Maternity leave and benefits

To qualify for the University maternity benefits an employee should have been continuously employed in the University’s service for a minimum period of 12 months before the expected week of childbirth.

Employees who have been continuously employed in the University’s service for less than 12 months before the expected week of childbirth may qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay.

If you are pregnant you should:

contact the Human Resources Manager/Officer responsible for your department or section to discuss arrangements
advise your Head of Department/Section, or your line manager of your condition
Discuss potential health and safety risks with your line manager and agree appropriate precautions. You and/or your line manager can find guidance on risk assessment for pregnant workers at www.essex.ac.uk/ohsas/occ_hlth/services/pregnancy.htm.

Information on Keeping in Touch (KIT) Days is also available from Human Resources on request.

University maternity benefits

1. Some of the requirements and benefits of the University's maternity leave arrangements vary from the statutory requirements and benefits. The University scheme is set out below. Details of Statutory Maternity Pay (and its interaction with the University scheme) are also set out below.

2. Any pregnant employee has the right to paid time off for ante-natal care but must produce evidence of appointments if requested to do so by the University.

3a) To qualify for maternity leave under this agreement an employee should have been continuously employed in the University's service for a minimum period of 12 months before the expected week of childbirth.

3b) All other employees who have been continuously employed in the University's service for less than 12 months before the expected week of childbirth may qualify for statutory maternity leave (further information available from Human Resources).

4. Formal notification of pregnancy, supported by a Medical Certificate (Mat B1), stating the expected week of childbirth, should be made not later than 15 weeks before the expected date of childbirth, together with a written application for maternity leave, where applicable, stating that the employee wishes to return to work with the University (see Explanatory Note (i) below). However, in order to assist the University to discharge its responsibilities towards the health and safety of the pregnant employee and her unborn child it is advisable that written notification should be made at an early stage in the pregnancy.

5. The employee may commence maternity leave at any time from the 11^th week before the expected week of childbirth up to the day of the birth, and notice should be given in writing of the intended start date of the leave at least 15 weeks before the expected week of childbirth, or as soon as reasonably practicable. If the employee changes her mind about the start date of her maternity leave, she must give the University 28 days' notice of the new date. Entitlement to maternity leave will be calculated from the agreed date of cessation of work, or from the actual date of cessation of work, if earlier. Please note that commencement of the leave may be triggered by pregnancy-related absence in the last four weeks before the expected week of childbirth.

6. An employee who is absent from work on the grounds of pregnancy or childbirth and who has given notice under 4 above of her intention to return to work, shall be granted 8 weeks’ leave on full pay, 16 weeks on half pay and up to 28 weeks' unpaid leave. Maternity leave with full pay mentioned in this agreement will include any relevant statutory maternity pay. Half pay will be paid in addition to statutory maternity pay at the flat-rate to those who are eligible for it for 16 weeks. Statutory pay at the flat-rate will continue to be paid to those who are eligible for it for a further 15 weeks after occupational maternity pay has ceased. No combination of payments should exceed full pay.

7. Nothing in this agreement shall prejudice the right of the employer to reclaim the whole or part of the non-statutory element of maternity pay if the employee fails to return to work and to continue in employment for at least 3 months.

8. An employee who has opted under Paragraph 4 above to return to work may exercise this right at any time within 52 weeks of the commencement of the maternity leave period, except that she may not return within two weeks of the birth of her child. She will return to the job in which she was employed under the original contract of employment and on terms which would have applied to her if she had not been absent. Notification of return to work should be given in writing at least 8 weeks before the intended date of return.

9. The Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978 (as amended by the Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act 1993) provides that where an employee exercises her right to return to work, periods of employment prior to her absence shall be regarded as continuous employment with her employer following that absence for the purposes of seniority, pension rights, redundancy rights and other similar rights. In this connection, it is agreed:

Pension rights and contributions shall be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the local superannuation scheme, providing that these provisions do not conflict with any relevant statutory requirements that may at the time apply.
The employee shall be entitled to receive the normal annual increment on her scale in accordance with her contract of employment to take effect from the normal incremental date.

10. There shall be no distinction between live and still births in the granting of maternity leave.

11. These provisions acknowledge the importance of protecting from avoidable risk pregnant and breastfeeding employees and their children, including the unborn. In the event of an employee being employed on work which could involve risk to the health and safety of a new or expectant mother, or to that of her baby, arrangements will be made to protect both the mother and child, having regard to statutory health and safety provision that may at the time apply.

12. There are separate provisions on adoption leave and details are available from Human Resources.

Staff not returning to work

15. An employee who satisfies the conditions of Paragraph 3a, 3b and 4 above, but who has not given notice under Paragraph 4 above of her intention to return to work, may be eligible to receive 9/10ths of her average weekly earnings for 6 weeks and the standard rate of statutory maternity pay for a further 33 weeks.

Other provisions

16. Average weekly earnings shall be calculated in accordance with the SMP Regulations that may at that time apply.

Explanatory notes on the provisions of the Maternity Leave Agreement

Amendment of employment contract on return to work after maternity leave

(i) While return to part-time work is not a right, the university will give sympathetic consideration to a request from a full-time employee who wishes to return to work on a part-time or job-share basis after maternity leave. The employee should submit her request in writing as early as practicable but in any event not later than 8 weeks before the notified date of return to work.

Accrual of annual leave during maternity leave

(ii)Annual leave accrues throughout the full period of maternity leave. Leave also accrues for any statutory public holiday and/or Christmas closure day that falls during the period of maternity leave. All leave accrued during maternity leave is subject to the rule on ‘no-carry-over’ from one leave year to the next. In some cases it may be possible at Department/School or Section level to agree a small carry-over of leave (no more than 5 days), subject to the business needs of the employing unit and at the discretion of the Head of that unit

(iii) Any leave accrued during the leave year in which maternity leave falls may be used in lieu of an equivalent amount of unpaid maternity leave.

Statutory Maternity benefits

All pregnant employees are entitled to take up to 52 weeks' maternity leave.

In addition, most pregnant employees will be eligible for a benefit known as Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP). Conditions of the SMP Scheme, entitlement, duration of payment and evidence of pregnancy required for SMP and outline details of the scheme are given below.

SMP is paid on behalf of the state by the University. Staff should note that although SMP arrangements are separate from the University's own maternity leave arrangements, there is some limited interaction between the state scheme and the occupational scheme and this is also described below.

SMP is a two-tier provision for employees

an earnings-related element equivalent to 90% of average earnings for 6 weeks;
a flat rate payment of £135.45 (from April 2012), or 90% of average earnings if this is less than £135.45 per week for a further 33 weeks.

There is a maximum benefit period of 39 weeks.

Entitlement to SMP is dependant on:

at least 26 weeks’ continuous service with the current employer continuing into the 15th week before the expected week of confinement also,
(normal weekly earnings for an 8 week period ending in the 15th week (before the expected week of confinement) must be at or above the lower weekly earnings limit for national insurance contributions in force during the 15th week (i.e. above £107 per week) and
the pregnancy has reached the start of the 11th week before the expected week of confinement.

It should be noted that if an employee is not entitled to SMP at the start of the time during which SMP may be payable (the Maternity Pay Period - MPP), there will be no entitlement to SMP at any time during this period. If an employee is excluded from SMP, Form SMP 1 will be issued and the employee may qualify for State Maternity Allowance under a residual scheme administered by the Benefits Agency.

Notice and Evidence of Pregnancy

(a) the employee must notify the employer in writing of her intention to leave work to commence maternity leave at least 15 weeks in advance of the expected week of childbirth or as soon as is reasonable practicable. (Staff taking maternity leave under the occupational maternity scheme may take leave at any time commencing from the 11th week before the expected week of confinement). If the employee changes her mind about the start date of her maternity leave, she must give the University 28 days' notice

(b) the employee will be required to pass the certificate of confinement (form Mat B1) or a doctor’s certificate, certifying pregnancy, to the Human Resources Section of the University as soon as possible after receipt. A Mat B1 is normally made available from the 20^th week before the expected week of confinement.

Payment of SMP

Two levels of payment apply:

a higher rate equivalent to 90% of normal weekly earnings payable for 6 weeks.
a lower rate of £135.45 from April 2012, or 90% of average earnings if this is less than £135.45 per week payable for 33 weeks.

Duration of SMP

SMP will be paid at the employee’s normal pay interval (i.e. monthly or weekly) for up to 39 weeks and in many cases the first week of the Maternity Pay Period will be the 11th week before the expected week of confinement.

It should be noted that SMP cannot be paid and, therefore, the Maternity Pay Period cannot start earlier than the 11th week before the expected week of confinement. However, there is flexibility to choose when to start to receive SMP. SMP may start at any time from the start of the 11th week before the expected week of confinement and can continue for up to 39 weeks. In order to facilitate payment arrangements, it would be helpful for maternity leave and the Maternity Pay Period to commence on a Sunday, where possible. The starting date of the Maternity Pay Period will be as agreed between the University and the employee, but the final decision will be the employee’s, (subject to the provision of a medical certificate stating that the employee is fit to work beyond the 5th week before the expected week of confinement). If an employee decides to work up to the birth, then the maternity pay period must start from the day after the date of the birth of the baby.

SMP is payable only for weeks during the Maternity Pay Period in which no work is undertaken for the University. However, up to 10 days’ work (known as Keeping in Touch (KIT) days) may be undertaken at any stage during the maternity leave period, by agreement with the employer (with the exception of the first two weeks of compulsory maternity leave after the birth of the baby). Employees will receive payment at their contractual rate for any KIT days worked, but any maternity pay owing will be offset against payment for KIT days. If work is undertaken for another employer after the baby is born the University must be informed. Under these circumstances, the payment of SMP by the University will cease.

Other Points to Note

(a) If an employee qualifies for SMP it will be paid by the employer for a period of up to 39 weeks even if the employee is not returning to work after the birth of the baby.

(b) SMP may be paid for less than 39 weeks, (subject to the early return of an employee) and will only be paid when an employee leaves work to commence maternity leave.

(d) Employees paying a reduced rate of national insurance contribution will be entitled to SMP if they are able to satisfy the qualifying conditions.

(e) If an employee is absent from work because of a pregnancy related illness, on or after the start of the 4th week before the baby is due, then the Maternity Pay Period will start from the day following the first complete day the employee is absent from work for that reason.

(f) An employee who is entitled to SMP cannot get Statutory Sick Pay for at least 39 weeks starting with the start of the week in which she is first entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay from the University.

(g) If the employee’s baby is born before the Maternity Pay Period is due to start, the Maternity Pay Period will be the period of 39 weeks beginning from the day after the date of the birth of the baby.

(h) An employee is not allowed to return to work within a two week period following the birth.

SMP and Occupational Maternity Leave

For the purposes of the occupational maternity scheme, all staff will be deemed to be in receipt of SMP.

SMP will be offset against occupational maternity pay as follows:

during the period of 8 weeks that an employee, who intends to return to work, is receiving full pay; or
from the amount of 6 weeks’ pay received by an employee who does not intend to return to work.

When an employee is not eligible for SMP, any maternity allowance paid by the Benefits Agency will be offset as above against occupational maternity pay.

SMP will not normally be offset against occupational maternity half pay. However, if during the course of occupational maternity leave, payment of half pay and SMP (at whatever rate) together amount to more than full pay, then the combined payment will be reduced to the level of full pay during the period in which SMP is being paid.

If an employee is entitled to SMP but not Occupational Maternity Pay, then the employee will be entitled to 26 weeks of ordinary maternity leave (during which SMP will be paid) followed by 26 weeks of additional maternity leave (during which SMP will be paid for 13 weeks and in which 13 weeks will be unpaid). The total maternity leave allowance for such an employee will be 52 weeks.

An employee who does not qualify for Maternity leave, Occupational Maternity Pay or SMP will be entitled to 52 weeks maternity leave (unpaid), regardless of how long they have worked for the University.

Human Resources will be pleased to answer any general questions on the above. Queries on the operation of the scheme should be directed to the Finance (Payroll) Section.

Alan Charnock
Deputy Director of Human Resources
January 2011

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