If you are an expecting mother or father in the UK, it’s likely that you’ll want to know what are my maternity rights or paternity rights.

You will be able to find out a full breakdown of your maternity rights and paternity rights from your employer. However, before you discuss it with them, it is good idea that you know exactly what your statutory rights are (the minimum set by law).

In the sections below, you’ll find more information on these areas.

However, remember for each that these are the statutory minimums and your employment contract may provide you with more generous benefits than this:

 

 

Maternity Rights – Maternity Leave

When an expectant mother takes time off work for maternity leave, they will be entitled to statutory maternity pay and statutory maternity leave.

Before we delve into the details of both, it is important to note that employment rights are protected while on Statutory Maternity Leave. This includes your right to pay rises, accrue holidays and return to work.

Statutory Maternity Leave is 52 weeks in the UK. This is split into 26 weeks “ordinary leave” and 26 weeks “additional leave”.

Some points to consider include:

• The minimum maternity leave is 2 weeks (or 4 weeks for factory work). This means that it is illegal to return to work within 2 weeks of giving birth.
• The earliest you can start maternity leave is 11 weeks before the due week.
• You must give your employer the “correct notice”. This will usually be 15 weeks before your due date. This may have to be in writing.

 

Maternity Rights – Maternity Pay

You can take up to one year in statutory maternity leave. That doesn’t mean, however, that you will necessarily get paid for that whole period.

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is paid for up to 39 weeks and provides:

• 90% of your average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks
• The lower of £139.58 or 90% of your average weekly earnings for the remaining 33 weeks

On a fairly morbid note, you will still be entitled to SMP if your baby is born early, is stillborn after week 24 of the pregnancy or dies after being born.

 

 

Paternity Rights – Paternity Leave

New fathers are also entitled to leave and pay upon the birth of their child. Unfortunately for new fathers, these are much more restrictive.

Statutory Paternity Leave is restricted to two weeks. Leave cannot start before the birth and must end within 56 days of the date of the birth.

However, there were changes in the rules in 2015. Parents can now share their leave entitlement between them using the Shared Parental Leave rules.

 

Shared Parental Leave And Pay

Effectively, any remaining leave and pay that the mother doesn’t use (52 weeks’ leave and 39 weeks’ pay) can be taken by their partner (a husband, wife, civil partner or joint adopter who shares responsibility for the child). However, these cannot be taken concurrently. The mother must end their leave/pay before their partner can take it over.

Also note that to take this option, the partner needs to have been employed by the same employer continuously for at least 26 weeks before the 15^th week before the due date. Also, they must stay with that same employer whilst claiming Shared Parental Leave or Pay.

 

 

Maternity Rights & Paternity Rights – The Next Steps

Now, armed with this knowledge, you can meet with your employer to understand what they are offering for maternity, paternity or parental leave. Most importantly, you can see if they stack up against your maternity rights or paternity rights.

As we said in the introduction, employers will often offer more generous packages that those outlined above. However, that is the minimum they have to offer to all employees. It’s always good to know your rights!