If you are employed knowing your maternity rights can be a bit confusing to say the least but here are the key points that you should know:-
- To qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) you must have been working for your current employer for at least 26 weeks up to the qualifying week (this is 15 weeks before your child’s due date).
- You are entitled to 52 weeks of maternity leave however you are only paid for up to 39 weeks.
- For the first 6 weeks of leave you get 90% of your average weekly earnings then the standard SMP for the remaining 33 weeks. (this is currently around £130 per week)
- You are obligated to take at least 2 weeks off following the birth of your child and if you work in a very physical job such as a factory you have to take 4 weeks, this is for health and safety reasons.
- Your employment rights are protected whilst on maternity leave, this covers any pay rises and holiday accrued.
- You can also do up to 10 keeping in touch days where you can attend work on full pay without it ending your maternity leave.
If you are unsure of any of your rights read up on them on the government website.