p38-39 Knowledge feature Sept4 1/9/09 18:42 Page 39
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workplace knowledge
Advice for employees entitled “keeping in touch days” to come
To handle maternity effectively, employees back into work for the odd day – up to 10
MY EXPERIENCE
should be aware of their entitlements and in total – during their maternity leave.
note what job category they belong to. If you think you are being penalised for
Julia Lo Bue-Said
director for leisure at Advantage
For example, homeworkers might be con- your pregnancy, attempt to resolve the
sidered “workers” rather than “employees”, problem with your boss first. If this is not “When I became pregnant, I
meaning they may not qualify for SMP. working then you may have to make a knew how long I wanted off. The
They could still be eligible for Maternity complaint to an employment tribunal. business was happy and able to
Allowance but, here again, they might not accommodate internally – this
be entitled to the full maternity rights that Advice for employers was fortunate as in one year all
“regular” employees receive. Maternity leave can be a strain on resources, four women in my team were on maternity leave.
It is also advisable to inform an employer but good employers plan ahead. As soon as “Luckily, we didn’t all overlap at the same time, but we
about the pregnancy at a suitably early stage they find out an employee is pregnant, it did have to take on interim staff.
to give them plenty of time to plan. Good is essential to start finding temporary “I think it would be frightening for small agencies to
communication with line managers is often replacements and negotiating leave. handle this. It’s also daunting for expectant mothers.
key to a successful maternity leave period. As an employer, the consequences of not Women have spent years trying to create that balance:
Hayward suggests: “Sit down with your managing maternity properly could mean they don’t want their ability to get back into work affected.”
employer and work out how the pregnancy the loss of an experienced and hardworking
leave and return to work period is going to member of staff which, in small firms, can
happen. Also, consider what you might damage output and ultimately profits.
Entitlement checklist
need to do to make sure your colleagues In extreme cases employers may find
understand the situation.” themselves in court. For women
To keep up to date with work projects Pregnancy is not a new business challenge ■ 52 weeks’ maternity leave, which can start
while on ma- and coping with the demands it places on 11 weeks before due date, plus four weeks’
ternity leave, both employee and employer can require parental leave on top of maternity leave
women may time and effort. However, if each party is ■ Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) or Maternity
find it helpful fully informed about entitlements, and work Allowance (MA) when on leave
to use their together in the run-up to maternity leave, ■ SMP is 90% of your average gross weekly
such demands can be significantly reduced. earnings for the first six weeks; and at the
same rate as MA for the remaining 33 weeks
■ Next week: how to successfully manage a ■ MA pays a standard weekly rate of £123.06
woman’s return to work after maternity leave or 90% of your average weekly earnings
(before tax), whichever is the smaller
■ Women can request flexible working hours
when they return from leave
For men
■ Fathers are entitled to Statutory Paternity Pay
USEFUL CONTACTS
■
Direct.gov.uk see “Children benefits”
■ ACAS employment disputes: 0845 747 4747
■ AWTE 020 7537 0111
04.09.2009 39
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