Maternity Policy

Agency Worker Handbook – Maternity Policy

Agency Workers are not eligible for Maternity Leave

Statutory maternity pay

Agency workers are eligible for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) if they meet the normal qualifying conditions. You do not need to be classed as an employee to get SMP.

To qualify for SMP you must:

Have been employed by the same agency in each of the 26 weeks ending with the qualifying week (the 15th week before the week your baby is due), and

Still work for the agency in all or part of your qualifying week, and

Earn at least £116 per week (April 2018-2019) on average in the eight weeks (if paid weekly) or two months (if paid monthly) up to the last payday before the end of the qualifying week. To get SMP you must give Top Job Recruitment the following information in writing at least 28 days before you wish to start your SMP:

That you are pregnant,

The expected week of childbirth,

The date on which you intend to start your maternity pay,

Your MATB1 certificate (you will receive this from your GP or Midwife when you are around 20 weeks pregnant). If you want to change the date you start your maternity leave, you must give Top Job Recruitment notice of the new date at least 28 days before the new date or the old date, whichever is the earliest. If there is a good reason why that is not possible, tell us as soon as you reasonably can. The earliest you can start your SMP is 11 weeks before the expected week of childbirth. You can work right up until the date the baby is born, unless you have a pregnancy-related illness/absence in the last 4 weeks of your pregnancy or your baby is born before you have started your maternity leave. If you are off sick with a pregnancy-related illness in the last four weeks of pregnancy, your SMP will start on the day after your first day of absence from work. So, if you phone in sick on a Wednesday, your SMP period will start on a Thursday. If you give birth before the start of your maternity leave, your SMP period will start on the day following the actual date of birth. SMP is paid for 39 weeks. SMP is paid at two rates: for the first six weeks you get 90% of your average pay. The average is calculated from the pay you actually received in the eight weeks or two months up to the last payday before the end of the qualifying week. After that you get a flat rate of £145.18 per week (April 2018-2019) for 33 weeks or 90% of your average earnings if that is less. Top Job Recruitment will pay your SMP in the same way as your salary is paid. We will deduct any tax and National Insurance contributions.

If you do not qualify for SMP Top Job Recruitment will give you form SMP1, which explains why you do not qualify for SMP and your MATB1 form. You will need both forms to claim Maternity Allowance.

Agency Worker Handbook – Maternity Policy

Maternity allowance (MA)

You can get MA if you have changed jobs during pregnancy or you do not earn enough to get SMP or you are unemployed or self- employed during pregnancy. To get MA:

You need to have worked for at least 26 of the 66 weeks before the expected week of childbirth, and

You can find 13 weeks (not necessarily in a row) in which you earned over £30 per week on average. You should choose the weeks in which you earned the most. You can add together earnings from more than one job. You can include employed and self-employed work. You are not entitled to paid time off for antenatal care until you have completed at least 12 weeks continuous employment with the same employer. Once you have completed 12 weeks continuous employment with the same Client you are entitled to take reasonable paid time off to attend antenatal appointments. You will be paid at your normal hourly rate. You should avoid taking time off work where you could reasonably arrange classes or appointments outside working hours. All agency workers have basic health and safety rights from day one of their employment. Once you notify the Client and Top Job Recruitment in writing that you are pregnant or that you have given birth in the last 26 weeks or you are breastfeeding, the Client must consider the risks and take reasonable action to remove the risks by altering your working conditions or hours of work. The Client is entitled to ask for medical evidence in the form of a certificate to confirm the pregnancy from your midwife or GP. Once you have completed 12 weeks’ continuous employment with the same Client, you are entitled to be offered suitable alternative work if it is not possible to remove the risks to your health and safety. If there is no suitable alternative work you are entitled to be suspended on full pay by Top Job Recruitment for the length of the intended placement. We can offer a suitable alternative placement if one is available. Any offer of alternative employment we make will be suitable and appropriate for you and it will not be on less favourable terms and conditions.

If you have not completed 12 weeks’ continuous employment with the same Client you are not entitled to be offered suitable alternative work or to be suspended on full pay.

Time off for antenatal care Health & safety

Agency Worker Handbook – Maternity Policy

Agency workers are not eligible for Paternity Leave

Statutory paternity pay

Agency workers are eligible for Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) if they meet the normal qualifying conditions. You do not need to be classed as an employee to get SPP. To qualify for SPP you must:

Have been employed by the same agency in each of the 26 weeks ending with the qualifying week (the 15th week before the week your baby is due), and

Still work for the agency in all or part of your qualifying week, and

Earn at least £116 per week (April 2018-2019) on average in the eight weeks (if paid weekly) or two months (if paid monthly) up to the last payday before the end of the qualifying week. To receive SPP, you must give Top Job Recruitment notice of the date you want the payment to start at least 28 days before or as soon as reasonably practicable. To give notice give your employer a signed letter stating that:

You want to receive one or two weeks’ SPP

You are the baby’s father or the husband/partner of the mother You are responsible for the baby’s upbringing You are taking time off to be with your child or the mother.

Time off for antenatal care

You are not entitled to paid time off for antenatal care until you have completed at least 12 weeks continuous employment with the same employer. Once you have completed 12 weeks continuous employment with the same Client you are entitled to take reasonable paid time off to attend antenatal appointments. You will be paid at your normal hourly rate. You may take an unpaid leave of up to 6 hours and 30 minutes to accompany a pregnant woman to two ante-natal appointments. To be eligible to do so, you must be:

The baby’s father

The woman’s spouse, civil partner or partner (including same-sex partner) in an enduring relationship, or

The intended parents in a surrogacy situation who are entitled to and intend to apply for a parental order for that child.