Women in Business Toolkit: Maternity Leave and Pay

THE WOMEN IN BUSINESS TOOLKIT: Maternity Leave and Pay

THE WOMEN IN BUSINESS TOOLKIT All of the Chapters so the Women in Business Toolkit can be found online on the Women in Business Toolkit section of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Website along with an online version of this document.

Click the links below or see www.Birmingham-Chamber.com/WIBToolkit for more information.

Having a family and caring for dependents

Promoting Best Practice Mentoring and Sponsorship

Maternity Leave and Pay

Unconscious Bias Training

Paternity Leave and Pay

Transparency in Pay and Promotions

Adoption Leave and Pay Shared Parental Leave and Pay The Right to Request Flexible Working

Promoting Diversity Through Recruitment Flexible Working

Statutory Parental Leave

Diversity Policies and Strategies

Your Rights in the Workplace

Making the Case

Discrimination, Informal and Formal Grievances and The Equality Act (2010)

Making the Case: How to Construct a Business Case and Useful Statistics

Taking a Case to Employment Tribunal

INTRODUCTION: This handy little guide offers you some concise and, we hope, highly practical and useful information on the Rights to Maternity Leave and Pay and time off for ante-natal appointments. It also includes an introduction to some best practice activities; Keeping in Touch Days and Occupational Maternity Pay. If you like the sound of KIT Days or OMP check out the „Makin the Case‟ chapter of the Women in Business Toolkit for lots of helpful advice and statistics to help you make the case to your employer. For more information click the links on the left-hand page or go to the Women in Business Section of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce website: www.Birmingham-Chamber.com/WIBToolkit

Connecting you to opportunity...

This guide, brought to you by the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, is part of the Women in Business Toolkit. This toolkit aims to help inform and empower women and encourage best practice in businesses, helping make the UK a forward thinking, attractive place to work.

Whilst useful and informative, it does not aim to provide encyclopaedic knowledge or in-depth legal advice about the topics in question, merely an introductory account. If you have any questions about any of the topics covered in this document please do speak to your HR department/the member of staff responsible for this area or seek professional advice The Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce features some of the UK‟s oldest and largest Chambers. It has nearly 3,000 member companies that employ over 200,000 plus affiliate organisations representing 15,000 people. It offers extensive services to industry and commerce, having served the interests of business for nearly three centuries, promoting trade locally, nationally and internationally.

Did you know?

You do not have to take all of your maternity leave... but you do have to take 2 weeks leave after your baby is born...

of mothers receive Occupational Maternity Pay in the UK

or 4 weeks if you work in a factory.

Around the world...

Did you know?

Your employment rights are protected while you are on maternity leave.

This includes your rights to:

Only 4 countries have no mandated maternity pay:

pay rises

accrue holiday

WEEKS

The average length of maternity leave taken in the UK



Liberia



Swaziland



Papua New Guinea



USA

There all benefits are provided at employers‟ discretion (or not at all!)

Mothers can use up to 10 Keeping in Touch Days whilst on Maternity Leave

WHAT IS STATUTORY MATERNITY LEAVE? Statutory Maternity Leave is the time off from work that mothers are entitled to for having a baby. Overall you can have up to 52 weeks of Statutory Maternity Leave.

It is divided into two kinds of leave: 

26 Weeks of Ordinary Maternity Leave.



26 Weeks of Additional Maternity Leave.

Generally speaking, the earliest you can start taking Maternity Leave is 11 weeks before your baby is due. If your baby arrives early you can, of course, start taking Maternity Leave straight away, just notify your employer.

Mothers just taking Ordinary Maternity Leave (the first 26 weeks) have the legal right to return to the same job.

Those taking Additional Maternity Leave (weeks 27 to 52) have the legal right to return to the same or a similar job.

However many weeks you choose to take, all maternity leave must be taken in one continuous block (i.e. you cannot formally return to work for a while then take your remaining leave).

However you can have up to 10 Keeping in Touch Days and from 2015 you may be able to take Shared Parental Leave (Click Here).

AM I ELIGIBLE? It doesn‟t matter how long you‟ve been working for your employer, how much you are paid or the number of hours you work a week. As long as you:

1. are a formal employee and 2. give the correct notice

you will almost certainly be eligible for statutory maternity leave.

Most people in formal employment are employees however there are other forms of employment status such as „workers‟ (contracted to do specific pieces of work) who may not be entitled to formal maternity leave and pay through their employer.

If you are required to work regularly, expected to do a minimum number of hours and have National Insurance contributions deducted from your wages, odds are you are an employee.

Check your employment contract or ask your HR department/the member of staff responsible for managing contracts in your company, if you are unsure.

KEY DATES 15 WEEKS You need to tell you employer at least 15 weeks before your baby is due when you are planning to start and finish your maternity leave.

It is best to start talking to your employer as soon as possible and to make your final request in writing.

28 DAYS Once you have made a formal request stating when you will begin/end your leave your employer will have to respond within 28 days to formally confirm the details.

8 WEEKS If you want to change your return to work date you will need to give your employer at least 8 weeks notice.

WHAT ARE KEEPING IN TOUCH DAYS? KIT Days allow you to return to work for a limited period of time without losing the rest of your maternity leave or pay. They are particularly useful for keeping up with training and testing out whether you are ready to return to work permanently.

You can use up to 10 KIT days while you are on leave. You can take them however you like; take them all in a row or a day or two here and there but remember; however long you work for (an hour to a whole day) any shift you take on at work counts as a whole KIT day.

You will need to agree the dates and the type of work and pay you will receive with your employer. Whilst the pay you will receive for KIT days is not specifically covered in legislation things like the minimum wage and equal pay legislation do apply.

KIT days are entirely voluntary; you are not required to take them and, whilst many do, your employer is not required to offer them. If you are interested in taking a KIT day talk to your line manager. For advice on making the business case for offering KIT click here or see the Making the Case chapter on: www.birmingham-chamber.com/WIBToolkit

Remember : If you go over your allowance of 10 KIT days you will lose some/all of your maternity pay for that week (if you are unsure check with your employer!).

WHAT IS STATUTORY MATERNITY PAY? For the first 39 weeks of Maternity Leave you may be entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP). SMP is divided into two parts: 

For the first 6 weeks of leave you will receive 90% of your pre-tax weekly earnings.



For the remaining 33 weeks you will receive the statutory minimum. At the time of writing (November 2013) this was £136.78 per week or 90% of your salary if it is lower.

This is the statutory minimum your employer has to pay you (provided you meet the eligibility criteria). However, some companies offer employees additional maternity pay known as Occupational Maternity Pay (OMP). Check your employment contract or speak to your HR department/member of staff responsible for this area to find out if you are entitled to it. Remember: OMP often comes with terms and conditions that you will need to stick to in order to receive it.

See later in this document for more information on Occupational Maternity Pay. Your SMP should automatically start when you start your maternity leave. If it does not contact your HR department/the member of staff in charge of staff wages. You should receive this money from your employer like your usual pay check. Your employer can claim back up to 100% of SMP from the Government. They cannot claim back OMP.

AM I ELIGIBLE? Eligibility for Statutory Maternity Pay works a little differently to Statutory Maternity Leave. In addition to being a formal employee and giving correct notice you will have to:

1. have worked continuously for your employer for at least 26 weeks before the 15th week before your baby is due

2. earn at least ÂŁ109 a week on average 3. give proof of pregnancy

Proof of pregnancy can be a letter from your doctor or midwife or a MATB1 form. A MATB1 form is a document that your doctor or midwife will issue you usually around 20 weeks before your due date.

Returning to work before your 52 weeks are up?

Your partner/the childâ€&#x;s father could qualify for Additional Paternity Leave.

Click here or see www.birmingham-chamber.com/WIBToolkit for more information.

Want to return to work part-time or work flexible hours?

You may have the Right to Request Flexible Working. Click here or see www.birmingham-chamber.com/WIBToolkit for more information.

KEY DATES 28 DAYS You will need to give your employer notice of your intention to take maternity pay at least 28 days before you intend to start taking it.

You will need to include the dates you want to start and finish receiving it and proof of pregnancy. Itâ€&#x;s best to do this in writing and, if you can, chat it through with your manager/HR department first.

28 DAYS Your employer then has 28 Days in which to formally confirm how much you will receive and the dates that you will receive it.

7 DAYS If your employer decides that you do not qualify for maternity pay then they then have 7 days to send you an SMP1 form. This document will tell you why they have rejected your request.

WHAT IS OCCUPATIONAL MATERNTIY PAY? Occupational Maternity Pay (OMP) is any pay above the statutory minimum that employers offer employees on Maternity Leave.

There are three main way in which employers fund OMP 

Some pay the costs themselves



Some offer OMP through a salary sacrifice scheme



Some offer a combination of the two

Salary sacrifice schemes are initiatives whereby employees can choose to give up a set portion of their pay check in return for other benefits. In terms of Occupational Maternity Pay this often involves paying into the an OMP fund which they then receive “top-up” payments from when on Maternity Leave.

Where Occupational Maternity Pay is paid in part or in full by the employer it often comes with associated caveats and contractual obligations. For instance; many specify that the employee receiving OPM must return to work for them for a minimum amount of time after finishing Maternity Leave or repay the amount they were given in OPM. If your employer does not offer OPM and would like to propose that it click here or see the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Group website: www.birmingham-chamber.com/WIBToolkit for the chapter on Making the Case.

TIME OFF FOR ANTE-NATAL APPOINTMENTS If you are pregnant ,and your doctor or midwife recommends you attend, you have the right to paid time off to attend antenatal appointments.

The can include: 

Appointments with your midwife



Antenatal classes



Relaxation and parent craft classes



Medical examinations

And the time needed to travel to and from them. Your employer must pay you your standard rate of pay for time taken to attend these appointments (provided, of course, that they fall at a time that you would normally work). This money cannot be reimbursed by HMRC. Your employer cannot make you take annual leave or make up the time taken at another point. Nor can they unreasonably refuse to give you the time off.

You can ask for an appointment card to give to your employer as proof of you antenatal appointment. Under current arrangements only employees that are pregnant qualify for this time off, not their partners or family members.

CASE STUDY: Keeping in Touch Days

Organisation: Birmingham Royal Ballet Policy: Offers Keeping in Touch Days to all staff on Maternity Leave

congratulate them and to advise When Keeping in Touch (KIT) them of their maternity rights and days became law we updated to tell them the information they our Maternity Policy to ensure need to provide to us. We staff knew they could come enclose a copy of the BRB back into work during their Maternity Policy maternity leave „‟A high percentage of together with the without losing for new their Statutory new mums have chosen “Guide and expectant Maternity Pay. to work KIT Days...it mothers who Although the work” that can be legislation was eases the transition downloaded from silent on the back to the workplace” the HSE website. matter of We also direct payment for KIT them to www.gov.uk should they days it was Birmingham want any further information.

Royal Ballet‟s decision to pay normal daily rates (or pro rata When they reach 15 weeks for part days). before the expected week of In terms of process, when we are first notified an employee is pregnant we write to

confinement and provide us with a MatB1, we write to them again to confirm their maternity leave

and pay and remind them of their right to KIT days while they are on maternity leave.

A high percentage of new mums have chosen to work KIT days with some working the full 10 days whilst others elect to do just a couple of half days to attend particular meetings or training sessions.

It is important to note the legislation counts KIT days as the number of “occasions” the

employee comes into work so even if they only come in for a couple of hours that is counted as one KIT day.

Despite this slight complication, the process works well for Birmingham Royal Ballet and our employees as it eases the transition back to the workplace after what might have been up to12 months off work.

About Birmingham Royal Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet‟s vision is to be one of the world‟s leading classical ballet companies respected for its excellence, artistic innovation and social responsibility. Birmingham Royal Ballet aims to connect with audiences and communities in our home city of Birmingham, throughout the UK and across the world.

Go to: www.brb.org.uk for more information

CASE STUDY: Occupational Maternity Pay

Organisation: Aston University Policy: Occupational Maternity Pay Company Size: 250+ employees

half pay, 13 weeks SMP and13 Having a new baby, and weeks unpaid leave. making ends meet on just Statutory Maternity Pay can The only condition we place on be tricky for mothers. As a this Occupational Maternity Pay result we do our is that mothers best to support „we do our best to return to work for our female staff support our staff with a at least 6 months with a range of after their measures range of measures, maternity leave including offering including offering a finishes. a generous If staff do not Occupational generous OMP return we can Maternity Pay package” reclaim the Package to all Occupational staff who have Maternity Pay but we do this worked for us for at least 12 sensitively; working on a case by months before their due date case basis to take into account We offer mothers on any relevant circumstances maternity 12 weeks full pay affecting a mother‟s return to (with offset SMP), 14 weeks work.

Offering Occupational Maternity Pay has been a positive experience for Aston University. Our staff feel supported by and happy with us as an employer. We have a really good return to work rate

amongst female staff and our overall staff turnover rates are consistently below 8%, saving us money and resources on recruitment and ensuring we retain many talented employees.

About Aston University: Based in central Birmingham and ranked 12th out of 113 UK Universities by the 2010 Complete University Guide, and 19th in the Guardian rankings 2010, Aston is recognised for its world-class research, teaching and strong links to industry, government and commerce.

Aston is based on an attractive, green campus in the heart of Birmingham. Over 1200 people work at the university in a wide variety of professional, technical, academic, manual and clerical roles.

Click here: www.aston.ac.uk for our website

CASE STUDY: Improving Maternity Policies

Organisation: Wragge & Co Policy: MORE Women Campaign Company Size: 1000+ employees

the number of women in Wragge & Co is an international management roles threefold. law firm, providing a full service Over the last 2 years we to clients worldwide. We have redrafted the firms Maternity around 1000 employees, a Policy to make it more usermixture of legal and support friendly and staff, most of whom are based “For us, the best result following feedback from at our so far has been the staff we removed headquarters in overwhelming support some form filling.

Birmingham.

for this initiative at The firm We have a launched its every level� number of task MORE women forces working on campaign back in a number of projects in support 2011, an initiative aimed at of this initiative. These task getting more women into forces are looking at areas such partnership and other senior as networking for women, roles. Since then we have seen internal and external an increase of 3.5% in the communications, IT solutions, number of female partners at bespoke working and alternative the firm and we have increased entertaining models.

We have also developed a guide to support managers in dealing with the various communication and practical considerations associated with maternity leave, and a successful reintegration into work.

For us, the best result so far has been the overwhelming support for this initiative at every level.

About Wragge & Co.: Wragge & Co is a UK-headquartered international law firm providing a full service to clients worldwide. Working with in-house lawyers, company directors, investors, developers, HR professionals, pension trustees and entrepreneurs, our experts help deal with day-to-day issues and complex, strategic matters.

We offer a partner-led service backed up by the strength and support of more than 1,000 people, each delivering first-class legal advice. This is why our people are trusted advisers to multi-national businesses, financial institutions and government departments.

Go to www.wragge.com for more information.

JARGON BUSTER: ADDITIONAL MATERNITY LEAVE (AML) Weeks 27-52 of maternity leave.

EXPECTED WEEK OF CONFINEMENT Also known as the Expected Week of Childbirth, this term just means the week in which your baby is due to be born.

KIT DAYS Keeping In Touch Days are opportunities to return to the workplace for individual days/shifts without losing your entitlement to maternity pay and leave. You can have up to 10 KIT Days.

MATB1 FORM This is a form that your doctor or midwife will give you, usually around 20 weeks before your due date. It can be used as proof of pregnancy for your employer.

ORDINARY MATERNITY LEAVE (OML) The first 26 weeks of maternity leave.

QUALIFYING WEEK For maternity and paternity leave arrangements this refers to the 15th week before your baby is due.

SMP1 FORM This is the form your employer must give you within 7 days if they reject your request for maternity pay. In it they must explain why your request has been rejected.

STATUTORY MATERNITY/PATERNITY/ADOPTION PAY The legal minimum that your employer has to pay you while you are on maternity, paternity or adoption leave. Your employer can claim back between 92% and 100% (dependant on company size) of this from the Government, by deducting it from National Insurance contributions.

USEFUL LINKS: The UK Government’s Website: https://www.gov.uk/maternity-pay-leave The maternity leave and pay section of the UK government‟s website provides more useful, introductory information on maternity leave and pay and signposting for further information. You can also search for „maternity leave‟ or „keeping in touch days‟ on the gov.uk search engine for more helpful advice.

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) Website: http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1362 This link will direct you to the Parents and Carers section of the ACAS website. Here you will find a wide range of useful information on the different kinds of leave and support available.

The Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Website: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/helpsheets/e15.pdf This link will take you to the HMRC „Employer Helpbook for Statutory Maternity Pay‟. If your employer is unfamiliar with the ins and outs of maternity leave and pay they may find this useful.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission Website (EHRC): http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/advice-and-guidance/before-theequality-act/guidance-for-employers-pre-october-10/areas-ofresponsibility/pregnancy-maternity-and-parenthood/ The pregnancy, maternity and parenthood section of the EHRC website offers an array of advice and guidance for businesses on the Rights of parents.

SOURCE OF STATISTICS

Did you know?

You do not have to take all of your maternity leave... but you do have to take 2 weeks leave after your baby is born... of mothers receive Occupational Maternity Pay in the UK

or 4 weeks if you work in a factory.

Gov.UK (2013) Maternity Leave and Pay [Online] [Accessed 24 July 2013]

DWP (2012) Maternity and Paternity Rights and Women Returners Survey 2009/10 [Accessed 24 July 2013]

Around the world...

Did you know?

Your employment rights are protected while you are on maternity leave.

This includes your rights to:

Only 4 countries have no mandated maternity pay:

pay rises

accrue holiday

Gov.UK (2013) Maternity Leave and Pay [Online] [Accessed 24 July 2013]

WEEKS



Liberia



Swaziland 



Papua New Guinea USA

There all benefits are provided a employers‟ discretion (or not at all!)

The average length of maternity leave taken in the UK

DWP (2012) Maternity and Paternity Rights and Women Returners Survey 2009/10 [Accessed 31st July 2013]

Heyman, J. e al (2009) The Work, Family and Equalities Index: How Does the United States Measure Up? The Project on Global Working Families [Accessed 31st July 2013]

Mothers can use up to 10 Keeping in Touch Days whilst on Maternity Leave Gov.UK (2013) Keeping in Touch Days [Online] [Accessed 24 July 2013]

The Women in Business Toolkit was Developed in Partnership with:

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