Maternity Leave Eligibility - are you entitled to Maternity Leave?
♦ You may be an employee and a student at the same time.
♦ Click the button below to check your employment status.
Not all workers are classed as employees. Check you employment status.
There is no minimum period of employment or hours worked to entitle you to it.
You may be working whilst you are a student.
Whilst you are on maternity leave, you are protected from redundancy.
Whether you can return to your original job depends on the amount of leave you take.
If you are an employee
You can apply for maternity leave.
The length of time you have worked for your employer, the hours of work and the wages you receive is not taken in to account.
So you can take maternity leave.
There are issues about who is an employee. It is not simply the case that everyone who works for an employer is an employee. It is a legal definition.
So if you are self employed, work zero contract hours or your employer does not have to guarantee giving you work then you will not be eligible to Maternity Leave.
So the best thing to do is find out what your employment status is.
Read further here from ACAS website.
Taking maternity leave
ACAS has a lot of information about taking maternity leave.
For example, if you’re entitled to maternity leave and pay, you can choose to start it either:
♦ From up to 11 weeks before your baby is due.
♦ The day you give birth.
You must tell your employer the date you plan to start maternity leave no later than 15 weeks before your baby is due.
For all you need to know, click below.
While you are on maternity leave
Important – what you should do whilst you are on maternity leave:
♦ Your employer reasonably expects you to keep in touch with them.
Your protection from redundancy
Your employer must not use your pregnancy or maternity as a reason to make you redundant. This would be discrimination.
Your right to return to work
Your right to return to the same job as before depends on how much maternity leave you’ve taken.
Read more from ACAS.