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INTRODUCTIONAccording to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), statutory maternity rights ‘form a minimum standard of protection established by Parliament to help women in reconciling their work and family responsibilities’. Statutory maternity rights encompass the following: - Safety in the working environment if you are pregnant, have recently given birth or are breastfeeding
| - Time off for antenatal care
| - Protection against unfair dismissal on maternity-related grounds
| | | - The right to return to work after maternity leave
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The DTI remit covers all of the rights above apart from maternity benefit, which is handled by the Department of Social Services (DSS). Both the DTI and the DSS publish detailed guidance online. The DTI covers maternity rights under the Employment Relations Act 1999, including detailed guidance on statutory maternity rights for women whose expected week of childbirth was 30 April 2000, as well as a summary of changes that affect women whose babies were born after that date. For the most up-to-date information in one document, download the most recent detailed guidance on statutory maternity rights – it’s over 90 pages long and you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader toit (download free). The Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999 is also available online. The DSS publishes ‘A Guide to Maternity Benefits’, which details the two main kinds of maternity benefit available to woman under the social security scheme, Statutory Maternity Pay and Maternity Allowance; the guide also covers the benefits you may be entitled to if you do not qualify for either of these. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader (which you can download free) toit. You should also be able to get a of the guide from your GP’s surgery or antenatal clinic. In addition, the Inland Revenue summarises the family and child-related provisions in the Budget on 7 March 2001, including the most recent changes to maternity rights and benefits. ‘Supporting parents around the time of a child’s birth’, the third chapter of the Government’s ‘Work & Parents: Competitiveness and Choice’ Green Paper, can be found on the DTI website. Many of its proposals were adopted in the Budget of 7 March and the others are under consideration. SAFETY IN THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT IF YOU ARE PREGNANT, IF YOU HAVE RECENTLY GIVEN BIRTH OR IF YOU ARE BREASTFEEDINGYour employer must make sure that both your work and the working conditions will not put you or your baby’s health at risk. You need to inform your employer in writing about your condition. Your employer is required to take the following steps: · Carry out a risk assessment at your workplace · Do all that is reasonable to remove the risk · Give you information on the protective measures · If the risk still remains, your employer must alter your working conditions or hours of work, if it is reasonable to do so and would avoid risk · If this is not possible or would not prevent the risk, your employer must offer you a suitable alternative job · If this is not possible your employer must suspend you on full pay for as long as is necessary to avoid the risk The DTI regulatory guidance on statutory maternity rights covers the above health and safety protocol in more detail and describes the working conditions and physical, biological and chemical agents which can affect the health and safety of new and expectant mothers. TIME OFF FOR ANTENATAL CAREWhatever hours you work and however recently you started your job, you have the right to take time off work to attend antenatal appointments without losing any pay. This includes time off for relaxation and parentcraft classes. Your employer may ask you to present a letter from your GP, midwife or health visitor confirming that these classes are part of your antenatal care. If you are not paid or are refused time off you can make a claim to an industrial tribunal within three months. PROTECTION AGAINST UNFAIR DISMISSAL OR DETRIMENT ON MATERNITY RELATED GROUNDS It is against the law for your employer to dismiss you, select you for redundancy or treat you unfairly for any reason connected with pregnancy, childbirth or maternity leave, regardless of the length of employment or how many hours a week you work. If you are dismissed or made redundant while you are pregnant or during your maternity leave your employer must give you a statement of the reasons in writing. You should not have to ask for this. If you believe you have been dismissed for a reason related to your pregnancy you are entitled to make a complaint of unfair dismissal to an employment tribunal. You must put your claim in to the tribunal within three months of dismissal. Following changes to maternity rights in December 1999, women are now protected from unfair treatment at work in connection with pregnancy, childbirth or maternity leave. Again, if you feel you have been treated unfairly on these grounds you can take your case to an employment tribunal. MATERNITY LEAVEThere are two kinds of maternity leave, ordinary maternity leave and additional maternity leave. If you are employed, you are entitled to ordinary maternity leave regardless of the number of hours you work a week or your length of service with your current employer. Ordinary maternity leave is 18 weeks long at present. On 7 March 2001, Chancellor Gordon Brown announced in his budget speech that ordinary maternity leave would be extended from 18 to 26 weeks from April 2003. The law does not allow you to return to work for two weeks after giving birth. This period is known as compulsory maternity leave and makes up a part of your ordinary maternity leave. If you have completed one year’s service with your current employer you are entitled to take additional maternity leave. It starts at the end of your ordinary maternity leave and finishes 29 weeks after the birth of your baby, counting from the Sunday at the beginning of the week in which your baby was born. During maternity leave you are entitled to all the benefits of the terms and conditions of your employment except for your salary. The entitlement to paid holiday under the Working Time Regulations is not affected by maternity leave. If you work for more than one employer, you will have separate maternity rights in relation to each. When can I start maternity leave?You can start your maternity leave any time from the 11th week before your baby is due. You need to notify your employer at least 21 days before you intend to start your maternity leave that you are pregnant and to give the expected week of childbirth and the intended date of starting maternity leave. The notice period is the same whether you are taking ordinary maternity leave or both ordinary and additional maternity leave. You will probably need to present your maternity certificate (form MATB1) as proof of your due date. Your doctor or midwife will give you your maternity certificate no more than 14 weeks before the baby is due – you will generally receive it in the 27th week of pregnancy. If you want to come back to work before the end of ordinary or additional maternity leave you must give your employer 21 days notice. If you intend to return to work at the end of your ordinary maternity leave no further notification is required. If you qualify for additional maternity leave, you should let your employer know when the baby is born so that both you and your employer can plan your return. In the case of additional maternity leave, the employer may write to you no earlier than 21 days before the end of the ordinary maternity leave period asking you to confirm your child’s date of birth, and asking you whether you are still intending to return to work after your additional maternity leave. The letter must explain to you how you work out when your additional maternity leave period will end and that you may be penalised for failing to respond to the letter. You must reply within 21 days of receiving the letter. If you do not, your employer may decide to take disciplinary action against you. MATERNITY BENEFITS & GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCEAs a starting point, the ‘Money for Mothers and Babies Factsheet’ from the Maternity Alliance has a good checklist of benefits for mothers, means-tested and universal. NHS Dental treatment & prescriptionsYou are exempt from charges for NHS dental treatment and prescriptions during your pregnancy and for a year after the birth of your baby. If you are in England or Wales, you should ask your midwife or GP for form FW8 and send it to your Health Authority; in Scotland, send the form to the Health Board; in Northern Ireland, to the Central Services Agency. Statutory Maternity PayYou are entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay which is payable by your employer for up to 18 weeks if you have been: - Employed by your present employer, in a full- or part-time capacity, in the 15th week before the week your baby is due.
- Employed by that employer without a break for at least 26 weeks into the 15th week before the week your baby is due.
- Earning enough on average (£67 a week from April 2000) to be relevant for National Insurance (NI) purposes.
There are two rates of statutory maternity pay. You will receive the higher rate - 90% of your average earnings - for six weeks and the lower rate of £60.20 for up to 12 weeks. Chancellor Gordon Brown announced in his March 2001 budget speech that the lower rate of pay would be increased in successive stages from £60.20 a week, rising to £75 a week in April 2002 and to £100 in April 2003. You’ll need to inform your employer at least three weeks before you intend to take your leave and may need to do so in writing. You will probably need to show your maternity certificate (form MATB1) as medical evidence of your due-date. Your doctor or midwife will give you your maternity certificate no more than 14 weeks before the baby is due – you will generally receive it in the 27th week of pregnancy. You may have contractual rights to maternity pay that are better than your statutory rights. Check your contract. If you have questions about your contractual rights and how to exercise them it may be worth consulting your local Citizens Advice Bureau. Maternity AllowanceIf you do not qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay, but are employed or self-employed, earning on average £30 a week or more, you may be able to get Maternity Allowance from the DSS. You may be eligible even if you gave up work or changed jobs during pregnancy but have paid full-rate National Insurance contribution for at least 26 of the 66 weeks before the week in which the baby is due. If in doubt, claim. Your social security office will work out whether you can get the benefit or not. Incapacity BenefitIf you do not qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay or Maternity Allowance but have worked and paid National Insurance contribution in the last three years, you may be able to get Incapacity Benefit. It is a weekly benefit paid from six weeks before the birth of your baby until two weeks after the birth. You should claim as soon as you can after you are 26 weeks pregnant. Do remember to send your maternity certificate, form MATB1. Sure Start Maternity Grant A Sure Start Maternity Grant is a one-off payment from the Social Fund, which is intended to help new parents on a low income buy things for their baby. You will need to be receiving one of a number of benefits in order to qualify and if you have savings of over £500 you will not be able to get a full maternity grant. You can claim from 11 weeks before the birth of your baby to three months afterwards. There will be an increase in the Sure Start Maternity Grant from £300 to £500 in April 2002. Child BenefitChild Benefit is a tax-free social security benefit paid to people who are bringing up children. It is not means-tested and is paid for each child in your care until the child reaches the age of 16. You are entitled to Child Benefit as soon as your baby is born. Don’t delay in sending the claim form - if you do, you may lose money as the benefit can only be backdated for a limited period. If you are a single parent you will receive a higher rate for your eldest or only child. For further information on child benefit, how to claim and what the present benefit rates are, visit the Department of Social Services (DSS) website. You can download child benefit claim forms on the site but you’ll need Adobe Acrobat Reader tothem up (download free). Children’s Tax CreditChildren’s Tax Credit (CTC) was introduced in April 2001 and replaces the married couple allowance. Administered by the Inland Revenue, it reduces the amount of tax you pay by £10 a week, a savings of up to £520 a year. It is not means-tested – it’s available to anyone with a child under 16 - it but if you make more than £32,700 the amount you’ll get will be reduced. From April 2002, the CTC will reduce the amount of tax you pay by £20 a week in the year after a child’s birth, making it worth up to £1,040 a year. This is to recognise the additional costs of a new child in the first year. Working Families Tax CreditWorking Families Tax Credit (WFTC) is available to low and middle income working families during maternity leave and is intended as a top-up to maternity pay and child benefit. It is administered by Inland Revenue and replaces Family Credit. In order to qualify, families need: - A parent working more than 16 hours a week on average
| - One or more dependent children under 16 (or 19 if in full-time education)
| - Savings of less than £8000
| - To be ordinarily resident in the UK
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Earnings are also taken into account but that’s where things get complicated. The amount of credit you can claim depends on how much you earn, how many hours a week you work, how many children you have, what sort of childcare arrangements you have, whether your child has a disability – in short, you are advised to call the WFTC Helpline to discuss your individual circumstances. There is an upper earnings limit above which you cannot receive WFTC but because of the many variables taken into account it is not a named figure - credit tapers off the more you earn, but the more children you have, the more you can earn and still qualify for credit. Again, it’s best to check your eligibility with the helpline. Reforms announced in the Budget of 7 March 2001 allow families to make a new WFTC claim as soon as a child is born and enable mothers to qualify for WFTC while on maternity leave. Income based Jobseeker’s Allowance and income supportIf you are not working or working less than 16 hours a week on average11 weeks before you give birth, you can collect income support without needing to be ‘available for work’. Receiving income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income Support is also a precondition for qualifying for other maternity benefits, such as Maternity Grants and Social Fund loans. The Maternity Alliance recommends that you tell your social security office as soon as your pregnancy is confirmed by a doctor – you will need proof in the form of a MATB1 certificate – so you can work out any changes to your entitlements once your baby is born. RIGHT TO RETURN TO WORKYou have the right to return to work after your maternity leave. Your employer must give you the same job or, if that is not reasonably practicable, a suitable job on similar terms and conditions with similar status. MATERNITY RIGHTS IF A BABY IS STILLBORNMaternity LeaveIf your baby is stillborn after the 24th week of pregnancy you have the same rights to maternity leave. Maternity Pay If your baby is stillborn before the 25th week of your pregnancy you will not be able to get Statutory Maternity Pay but you may be able to get Statutory Sick Pay. This is something you should discuss with your employer. If your baby is stillborn after the 25th week of pregnancy you are entitled to the same maternity benefits as you would have had the baby been born alive. PATERNITY LEAVEFrom April 2003, working fathers will have the right to two weeks of paid paternity leave at the same flat rate as Statutory Maternity Pay. EMPLOYMENT LAW ADVICEIf you feel that any of your statutory maternity rights have been infringed, there are a number of organisations that can help you. To begin with, the DTI regulatory guidance on Statutory Maternity Rights covers complaints to employment tribunals – how to make them, when to make them and what remedies might be available. The DTI recommends that employees first try to resolve the matter with the employer directly – if you haven’t gone that route first, any compensation you are awarded by an employment tribunal down the line may be reduced. DTI telephone and email contact information is available on the DTI website – look for the maternity rights section. You and your employer may seek advice from the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS). ACAS is an independent and impartial industrial relations body which helps parties to resolve and prevent disputes by providing advisory mediation. To speak to someone about employment law issues you can contact ACAS through its regional offices and telephone enquiry service. You can also call or visit your local Citizens Advice Bureau. The Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC) is the expert body on equality between women and men in the UK; it aims ‘to advise you of your rights and to encourage you to exercise them’. On the EOC website, you’ll find a list of publications that you can download but you’ll need Adobe Acrobat Reader tothem (download free). The EOC’s Customer Contact Point takes enquiries from the public on matters of sexual discrimination. ORGANISATIONSThe Maternity Alliance is an independent national charity, which provides expert information and specialist legal advice on aspects of maternity benefits and rights to pregnant women, new mothers and their families. You can call the information line on , visit the website’s information pages, or order leaflets on all manner of maternity-related issues. The charity is based at 45 Beech Street, London EC2P.
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