Maternity leave

ntasha

Hi,
I put on my maternity leave request that I wanted to take the full 52 weeks. I went on my maternity leave on the 27th November last year, expecting to go back to work on the 27th of November this year, but when I spoke to my manager after the baby was born, she told me work expected me back in August? When I asked how that could be she said that I only got the full 52 weeks if I took off the last 3 months as unpaid parental leave.

I knew that I would not get any money for the last 13 weeks of my maternity leave, but I thought that it was just that, maternity leave, and parental leave was something else that I can use before the baby is 5 years old in case I need time off for whatever reason such as being let down by a childminder etc. Am I right or is the last 13 weeks parental leave and not maternity leave as I first thought?

My work did a few dodgy things whilst I was pregnant such as telling me I wasn't allowed breaks as I only work 6 hour shifts, but I was sometimes expected to work 2 shifts in one day. And I had to fight to get a risk assessment to see if there was any aspect of my work that needed altering in order to allow me to work without putting the baby at risk, even though they were expecting me to care for clients on my own using hoisting equipment etc. This was on top of other things certain managers did. SO as you can see I don't trust anything they say anymore and I just want to check.

Hope someone can help. Thanks in advance x

building_with_lego

It is maternity leave, and it is unpaid. [STRIKE]I believe that you're not allowed to take parental leave immediately after maternity leave![/STRIKE]

Edit: I've just found some info on the direct.gov site, including the following sentence:

"Your employer will assume that you will take all 52 weeks of your Statutory Maternity Leave. "

So they're making it up, I'm afraid. Have a very good read of that site, plus your contract's terms and conditions, then you'll have more of an idea.

And congratulations!

building_with_lego

ntasha wrote: »

Hi,

My work did a few dodgy things whilst I was pregnant such as telling me I wasn't allowed breaks as I only work 6 hour shifts, but I was sometimes expected to work 2 shifts in one day. And I had to fight to get a risk assessment to see if there was any aspect of my work that needed altering in order to allow me to work without putting the baby at risk, even though they were expecting me to care for clients on my own using hoisting equipment etc. This was on top of other things certain managers did. SO as you can see I don't trust anything they say anymore and I just want to check.

Hope someone can help. Thanks in advance x

If you work a 5 hour shift you're entitled to a 15 minute break, so they're on shaky ground with this too. Are you in the Union? It may be worth joining! They'll know everything about the situation and can negotiate on your behalf.

fluffnutter

You are correct. The first 26 weeks of maternity leave is known as ordinary maternity leave. Following this is up to 26 weeks of additional maternity leave making 52 weeks in total (if you take your full entitlement).

Check out the government's site here. It also has advice as to resolving a dispute with your employer.

Hopefully merely giving your employer sight of the advice from directgov will be enough to clear up this issue, but if I were you I wouldn't be particularly impressed that my employer is so lacking in such basic knowledge.

Perhaps it's merely your manager who's get her wires crossed. Do you have an HR department? If so, talk to them, not your manager.

bigmomma051204

Hi - i work in a childrens centre and i arranged a Citizens Advice Bureaux appointment for a lady who was having VERY similar issues with her workplace... she said that the CAB adviser was brilliant at helping her to fight her corner etc SO might be worth a visit to them?

System

building_with_lego wrote: »

If you work a 5 hour shift you're entitled to a 15 minute break, so they're on shaky ground with this too. Are you in the Union? It may be worth joining! They'll know everything about the situation and can negotiate on your behalf.

Evidence for that? 6 hours is the trigger point

A worker is entitled to an uninterrupted break of 20 minutes when daily working time is expected to be more than six hours. It should be a break in working time and should not be taken either at the start, or at the end, of a working day.

If the OP is only rostered for 6 hours then there is no break entitlement

fluffnutter

!!!!!! wrote: »

Evidence for that? 6 hours is the trigger point

A worker is entitled to an uninterrupted break of 20 minutes when daily working time is expected to be more than six hours. It should be a break in working time and should not be taken either at the start, or at the end, of a working day.

If the OP is only rostered for 6 hours then there is no break entitlement

... so what happens if the employee is expected to work two shifts? Does that mean that neither attracts a break therefore she can be expected to start her next shift straightaway or does it constitute a single shift of 12 hours? If the latter, is she still only entitled to 20 minutes? In 12 hours? Seems a bit mean!

As an aside, I didn't think that you could be asked to work more than 11 hours in any one 24 hour period (unless you'd signed away your European Working Hours Directive rights) so I'm not sure how they got away with expecting her to do a double shift anyway...

room512

When my OH does a six hour shift he gets no break , when he does an 8 hour shift (2 shifts put together - some shifts are 2 hours) he gets 20 mins x

building_with_lego

!!!!!! wrote: »

Evidence for that? 6 hours is the trigger point

A worker is entitled to an uninterrupted break of 20 minutes when daily working time is expected to be more than six hours. It should be a break in working time and should not be taken either at the start, or at the end, of a working day.

If the OP is only rostered for 6 hours then there is no break entitlement

That must just be my workplace then. Looking into it it appears that you're right in terms of statutory entitlement. We get 15 minutes "tea break" when working a 5 hr shift.

MrsManda

It sounds like your HR department may just be getting the terminology wrong rather than necessarily trying to pull the wool over your eyes. Even really big HR departments seem to get things wrong :-(

There's Statutory Maternity Leave which allows you to take upto 52 weeks off.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Moneyandworkentitlements/WorkAndFamilies/Pregnancyandmaternityrights/DG_10039631

Statutory Maternity Pay which is paid at 90% of your salary for 6 weeks, and £107 a week for a further 33 weeks.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Expectingorbringingupchildren/DG_175917

and Parental Leave which is where you can take up to 13 weeks unpaid upto your child's 5th birthday.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Moneyandworkentitlements/WorkAndFamilies/Parentalleaveandflexibleworking/DG_10029416

hawk30

Just to clarify MrsManda's post, as long as you qualify for SMP you get SMP at 90 % of your normal wage for the first 6 weeks, then £135.45 for the remaining 33 weeks or 90% of your normal wage, whichever is the lower.