From: www.tiscali.co.uk/lifestyle/
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Pregnant women have Statutory Rights - make sure you understand them all.
The thrill of discovering you are pregnant can often be tempered by the daunting list of do's and don'ts that accompany it. Not to mention general anxieties about the birth and the responsibilities of becoming a parent! On top of these, finding out what your statutory rights are may seem like wading through a jar of treacle.
The good news is that the legal rights of pregnant women and new mothers in the UK are extremely strong. The bad news is that they are not always that easy to understand.
This guide aims to simplify and highlight your main statutory rights.
The rights
The rights which apply to nearly all women - known as
Statutory Rights - are summarised below.
The right to:
Time off for antenatal care
A safe work environment
What working conditions can cause problems?
Night workers have a right to transfer to day shifts
if their doctor advises it on health and safety grounds.
Employees can ask to have their working hours reduced
or if they can go part time. This can only be refused for
good business reasons.
Being sacked or treated unfairly
Claims should be made to the Employment Tribunal
within three months of being sacked or treated unfairly
and should include a compensation claim for sex
discrimination.
Ordinary maternity leave
If she has a pregnancy-related absence from work in
the last six weeks of her pregnancy, her employer has the
right to start the maternity leave at once but only with
her agreement.
If the baby is born prematurely, the maternity leave
starts immediately.
During the first 18 weeks of maternity leave women
are entitled to all the perks and contractual rights of
their job. Most also receive Statutory Maternity Pay
(SMP).
Statutory maternity pay
Do I have to pay it back?
Some employers give extra maternity pay and
longer leave, which will be written into an
individual's contract of employment and,
depending on the terms, some or all of it could be
repayable.
Employers must be given at least 21 days notice
before maternity leave starts.
When giving this notice every working pregnant
woman must:
If the baby is born unexpectedly, the mother
should give notice as soon as possible. There is no
need to give the proposed date of return to work at
this time.
Additional maternity leave
Returning to work
Women who wish to extend their ordinary maternity
leave can come to an arrangement with their employers.
They should make sure they get a written agreement and
that their interests are protected.
Some people may use unpaid Parental Leave (see below)
to stretch the period they spend at home with their new
baby.
Women who have taken Additional Maternity Leave may
have a letter from their employer asking them to confirm
that they intend to return to work and the date of the
baby's birth. They are obliged to include the
necessary information to calculate when the Additional
Maternity Leave will end.
They must answer this letter within 21 days and if
the mother intends to return to work early she must also
give 21 days notice. The job must be the same or if that
isn't reasonable or possible it must be suitable and on
very similar terms and conditions. Small firms may be able
to argue that this isn't possible.
Again, women wishing to extend their maternity leave
still further should be careful to get it in writing or
use their right to Parental Leave.
Maternity Allowance
Other rights
Parental leave
This is a new right for parents and many of the
details are not concrete. The idea is that it will be
negotiated in workforce or collective agreements with
employers.
Paternity leave
Support groups
The Maternity Alliance offers specialist advice on
the rights of pregnant women and the benefits available to
them. You can contact them by post at 45 Beech Street,
London EC2P 2LX, or by phoning their information line on
020 7588 8582.
Women in work have the right to take reasonable time
off for antenatal appointments without loss of pay. This
includes travelling time for visits to the GP, the
hospital, parentcraft and relaxation classes. After the
first doctor's appointment, employers may ask for a
certificate confirming the pregnancy and appointment
cards.
Women who are pregnant, have recently given birth or
are breastfeeding must, under the law, have a safe
environment. The employer is obliged to do an immediate
risk assessment of your working environment. If the
working conditions cannot be made safe, the woman must be
offered a suitable alternative job or be suspended on full
pay.
Problems range from women coming in contact with
hazardous chemicals to shop assistants needing a chair to
avoid having to stand for long periods.
Pregnancy is not a sackable offence under any
circumstances. It doesn't matter how long the person
has been working for the firm or whether they are full or
part time, a woman cannot lose her job or be treated
unfairly for any reason connected to pregnancy, childbirth
or maternity leave.
Maternity leave can start 11 weeks before the
expected birth when the woman is about 29 weeks pregnant.
The due date is taken from the Maternity Certificate (form
MAT BI), which will be provided by the GP or midwife.
A pregnant woman can begin maternity leave whenever
she likes within the 11 weeks prior to the birth. She can
work right up to the due date if she wishes and spend more
time with her baby following the birth.
To get SMP, a woman must have worked for the same
employer for at least 26 weeks by what is known as the
qualifying week. This is the 15th week before the due
date. This means, in effect, that the woman must have been
in work before she knew she was pregnant and still be in the
job during the qualifying week, although she can be off
sick or on holiday. Her wages must also have been at least
£67 per week on average over the previous eight weeks.
Mothers never have to repay any of the SMP
whether they go back to work or not.
Women who have been in the same job for one year and
11 weeks by the due date don't have to return to work
until the baby is 29-weeks old. Because ordinary maternity
leave can start up to 11 weeks before the birth, this
means some women can take 40 weeks off in total. Only the 18
weeks ordinary maternity leave is paid.
New mothers can return to work at the end of the 18
weeks ordinary maternity leave without formality. They can
just turn up and they must be given back exactly the same
job. Women who want to return to work earlier must give 21
days notice. The law does not allow new mothers to work for
two weeks after childbirth.
Extending maternity leave
Pregnant women who are unable to get Statutory
Maternity Pay or who are self-employed or unemployed may
be able to claim Maternity Allowance. They should claim
through the Benefits Agency when they have their Maternity
Certificate. This is usually paid at the standard rate of
£60.20 per week for 18 weeks. Women who are not entitled
to Maternity Allowance will be automatically assessed for
Incapacity Benefit at the rate of £50.90 per week for
eight weeks.
If a pregnant woman goes for a job interview she
should feel under no obligation to disclose her condition.
It has no bearing on whether or not she is the right
person for the job. However, neither pregnancy nor
maternity leave provides any protection against redundancy.
Both the mother and father of a child born on or
after December 15, 1999, can take unpaid leave to give
them more time in the home. It can be up to 13 weeks for
each child, but no more than four weeks in any one year.
Although political pressure is building for paid
leave for fathers at the time of the birth of their
children, British governments have resisted sexual
equality on this issue.
LIFE hotline - 01926 311 511 - provides advice and
information on employment rights. The charity operates 130
drop-in centres across the country. It websites are www.lifeuk.org and www.preghelp.org.
The documents contained in this web site are presented for information purposes only. The material is in no way intended to replace professional medical care or attention by a qualified practitioner. The materials in this web site cannot and should not be used as a basis for diagnosis or choice of treatment. Conditions for use
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