Pregnancy and child birth: rights of the parents
Every year nearly half a million women are
discriminated against at work for being pregnant or taking
maternity leave. Thirty thousand are sacked or forced to
leave their jobs, and between them they miss out on £12 million
pounds in statutory maternity pay each year and those on lower
incomes return to hourly earnings 14 per cent less than they
otherwise could have expected1. Information and union
representation can help you avoid being one of the 30,000, and can
help you get all you are entitled to.
Your rights
The rights below are your minimum rights set by the
government. Your employer might give you more generous
rights under your contract. If asking about these rights,
doing so in writing, (and keeping a copy), will help provide
evidence later if you wish to prove that you have suffered
discrimination. Also check your contract to see if you have to pay
back any monies if you do not return to work after maternity leave.
Repayment cannot be required of the statutory entitlements set out
below.
Your rights start before you go off on maternity leave,
although you must tell your employer by the
15th week before your baby is due, that you are pregnant, when you
intend your maternity leave to start, and the week your baby is due
to be born. It is wise to do this in writing and keep a copy.
You have a right to time off for
ante-natal care (including classes) on your normal
pay, although after your first appointment your employer is
entitled to see proof of your appointment and your pregnancy. Proof
of pregnancy must be a certificate either from a registered medical
practitioner, registered midwife or registered health visitor
confirming the pregnancy. The appointment should be proven by an
appointment card or some other document such as a hospital letter,
which shows that the appointment has been made.
If you are sacked for being pregnant or on
maternity leave this will be sex discrimination. If your
working conditions or promotion
opportunities are made worse for these reasons this will also be
discrimination, whether or not they get so bad that you leave your
job. You need to take action quickly to complain
in writing to your employer and put a claim in to an employment
tribunal.
Maternity leave and pay
Even if you have only just started a job when you go on
maternity leave you will be entitled to 26 weeks ordinary
maternity leave.
If you qualify for statutory maternity pay
(SMP) you will get 90 per cent of your average
earnings for six weeks, and after that is
£106.002 or 90 per cent of
earnings whichever the lower for the remaining 20 weeks. To qualify
you must have, before going on leave, actually been receiving at
least £79 per week before tax on average in the eight weeks (if you
are paid weekly) or two months (if you are paid monthly) before the
end of your qualifying week.
If you are made redundant during your
ordinary maternity leave your employer must still pay your SMP
entitlements for the full 26 weeks.
If you do not qualify for SMP your employer is supposed to
give you form AMP1 "Why I cannot pay you SMP," which you then take
to your local social security/your Jobcentre Plus office where you
also complete a maternity allowance form.
Maternity allowance entitlement is based on your
recent employment record and earnings. You may also be eligible for
it if you were recently employed or are self-employed.
If you do not qualify for MA you may be entitled to other
income related welfare benefits.
You are not allowed to return to work, even if you wished to,
during
compulsory maternity
leave. The period varies according to your working
environment.
Your contract continues during your maternity leave
period. If you have worked there continuously for at least 26
weeks by the start of the 15th week before your baby is due, then
you will also be entitled to another 26 weeks additional
maternity leave.
If your colleagues get a pay rise while you are off you should
get it too. The pay rise should be reflected in the
calculation of your normal weekly earnings. Due to the
maternity pay formula you therefore might not get the full pay rise
in your pocket while you are off work.
You are also entitled to many bonuses, and pension
contributions if you are in an occupational scheme.
Father's
rights
Fathers are entitled to two weeks
paternity leave, but unless your employer is more flexible
than the government default scheme, those two weeks must be taken
either as two one week blocks or one two week block, within 56 days
of the birth of the child. Paternity pay is currently the lower of
£106.00 or 90 per cent of earnings3 and you are
entitled if you:
earn £79 on average or more, and
sign a declaration saying that you are the baby's father or
the husband/partner of the mother and are responsible for the
baby's upbringing.
The government is currently consulting on changes which may
allow fathers to take up to half of the maternity leave instead of
the mother, to give parents greater flexibility and choice.
Parental
leave
Parents or persons with responsibility for a child and one
year's service are entitled to 13 weeks' unpaid
leave over the period from when a child is born up to their fifth
birthday. The entitlement is extended to 18 weeks up to the child's
18th birthday in the case of a child who receives disability living
allowance.
Similar provisions to those above apply in relation to
prospective parents adopting a child.
Enforcing your rights
If any of your rights have been denied then
you need to take action quickly to complain in
writing to your employer under the statutory grievance
procedures. Your union representative should be able to assist
you with this. If you have trouble getting hold of someone
from the union call our members' helpline.
Remember that most kinds of employment claims must be lodged
in an employment tribunal within three months of the act complained
of. Your union rep can advise you on this further, and we will
get a solicitor to draft your claim if you contact us in good
time.
If you are not a union member you are advised to seek advice
from a solicitor or Citizens Advice Bureau.
Further information can be accessed
by clicking on any of the links contained within this page. Please
note that all figures are accurate at August 2005, but most are
amended annually.
Rights to work part time or 'flexibly' will be covered in a
later column and web page.
1Statistics in first paragraph are quoted from the
EOC 'Greater Expectations' summary report on pregnancy and
discrimination June 2005.
2This figure is correct as at 18 August
2005. Usually this amount is increased annually by the
government.
3This right is subject to the employee having 26
weeks continuous service ending with the week immediately preceding
the 14th week before the expected week of the child's birth.
