This policy outlines the following:
This policy does not apply to agency workers or the self-employed.
This policy does not form part of any employee's contract of employment, and we may amend it at any time.
The definitions in this paragraph apply in this policy.
Expected week of childbirth (EWC) is the week, starting on a Sunday, in which the doctor or midwife expects the individual to give birth.
Keeping in touch (KIT) days help employees on maternity leave keep up to date with any changes at work or maintain their professional registration where appropriate. They also support employees in returning to the workplace after maternity leave.
Maternity Allowance (MA) is a payment the UK Government may make to employees who do not receive statutory maternity pay.
A miscarriage is when an employee has a miscarriage before the start of the 25th week of pregnancy.
Neonatal means newborn or the first 28 days of life.
Company Maternity Pay (CMP) is an enhanced payment to eligible employees while on maternity leave.
Pre-term birth is when an employee’s baby is born before the 37th week of pregnancy.
Qualifying week is the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (EWC) and determines statutory maternity pay entitlements.
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is a payment to eligible employees when on maternity leave.
A stillbirth is when an employee’s baby is stillborn after the end of the 24th week of pregnancy.
A surrogate is when an employee carries and gives birth to a baby for another person or couple.
Senior Leadership should:
The manager should:
The employee should:
Employees should also take responsibility for their health and safety at work in support of their maternity risk assessment.
You must inform your line manager as soon as possible that you are pregnant. This is important as there may be health and safety considerations.
Before the end of the Qualifying Week you should:
As soon as you notified your line manager that you are pregnant, an individual pregnant workers and new mothers risk assessment should be completed.
It may be completed before you submit your Maternity leave form.
You will receive confirmation of your maternity leave and maternity pay arrangements in writing within 28 days of receipt of the documents being received.
The written confirmation will include:
You have the right to paid time off for antenatal care. Antenatal care may include relaxation and parentcraft classes the employee's doctor, midwife, or health visitor has advised them to attend, in addition to medical examinations.
You should give your line manager advance notice of antenatal appointments and ideally, try to arrange appointments outside working hours or at the start or end of the working day. However, it is recognised that this may not always be possible.
Periods of pregnancy-related sickness absence shall be paid in accordance with our Sickness Absence Policy in the same manner as any other sickness absence. Any payment of sick pay in excess of this as a result of pregnancy-related sickness shall be entirely at our discretion.
Periods of pregnancy-related sickness absence from the start of your pregnancy until the end of your maternity leave will be recorded separately from other sickness records and will be disregarded in any future employment-related decisions.
If you are absent for a pregnancy-related reason during the four weeks before your Expected Week of Childbirth, your maternity leave will usually start automatically.
We have a general duty to take care of the health and safety of all employees. We are also required to carry out a risk assessment to assess the workplace risks to women who are pregnant, have given birth within the last six months or are still breastfeeding.
We will provide you with information as to any risks identified in the risk assessment, and any preventive and protective measures that have been or will be taken. If we consider that, as a new or expectant mother, you would be exposed to health hazards in carrying out your normal work we will take such steps as are necessary (for as long as they are necessary) to avoid those risks. This may involve:
You must take at least 2 weeks of maternity leave immediately after the child's birth. You are entitled to up to 52 weeks' maternity leave, which is divided into:
The earliest date you can start maternity leave is 11 weeks before the EWC unless your child is born before the 11th week.
The latest maternity leave can start is the day following the birth of the baby. This also applies when a baby is born pre-term.
You can change the start date of their maternity leave. To do so, you should give your line manager at least 28 days' notice of the new date. If this is not achievable, you must inform your line manager of the date change as soon as possible.
Shortly before your maternity leave starts, we will discuss with you the arrangements for covering your work and the opportunities for you to remain in contact, should you wish to do so, during your leave. Unless you request otherwise, you will remain on circulation lists for internal news, job vacancies, training and work-related social events.
We offer an enhanced system of maternity pay, well above the statutory level. Providing that you meet the eligibility criteria set out in previous sections, are eligible for statutory maternity pay (SMP) (see below) and you adhere to the requirements of the policy, the rate of pay will be as follows:
CMP is inclusive of any SMP entitlement and is subject to normal tax, National Insurance and pension deductions.
SMP is a benefit for employees on maternity leave. The UK Government determines the conditions and amount, but the employer pays it as follows:
The first 6 weeks of maternity leave are paid at 90% of the employee's average weekly earnings.
If this is less, the next 33 weeks are paid at a standard SMP rate or 90% of average weekly earnings.
Normal weekly earnings are calculated based on a statutory calculation which considers earnings over the 8 weeks before the end of the qualifying week.
Employer and employee pension contributions will continue to be paid during paid periods of maternity leave.
During any paid CMP, we shall continue to make any employer contributions that we usually make into a defined benefit pension scheme, based on what your earnings would have been if you had not been on maternity leave provided that you continue to make contributions based on the maternity pay you are receiving. If you wish to increase your contributions to make up any shortfall from those based on your normal salary, then please contact the Finance Manager or the Pensions Administrator directly.
During any unpaid AML we shall not make any payments into a money purchase scheme and the time shall not count as pensionable service under the final salary scheme. You do not have to make any contributions, but you may do so if you wish, or you may make up for missed contributions at a later date.
SMP may start on any day of the week.
To qualify for SMP, an employee must have:
All eligible employees will receive SMP regardless of whether they intend to return to work after maternity leave.
SMP accrues from the day on which you commence your OML and thereafter at the end of each complete week of absence. SMP payments shall be made on the next normal payroll date and income tax, National Insurance and pension contributions shall be deducted as appropriate.
If you become eligible for a pay rise before the end of your maternity leave, you will be treated for SMP purposes as if the pay rise had applied throughout the Relevant Period. This means that your SMP will be recalculated and increased retrospectively, or that you may qualify for SMP if you did not previously qualify. We shall pay you a lump sum to make up the difference between any SMP already paid and the amount payable by virtue of the pay rise. Any future SMP payments at the Earnings-Related Rate (if any) will also be increased as necessary.
You are entitled to request income smoothing during your OML and AML. This would involve your total entitlement to maternity pay (including both CMP and SMP) being paid over up to 12 equal instalments, depending on the planned duration of your maternity leave. For example, if you took 11 months of maternity leave, your maternity pay would be spread over 11 instalments. The detail of any smoothing arrangement would be confirmed to you in writing.
Should you take more or less maternity leave than originally requested, your pay on return to work would be adjusted, which may include us making a deduction from your pay, to ensure that any overpayment or underpayment was corrected.
All the terms and conditions of your employment remain in force during OML and AML, except for the terms relating to pay. In particular:
During OML and AML, annual leave will accrue at the rate provided under your contract. In addition, you will continue to accrue any bank holidays during your maternity leave.
You should where possible ensure that you have taken the full year's entitlement before starting your maternity leave. If leave is carried forward, ideally it should be taken before you return to work.
Our holiday year runs from 1 April to 31 March.
Your line manager and you should discuss and agree on voluntary arrangements for keeping in touch before maternity leave starts, including:
You can return to work for up to 10 days without bringing your maternity leave or pay to an end.
KIT days are optional but help to facilitate a smooth return to work for you returning from maternity leave. You cannot take KIT days within the first 2 weeks following childbirth.
Any KIT days taken will not extend the maternity leave period. KIT days can be consecutive or not. Working for part of any day will count as one KIT day from the 10-day allowance. Your line manager must carry out a risk assessment if you are breastfeeding. We will provide suitable breastfeeding facilities.
KIT days are paid as if you were at work and include any OML and SMP. The combination of OML and SMP cannot exceed your normal average weekly pay. If a KIT day is worked during a half- pay period, your OML will be topped up to a full day’s pay and paid to you in the next available payroll.
Shortly before you are due to return to work, we may invite you to have a discussion (whether in person or by telephone) about the arrangements for your return. This may cover:
If you experience a miscarriage before the end of the 24th week of pregnancy you will be entitled to up to two weeks paid Pregnancy Loss Leave for miscarriage, molar pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy, IVF loss after embryo transfer and termination for medical reasons regardless of your length of service. If further time off is required, you should follow the Sickness Absence Policy.
Employees may access support through occupational health, employee assistance services, or other wellbeing support available through the organisation.
The organisation will also extend the same paid leave entitlement to the employee's partner where they are employed by ILF Scotland.
Where a baby is stillborn after the end of the 24th week of pregnancy, you will be entitled to statutory and occupational maternity leave and pay in accordance with this policy.
You and your partner may also be entitled to Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay, and any enhanced occupational bereavement provisions provided by ILF Scotland.
Employees undergoing fertility treatment, including IVF, will be entitled to up to 10 days' paid Fertility Treatment Leave per treatment cycle. This entitlement is separate from sickness absence and annual leave and is intended to support attendance at appointments, medical procedures and recovery following treatment.
You may be eligible for neonatal care leave which is a statutory entitlement for parents whose babies receive neonatal care in the first 28 days after birth.
For further information please see the Neonatal Care Leave Policy.
Only one period of maternity pay, and leave is available where there are multiple births.
If you are a surrogate, you are entitled to maternity leave and pay as outlined in this policy. You should notify your line manager of your pregnancy, and follow the procedures outlined in this policy
Once you have notified us in writing of your Intended Start Date, we shall send you a letter within 28 days to inform you of your Expected Return Date. If your start date has been changed (either because you gave us notice to change it, or because maternity leave started early due to illness or premature childbirth) we shall write to you within 28 days of the start of maternity leave with a revised Expected Return Date.
We will expect you back at work on your Expected Return Date unless you tell us otherwise. It will help us if, during your maternity leave, you are able to confirm that you will be returning to work as expected.
If you wish to return to work earlier than the Expected Return Date, you must give us eight weeks' prior written notice.
If insufficient is given, we may postpone your return date until eight weeks after you gave notice, or to the Expected Return Date if sooner.
If you are continuing to breastfeed following your return to work, an appropriate risk assessment will be undertaken and reasonable facilities provided.
If you wish to return later than the Expected Return Date (following any Phased Return request), you should either:
If you are unable to return to work due to sickness or injury, this will be treated as sickness absence and our Sickness Absence Policy will apply.
In any other case, late return will be treated as unauthorised absence.
If you do not intend to return to work, or are unsure, it is helpful if you discuss this with us as early as possible. You should give notice in accordance with your Contract of Employment. The amount of maternity leave left to run when you give notice must be at least equal to your contractual notice period, otherwise we may require you to return to work for the remainder of the notice period.
Once you have given notice that you will not be returning to work, you cannot change your mind without our agreement.
This does not affect your right to receive SMP. However, should you decide not to return to work, you will not be required to re-pay any amount in excess of SMP which has been paid to you.
You are normally entitled to return to work in the same position as you held before commencing leave. Your terms of employment shall be the same as they would have been had you not been absent.
However, if you have taken any period of AML or more than four weeks' parental leave, and it is not reasonably practicable for us to allow you to return into the same position, we may give you another suitable and appropriate job on terms and conditions that are not less favourable.
We will deal with any requests by employees to change their working patterns (such as working part-time) after maternity leave on a case-by-case basis. There is no absolute right to insist on working part-time, but you do have a statutory right to request flexible working, and we will try to accommodate your wishes unless there is a justifiable reason for refusal, bearing in mind the needs of our business. It is helpful if requests are made as early as possible.
The procedure for dealing with such requests is set out in our Flexible Working Policy.
You will be entitled to request a phased return following your Expected Return Date, which may be phased over up to six weeks, as agreed with your line manager. You will be entitled to full pay during this phased return. An example phased return is outlined below, but a different arrangement may be agreed with you.
Week 1 – 0.2 of your working hours
Week 2 – 0.3 of your working hours
Week 3 – 0.5 of your working hours
Week 4 – 0.7 of your working hours
Week 5 – 0.8 of your working hours
Week 6 – return to your normal hours
There is no obligation to take a phased return. If you wish to request one, you must do so in writing at least eight weeks before your Expected Return Date, to allow us time to plan accordingly. In your request, you should state whether you have a preference for a particular duration and/or pattern of phased return, such as the pattern outlined above.
In certain circumstances it may not be possible to grant your specific request, but in those circumstances, we will agree an alternative with you.
You are protected from redundancy when you notify us of your pregnancy and maternity leave with priority for suitable alternative roles. This includes:
We must:
We will process your data in relation to this policy for legitimate business purposes. We will also retain records of any correspondence, reports, meetings and associated documentation in relation to this policy. Such records will be retained in accordance with our Data Retention Schedule.
Any information related to your health will be treated with utmost confidence, in accordance with our obligations under applicable data protection legislation and our Data Protection policy. We may have to share your data with third parties, such as medical professionals, where necessary.
The following policies are related to the Maternity Policy:
Owner: HR
Maternity Policy: v06.0
Created: 16 January 2016
Last Amendment Date: May 2019
Last Review Date: July 2024
Next Review Date: July 2028
