Maternity leave.
Discussion
My wife and I live in Edinburgh, hoping to move to Northern Ireland soon(ish). The wife is about to drop a kid in April, she'll be finished her maternity leave in January.
Personally, I'd like to get the ball rolling a bit sooner than January but I'd imagine that should my wife make her intentions known, her employer will give her a big f
k-off and we'll be stuck without her wage for the forseeable.
Would her employer be entitled to do this? She has worked with them for about 19 months now.
Personally, I'd like to get the ball rolling a bit sooner than January but I'd imagine that should my wife make her intentions known, her employer will give her a big f
k-off and we'll be stuck without her wage for the forseeable. Would her employer be entitled to do this? She has worked with them for about 19 months now.
Your employer will assume that you will take all 52 weeks of your Statutory Maternity Leave. If you take the full 52 weeks, you don’t need to give notice that you are coming back. However, it can be a good idea to do so.
If you wish to return earlier, for example, when your Statutory Maternity Pay ends, you must give at least eight weeks’ notice. If you don't, your employer can insist that you don’t return until the eight weeks have passed. You must tell your employer that you:
•are returning to work early
•want to change the date of your return
If you decide not to return to work at all, you must give your employer notice in the normal way.
Plenty of people wait right up to the last minute and then give notice that they will not be returning. However, as an employer, if you know that your employee is making themselves unavailbale for work by going to interviews, buying a house a great distance away etc then there is no problem with the employer calling the employee to discuss this and asking what thier intentions are.
I have dismissed someone in the past who went for an interview whilst on the sick, but I've never done anything like this to someone on maternity leave.
My advice would be to keep any plans to move away quiet to avoid any hassle.
If you wish to return earlier, for example, when your Statutory Maternity Pay ends, you must give at least eight weeks’ notice. If you don't, your employer can insist that you don’t return until the eight weeks have passed. You must tell your employer that you:
•are returning to work early
•want to change the date of your return
If you decide not to return to work at all, you must give your employer notice in the normal way.
Plenty of people wait right up to the last minute and then give notice that they will not be returning. However, as an employer, if you know that your employee is making themselves unavailbale for work by going to interviews, buying a house a great distance away etc then there is no problem with the employer calling the employee to discuss this and asking what thier intentions are.
I have dismissed someone in the past who went for an interview whilst on the sick, but I've never done anything like this to someone on maternity leave.
My advice would be to keep any plans to move away quiet to avoid any hassle.
It might make a difference to timing if your wife's company offer occupational maternity pay (OMP) in addition to statutory maternity pay (SMP).
A previous place I worked offered OMP and required the new mother to return to work for a defined time or they would be required to repay the OMP.
If your wife's company only offer SMP and she is eligible to receive it, then it I believe it would be unlawful for the employer to withhold the payment.
Have read of some basic info here
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Moneyandworken...
http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1753
A previous place I worked offered OMP and required the new mother to return to work for a defined time or they would be required to repay the OMP.
If your wife's company only offer SMP and she is eligible to receive it, then it I believe it would be unlawful for the employer to withhold the payment.
Have read of some basic info here
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Moneyandworken...
http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1753
Don't forget the thresholds of 6 weeks, 33 and 39 wks in total for statutory payments. Your company may offer more, but in this particular case, it doesn't sound like it. Also don't forget about your holiday entitlements during this period. If she is worried about being out of sight out of mind then make use of the keep in touch days with the agreement of the employer. If SMP isn't applicable then look at maternity allowance. If you don't get your SMP then follow the company grievance procedure and ultimately lodge a tribunal claim if necessary.
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