Civil Service - continuous service?

[pipistrello]

I am trying to conceive but about to move to a different department. Does anyone know whether the year's service usually necessary to qualify for a department's enhanced maternity provision is actually civil service continuous service (like for accruing pension and annual leave and so on) or is it service in the particular department?

It'll probably take me aeons to conceive anyway, but I was just wondering. I don't quite want to ask new department before I've even started there...

I think it is, but don't know for sure. Why don't you contact your current dept's HR and ask them?

Paranoia! I'm in the stage where the two departments' HRs talk and transfer personnel files and so on and I am nervous that current place would mention it to new place. I know this is utterly, utterly bonkers of me.

Assuming your employer is the same, you'll be fine.

Hi, perhaps it depends on your status, ie whether you permanently transfer or are just on loan to another dept?

Where I work (civil service) our Maternity guidance says you need to "Have been continuously employed in the Civil Service for at least 26 weeks by the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth" to get Mat Pay, and says you get paid leave if "You are in paid service at the time your maternity leave begins and have completed at least 1 year's such service within the Civil Service which need not be continuous (staff in receipt of sick pay at pension rate are not regarded as being in paid service)."

So they say 'Civil Service' rather than specifying the Department. Best check with HR. My experience was not great in terms of gettig clear info!!! Good luck!

Thanks monkey that's helpful. The more I think about it the more I think surely it
must be civil service rather than individual department, otherwise what would happen with people affected by mandated machinery of government changes and so on (thinking post election!)?

I know what you mean about the difficulty of getting clear information though.

can't be sure, but I know local govt continuous service is transferable between councils, even though they are separate employers, and you sign a new contract when you change jobs.

so I have 7 years continuous service despite only having worked for X city council for 5 months.

good job really as I'm 3 months pg.

I don't know if it's applicable to your situation but my friend worked for the NHS and moved jobs to a different local authority. She then discovered that she was already pregnant. The new HR dept claimed that she didn't have full maternity rights as she left her old job on a Friday and started her new job on a Monday and therefore had a break in employment with the NHS. The thing that saved her was that she had taken the last two days of her notice period as holiday, which overlapped with the first two days in her new job. Do you think you could do that just to be on the safe side?

Sorry, I asked for my message to be removed as I put down the name of the department I work for and I don't really want to be identified on here.

Where I am, to qualify for enhanced maternity pay it's service in the actual department that counts, NOT continuous service overall. I would definitely speak to HR to get it all in black and white. If your HR is anything like mine, they're completely separate from your manager so you shouldn't worry about asking before you've started in the new department. Best to ask now and know for certain IMO.

Thanks fcb and everyone. I've emailed HR and will see what they say.

It appears I'm not pregnant this month though, so the problem is not as disastrous as it might have been if I were, before even moving.