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There are certain procedures that must be followed, and these can help you to plan ahead and manage maternity leave and pay. Maternity leave law is also designed to safeguard the rights of your employees with regard to their current employment status and treatment, and to ensure that they are treated fairly.
Maternity leave rights in the UK normally grant a new mother a minimum of 26 weeks maternity leave on either maternity allowance or statutory maternity pay, along with a further minimum of 26 weeks unpaid leave. Provided your employee complies with maternity leave notification requirements, they can take this leave regardless of how long they have been employed by you, how many hours they work or how much they are paid. These are the basic statutory maternity leave rights, but they may be extended by specific contractual agreements between you and your employees.
Maternity leave rights also entitle your employees to return to the same or similar work after the period of maternity leave is over. Their period of continual employment is not broken by maternity leave.
While the basics of maternity leave law may appear relatively simple, there are a number of qualifying factors that can make the situation more complex and from which disputes can arise. These factors may include the nature of employment (whether full- or part-time) or if there is a redundancy situation. In addition, your employee may not follow proper processes, which can create management difficulties.
If you want to ensure that you do not fall foul of maternity leave law resulting in a potential claim of sex discrimination, Ashby Cohen can help you. We specialise in employment law cases, and our years of experience as employment lawyers make us uniquely qualified to assist you with any maternity leave issues you may have. Please contact us for an initial free consultation.
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