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Employment law advisors! Maternity Leave & Bonuses help please!

Hi all,

I am hoping someone may be able to clarify for me what the position is with regard to receiving bonuses whilst on maternity leave, as I am reading quite a bit of conflicting information.

I started maternity leave on 2nd January (my baby is due in March). I am to receive the standard SMP, and the business I work for doesn't have a maternity policy for me to refer to.

I work in administration for an estate agency. My letter of engagement states that I receive bonuses for 'sales completed'. This bonus is paid to all administration individuals in the office regardless of the level of involvement in marketing the property and negotiating the sale.

Am I still entitled to these bonuses whilst on maternity leave? My company is not planning on including me, and have gone so far as to say I have 'left' the business until I return at the end of my maternity leave and all normal inclusion will be frozen until then. They are a small company and do not have a great grasp of maternity legislation as they never have had to deal with it before. Therefore they are not giving me any information at all and I feel a bit in the dark and like I am trying to find out things for myself.

I would hope that I am to receive the bonuses, at least the for the properties that were instructed before I went on leave, as the additional income would be very welcome.

Thanks in advance to anyone who may be able to help!

Comments

  • I understand their reasoning behind what htey have done but I would say they could fall foul of equality laws.

    Ultimately if its a set% of the sale that goes towards the employees (and not a set figure per employee) then it won't cost the employer any more money so they shouldn't kick to much of a fuss over it. However, you will of course annoy your fellow employees as htey will have a reduced amount due to your share.

    On a moral side of things being paid for the work you were involved would be fair, being paid for houses you don't contribute through wouldn't but this I believe isn't the legal view. The employer cannot discriminate because you are on maternity leave so if all admin get a bonus for all work then yes you should IMO entitled to it.

    Others will come and agree or disagree but I would suggest calling ACAS or your union if a member.

    PS I am not an employment advisor, just someone with an interest in it.
    Don't trust a forum for advice. Get proper paid advice. Any advice given should always be checked
  • I understand their reasoning behind what htey have done but I would say they could fall foul of equality laws.

    Ultimately if its a set% of the sale that goes towards the employees (and not a set figure per employee) then it won't cost the employer any more money so they shouldn't kick to much of a fuss over it. However, you will of course annoy your fellow employees as htey will have a reduced amount due to your share.

    On a moral side of things being paid for the work you were involved would be fair, being paid for houses you don't contribute through wouldn't but this I believe isn't the legal view. The employer cannot discriminate because you are on maternity leave so if all admin get a bonus for all work then yes you should IMO entitled to it.

    Others will come and agree or disagree but I would suggest calling ACAS or your union if a member.

    PS I am not an employment advisor, just someone with an interest in it.

    Thanks so much for your reply!

    Just to clarify the bonus position, we all receive a fixed amount (e.g £35) per sale completed. I don't know if we all receive the same amount as levels of salary are negotiated privately (but the structure is the same across the board). We do not have specific properties to handle and so we all receive the bonus for completion regardless of whether we have had a lot of involvement in the marketing or not.

    Before I left, because of staff changes, I was heavily involved in marketing all the office properties (i.e. drawing up particulars, attending viewings, client care etc). The office had 22 'pipeline' sales which were properties that were SSTC and instructed (and therefore in the hands of solicitors for completion).

    I have to admit, given all the work I shouldered last year, I would feel a bit put out if the lady appointed as my maternity cover received bonus for properties sold that I produced marketing materials for and was involved with negotiating sales on before I went off, and I didn't get anything at all. However, I do appreciate that sometimes you just have to 'suck it up' as it were if legally I don't have a right to it!

    I really enjoy my job and don't want to rock the boat unnecessarily or cause a fuss if it is inappropriate, but I do want to be treated fairly if it is the case I have right to these bonuses (as obviously additional income is appreciated).

    Unfortunately I'm not a member of a union and am not sure where to turn to to get advice short of consulting an employment lawyer (which could be more costly than beneficial and may seem an aggressive move to my employer).
  • Corneycobs wrote: »
    Thanks so much for your reply!

    Just to clarify the bonus position, we all receive a fixed amount (e.g £35) per sale completed. I don't know if we all receive the same amount as levels of salary are negotiated privately (but the structure is the same across the board). We do not have specific properties to handle and so we all receive the bonus for completion regardless of whether we have had a lot of involvement in the marketing or not.

    Before I left, because of staff changes, I was heavily involved in marketing all the office properties (i.e. drawing up particulars, attending viewings, client care etc). The office had 22 'pipeline' sales which were properties that were SSTC and instructed (and therefore in the hands of solicitors for completion).

    I have to admit, given all the work I shouldered last year, I would feel a bit put out if the lady appointed as my maternity cover received bonus for properties sold that I produced marketing materials for and was involved with negotiating sales on before I went off, and I didn't get anything at all. However, I do appreciate that sometimes you just have to 'suck it up' as it were if legally I don't have a right to it!

    I really enjoy my job and don't want to rock the boat unnecessarily or cause a fuss if it is inappropriate, but I do want to be treated fairly if it is the case I have right to these bonuses (as obviously additional income is appreciated).

    Unfortunately I'm not a member of a union and am not sure where to turn to to get advice short of consulting an employment lawyer (which could be more costly than beneficial and may seem an aggressive move to my employer).
    Surprised no else has answered this, if no one else replies soon I suggest you post on redundancyforum.co.uk and SarEL should reply. She's to the point but pretty good.
    Don't trust a forum for advice. Get proper paid advice. Any advice given should always be checked
  • I would say that as everyone gets the bonus you will still be entitled to it during your maternity leave.

    As an extra check, can you look at your contract to make sure there are no opt outs. If you were on sick when a house was sold would you get the bonus then?
    :jI am an Employment Law Paralegal and an experienced Human Resources Manager and offer my guidance as simply that ... guidance :j
  • Don't trust a forum for advice. Get proper paid advice. Any advice given should always be checked
  • Savvy_Sue
    Savvy_Sue Posts: 46,915 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    So, it's a small employer who haven't done this before.

    SarEl says 'probably not entitled'.

    Not going to disagree, would just suggest that it might be worth asking, politely but outright, if they would consider paying you the bonus for sales up to x point, given that you were responsible for the work at an early stage. Especially if there's some reason why you were doing a lot of that prep work, remind them of that.

    If you do it politely enough, without demanding it as a right that you may not have, they may reconsider.
    Signature removed for peace of mind
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