company wide organizational info email that my role had changed. The role changed severally (double responsibilities and bigger territory including being responsible for countries with challenging timezones) and they said it was a promotion without extra benefits or additional support. They never followed a formal process (hr was not involved) and comments were made by my (at that time new manager) that I should accept the new role or resign. I’m pretty sure this was illegal but I decided to stay positive and accept the new role and see how it goes.

A few things I’m wondering;

• what is the formal process the company needs to follow regarding informing me about changes? Do they have a certain timeframe in which they need to inform me?
• should I get legal support? If so, should they be invited in the call?
• what are my rights if they offer me a new role again and I don’t want to accept this time.

Hey,

Wondering if anyone knows if there’s any legal rights for someone who’s pregnant and is self employed without a contract in place but does regular hours each week. Or anyone who’s experienced similar?

Personally wanted to work till I gave birth or at least a couple weeks prior. (I’m not a sit at home kinda person) and was looking to get back to work after 6 weeks after checks are done. I am a personal trainer and this part of my work is coaching group sessions but this is only doing set up, demoing exercises and correcting techniques (all things I will be doing in my own training throughout)

I told the owner of the gym when I had my 12 week scan, he said he was thinking he wouldn’t want me after I hit third trimester cause would have to adapt workout and be on stand by if something happened not what I wanted but accepted this is his choice (be doing my own 1-1 throughout anyway) but then was also he didn’t want to hold my space cause I might get a better offer or change my mind about coming back. (So could anyone else ..)

I’m now 16 weeks along and been given a week’s notice today. I did already make my peace with it but financially this month I wasn’t expecting this so soon and gonna need to get some other work fast to make up the difference.

Due to him haven got another coach in and can’t pay us both don’t want to lose out on the new one to cover my hours.

Just wanna know if anyone’s been through anything like this ? What did you do what was outcomes. Don’t really wanna be adding aload of stress to my life right now if it’s not gonna lead into anything.

I am currently on maternity leave and have 10 kit days to use.
I am currently planning on trying for my next baby at the end of the year.
I work for the NHS and my maternity pay is based on my 15th week of pregnancy. There is a chance I may be pregnant before I return to work.
Am I able to use my KIT days on this week and for this to be used for the next maternity pay calculation? I can't find any policy within my work with this information. .

Hi,
I’m currently on mat leave, 6 months in to 12 months off. I have found out recently that I am pregnant with baby number 2, due in October. My company has a very good maternity pay policy where I get 6 months full pay.
I want to return to work for a period of time so that I am eligible again for my full maternity package so my question is — is there a statutory period of time I need to return for in order to qualify for AML? I am reading that it could be 12-15 weeks, is that correct? I’m worried that my company might make it difficult for me and they might request me to take my maternity leave back to back, which will force me in to statutory mat pay for my second maternity leave.
I can’t find any information about this in my employee handbook. Any advice welcome, many thanks

Hello! I tried phoning many times but sadly never got through so would be hugely grateful for a reply on here. Thanks so much for all that you do!

I am 14 weeks pregnant and live in England and am newly self employed (although haven’t registered yet, I know I need to do that soon!).
I am not a British citizen however have settled status so am allowed to stay in the UK indefinitely. I can work from anywhere in the world and I know that I will be eligible for maternity allowance.

However I started thinking about moving abroad during my maternity leave, nothing confirmed yet, I am just exploring my options.
I know I can start receiving maternity pay from 11 weeks before baby is due. Let’s assume that's when I want to start it. What if I then move out of the UK soon after that (but before the birth)? Since the leave has already started, will I be able to receive the rest of it while living abroad?

On that note I have a second question if that’s ok. If I do choose to stay in the UK for the birth, will my baby instantly become a British citizen? From what I read, he will. But what if I then move abroad a few months after he’s born, will he remain a citizen for the rest of his life? And if so, would that offer us as parents (EU citizens) the possibility to move back to England anytime again, even after our settlement status expires after 5 years abroad?

THANK YOU so much!

Dear MamaBee1997

Thank you for your query. If you work in a local authority state school your terms and conditions are covered by the Burgundy Book which you can find here: https://neu.org.uk/latest/library/burgundy-book
These terms and conditions also apply to many academies but you will need to check your contract/school maternity policy.

The Burgundy Book national policy states that you need to repay any OMP apart from the first 6 weeks and any SMP you have received unless:

1. Subsequent obligations on the teacher

5.1 The teacher’s subsequent obligation is to return to their job for at least 13 weeks (including periods of school closure) as a qualifying condition to occupational maternity pay. This requirement may be reduced at the discretion of the employer (see paragraph 8 below for entitlement to pay). 5.2 Where the employer agrees, a full-time teacher may return to work on a part-time basis for a period which equates to 13 weeks of full-time service. Similarly, where the employer agrees, a part-time teacher may return to work on a different part-time basis for a period which equates to 13 weeks of part-time service relating to their previous contract. 5.3 The 13-week period (or part-time equivalent) starts from the date the teacher returns to work or the date during the school holiday on which the teacher is declared medically fit to be available to work.

Paragraph 8 states:

8.4. In the event of the teacher not being available, or being unable to return to their job for the required period, the teacher shall refund such sum after the first six weeks’ payment as the employer at their discretion may decide. Payments made by way of SMP are not refundable.

This suggests that you need to physically return to work for 13 weeks but will be treated as working during periods of school closure. Repayment of enhanced maternity pay depends on the wording of the scheme. Some policies exclude periods of sick leave or are silent about other types of leave and some policies require a physical return to work, not just that you have remained employed during the required period. As such, the wording suggests that any period of SPL and any period of sick leave (whilst both still count as being employed) would not be treated as being available or having returned to your job. The weeks of summer holiday would count.

If the above terms do not apply to you, you will need to look carefully at your contract and/or school policy to see whether the requirement is a physical return to work or to remain employed (where other types of leave such as sick leave where you remain employed would still count as returning).

If you are a member of one of the teaching unions they may be able to clarify the Burgundy Book rules. I suggest also checking the terms in relation to resignation. See sections 2 & 4 of the Burgundy Book (or your school policy if this does not apply to your school) as this says that you must give 3 months notice, which you appear to be doing, but that your contract will end on 31 August. This suggests that any request to work for part of the Autumn term would be subject to agreement with your school. The Burgundy Book says that schools have discretion to reduce the return to work period, however, this is not guaranteed but in terms of how to ask your employer, I suggest arranging an informal chat with your Head to explore the options so that you can plan ahead.

I hope this helps to resolve it.

Dear Kitans

Thank you for your query. If you receive a pay rise between the start of the calculation period for your SMP and the end of your maternity leave, the law is very clear that your employer must recalculate your average weekly earnings for SMP purposes and pay you any additional SMP owing for the first 6 weeks of your SMP period.

As you received a pay rise from 1/1/25, your employer must now recalculate your average earnings for SMP purposes as if you had received the pay rise in the SMP calculation period (8 weeks/2months prior to the 15th week before your expected week of childbirth).

This is set out in the HMRC guidance here which you can show your employer:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/statutory-maternity-pay-employee-circumstances-that-affect-payment

Employee earnings affected by a pay rise

A pay rise must not be withheld because of maternity leave.

You must recalculate the average weekly earnings (AWE) to take account of pay rises awarded, or that would have been awarded had your employee not been on maternity leave.

This applies if the pay rise was effective from anytime between the start of the 8 week relevant period for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) and the end of the statutory maternity leave.

If a pay rise is awarded after you’ve calculated your employee’s earnings, and that pay rise is effective from the start date of the relevant period but before the Maternity Pay Period (MPP) ends, you must:

• recalculate the AWE to include the pay rise as though it was effective from the beginning of the relevant period
• pay any extra SMP due.

Any OMP element of your maternity pay (any enhanced maternity pay on top of SMP) is paid by your employer and is a contractual benefit. As such, you will need to check your contract/maternity policy to see how OMP is calculated and whether there are any provisions about how pay rises will be treated. For example, it may say that any pay rise awarded after the start of maternity leave will only apply to maternity pay from the date of the award. This would mean that your OMP would increase in line with the pay rise from 1/1/25.

If your employer does not pay the correct SMP you should contact the HMRC Statutory Payments Disputes Team on 0300 322 9422. HMRC will provide a formal decision and order your employer to pay any additional SMP owing.

If your employer does not pay any OMP owing, you will need to make a claim for unauthorised deduction of wages and breach of contract in an employment tribunal. For unauthorised deduction of wages claims there is a strict time limit of 3 months from the date of the last deduction or series of deductions. You must contact ACAS within the time limit on 0300 123 1100 to start early conciliation.

I would suggest taking this up with your employer informally first to try to resolve it. It is a specialist area and your payroll department may be able to advise your HR or your managers. You can also send your employer the HMRC information above.

I hope it's resolved soon.

Dear UnsureMumNeedsHelp

Thank you for your query. I'll answer each of your questions in turn.

1. SMP lasts for 39 weeks. The first 6 weeks are paid at 90% of your average weekly earnings (calculated in the 8 weeks/2 months) before the 15th week before your expected week of childbirth. There is a maternity pay calculator on gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/maternity-paternity-pay-leave This will help to work out how much your SMP should be. If your employer provides enhanced maternity pay you should check your contract. For example, it may say that you are entitled to x weeks full pay and x weeks half pay. In most cases the enhanced pay includes the SMP amount so your employer is topping up your SMP to a higher amount. If you are not sure if you have been paid the correct amount it would be best to ask your employer for a breakdown of your payments so that you can try to resolve it.

If your employer has not paid the correct SMP you should contact the HMRC Statutory Payments Disputes Team on 0300 322 9422. HMRC will provide a formal decision and order your employer to pay any additional SMP owing.

If your employer has not paid any OMP owing, you will need to make a claim for unauthorised deduction of wages in an employment tribunal. For unauthorised deduction of wages claims there is a strict time limit of 3 months from the date of the last deduction or series of deductions. You must contact ACAS within the time limit on 0300 123 1100 to start early conciliation.

1. You are entitled to 52 weeks of maternity leave and 39 weeks of maternity pay as above. The first two weeks after the birth are compulsory maternity leave. You can transfer any untaken weeks to your partner to take as shared parental leave. Your partner's entitlement will be 52 weeks less the weeks of maternity leave taken and 39 weeks of Statutory Shared Parental Pay less the weeks of maternity pay taken. You will need to tell your employer that you are ending your maternity leave and/or pay early if your partner is giving notice to take shared parental leave/pay. If you are transferring 12 weeks of leave and pay to your partner, for example, your maternity leave will end at 40 weeks (52 - 12) and your maternity pay will end at 27 weeks (39 - 12).

1. You continue to accrue annual leave as if you were at work. For example, if you are entitled to the statutory minimum of 28 days, including bank holidays, you remain entitled to take 28 days for that holiday year. If you are unable to take holiday because of maternity leave you must be allowed to carry any untaken statutory holiday forward. If your employer provides more than 28 days, you will need to check your contract to see whether you are allowed to take bank holidays at another time and how much leave you are allowed to carry forward. If you are unsure about your holiday entitlement, I suggest checking this with your employer. If you are owed holiday pay and you cannot resolve it with your employer, you can make a claim for holiday pay in a tribunal and you must contact ACAS as above.

1. All employees are entitled to make a request for flexible work. Unfortunately this does not apply to workers. If you are not sure of your employment status you should check your contract. You can make a request to change your hours of work, days of work or place of work. This applies from day one in employment and you can make up to two flexible work requests per year.

Your employer may have their own flexible work application form. Otherwise you can use this application form on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-right-to-request-flexible-working-form Unfortunately the right to make a request for flexible work is only a ‘right to ask’. It is important to think carefully about how the new arrangement would work and any difficulties that might arise, for example, who will cover your work on your non-working days. Your employer has a duty to consider your request reasonably and in order to do so they would usually be expected to hold a meeting with you to discuss your request and how it would work. If you need to change your days, hours or place of work because of your childcare arrangements, you should make this clear in your application. Your employer can turn down a flexible work request for any number of 8 business reasons. The only legal business reasons an employer can give for refusing a flexible work request are:

• the burden of additional costs
• the detrimental effect on the ability to meet customer demand
• they are unable to reorganise the work among existing staff
• they are unable to recruit additional staff
• the detrimental effect on quality
• detrimental effect on performance
• there is not enough work during the periods the employee wants to work, or
• planned structural changes.

If your employer refuses your request and you are unable to work on the days/hours offered because of your childcare arrangements, you may have a claim for indirect sex discrimination. You should appeal the refusal first in order to discuss any other arrangements that might work or see if any compromises can be reached. Tribunals accept that women have more childcare responsibilities than men, therefore, working arrangements which disadvantage more women than men may be indirect sex discrimination. You will need to show that you cannot work on the arrangements offered by your employer. Your employer may be able to justify the refusal if they can show that their refusal was justified and proportionate i.e. that it would be genuinely difficult for them to agree to your request. These can be difficult claims to bring and I recommend seeking further legal advice if your request is refused without good reason or if you think their refusal was unjustified e.g. other colleagues are working the same hours that you are seeking.

You can also make a claim in an employment tribunal under the statutory right to request for a few limited reasons, including, where your employer failed to consider your request within two months or they refused your request for a reason that is not included in the regulations (see above) or they rejected your request based on incorrect facts. However, compensation for this type of claim is limited to up to eight weeks’ pay (currently capped at £700 per week).

I hope that helps and wish you all the best.

Dear acupofteamakeseverythingbetter

Thank you for your enquiry. Once your maternity pay has ended it will not be affected by any other work you do, however, in relation to taking on a second job you will need to check your contract or staff handbook to see if there are any restrictions on working for another employer. This could be to avoid any conflict of interest for instance. You may be required to notify your employer of a second job or to seek permission to take on other work. You remain employed during your maternity leave and any period of annual leave, therefore, the terms and conditions in your contract continue to apply.

I hope that goes well.

I am currently on maternity leave which stared on 5th January:
would really like some help advice with regards to my maternity pay: suppose to get full pay for 8 weeks how ever my pay has dropped from December to January and then dropped again from January to February.
both sure if it has been calculated correctly.

My employer has handed back over our contract for the work to be done in house through TUPE regulations, we were originally on a honorary contract with the NHS. However the new employer NHS is posting in house vacancies for the exact same role, just with NHS benefits. My issue is: I’m due to go on mat leave around the 4th of July. The new employer has stated that should we apply and be successful in acquiring the band 3 position (NHS position) this will then end our continuous service, due to it being a “new”contract, meaning if I apply for this role and become successful, I won’t meet the criteria for being under that employment for 25 weeks +15 for enhanced maternity pay. However under TUPE regulations the transfer to the new employer should recognise the original start date from the original employer, as the contract is transferred over, so why would this then change when I apply for an in house position. This leaves me at a disadvantage to my other colleagues, because to apply for the new role (which is the exact same role I am currently doing), would result in not receiving either my TUPE maternity leave, or the “new” NHS maternity pay, which would then mean this isn’t an equal opportunity, and surely qualifies as pregnancy discrimination?

Hi there

Please do remember to send over your name and the name of your employer to [email protected] after posting your query, so that we can check for any conflicts of interest.

As soon as you do this we can allocate your question to a volunteer solicitor.

Thank you!