here - Health Promotion Agency

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Rights and benefits What happens when I go back? When you go back to work after Ordinary Maternity Leave, you have the right to return to exactly the same job. When you go back to work after Additional Maternity Leave, you have the right to return to exactly the same job. But if your employer can show that this is not reasonably practicable, e.g. because the job no longer exists, you have the right to be offered a suitable alternative job on very similar terms and conditions. What happens if I need more time off work? You cannot stay off work after your maternity leave has ended as you will lose your right to return to your job. If you need more time off you could: • ask your employer if you can take annual leave immediately after your maternity leave. Note that paid holiday continues to accrue during maternity leave so you may have some holiday owing to you. • Ask your employer if they will agree to a further period off work. You should ask your employer to confirm this agreement in writing and to confirm that you will have the right to return to the same job. • Take some parental leave at the end of your maternity leave (see below). Note that you must give 21 days’ notice to take parental leave, and it is usually unpaid unless your employer offers paid parental leave. • If you cannot return because you are ill, you can take sick leave as long as you follow your employer’s sickness procedures. What should I do if I don’t want to go back to work? You should resign in the normal way, giving at least the notice required by your contract or the notice period that is normally given in your workplace. If you do not have a contract or nothing has been said, you should give at least a week’s notice. Note: You do not have to repay any of the Statutory Maternity Pay you received (six weeks at 90% and 20 weeks at £112.75, or 90% of your average earnings if this is less). Can I do any work during my maternity leave? During maternity leave it is often helpful to keep in touch with your employer. Your employer is entitled to make reasonable contact with you during maternity leave. This might be to discuss such things as arrangements for your return to work, or to update you 142 on any significant changes in the workplace while you’ve been away. Your maternity leave and pay will normally come to an end when you return to work. However, if the week your baby was born started on or after 1 April 2007, you are entitled to do up to 10 days’ work during your maternity leave without losing maternity pay or bringing your leave to an end. These Keeping in Touch days may only be worked if both you and your employer agree. Although particularly useful for things such as training or team events, they may be used for any form of work and should make it easier to return to work after your leave. You will need to agree with your employer what work is to be done on ‘keeping in touch’ days and how much pay you will receive. What happens if I say I want to return to work and I change my mind? If you decide not to return, you can resign from your job in the normal way. Your notice period can run at the same time as your maternity leave. Can I change my working hours? You have the right to ask for flexible hours and your employer has a duty to seriously consider your request. Your employer must have a good business reason for refusing. (See ‘Return to work on child-friendly working hours’ on page 144.) My maternity leave ends soon and I’m pregnant again. What rights will I have? Maternity leave does not break your continuity of employment, so your right to maternity leave for this baby will be based on your total service with your employer. You may also qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay as long as you meet the normal conditions. However, this will mean you will have to be receiving over £84 per week from your employer in approximately weeks 18–26 of your pregnancy when Statutory Maternity Pay entitlement is calculated. If you have already taken Ordinary Maternity Leave and Additional Maternity Leave (a year off) you will be entitled to a second period of Ordinary Maternity Leave and Additional Maternity Leave. However, if you go straight onto another period of Ordinary Maternity Leave without physically returning to work and decide to return to work after the second period of Ordinary Maternity Leave, you will not have the right to return to exactly the same job as you normally would at the end of Ordinary Maternity Leave. However, you will have the same rights as you would have had at the end of Additional Maternity Leave, which is the right to return to the same job or, if that is not reasonably practicable, a suitable alternative job on similar terms and conditions.
Rights and benefits If you return to work after the end of your first period of Additional Maternity Leave and before the start of your second period of Ordinary Maternity Leave – even if you return for only one day – your rights are not affected and you would have the right to return to exactly the same job after Ordinary Maternity Leave (see ‘Return to work’ section). OTHER EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS These rights apply no matter how long you have been employed or how many hours you work per week. PAID TIME OFF FOR ANTENATAL CARE If you are an employee, you have the right to take reasonable time off for your antenatal appointments, including time needed to travel to your clinic or GP, without loss of pay. You should let your employer know when you need time off. For appointments after the first one, your employer can ask to see your appointment card and a certificate stating that you are pregnant. Antenatal care can include parentcraft and relaxation classes. You may need a letter from your GP or midwife to show your employer, saying that these classes are part of your antenatal care. HEALTH AND SAFETY RIGHTS If you are pregnant, have recently given birth or are breastfeeding, your employer must make sure that the kind of work you do and your working conditions will not put your health or your baby’s health at risk. To get the full benefit of this legal protection you must notify your employer in writing that you are pregnant or have recently given birth or are breastfeeding. Your employer must: • carry out a risk assessment at your workplace and do all that is reasonable to remove or reduce the risks found. • if t<strong>here</strong> are still risks, your employer must alter your working conditions or hours of work to remove the risk. • if this is not possible or would not avoid the risk, your employer must offer you a suitable alternative job. • if this is not possible, your employer must suspend you on full pay for as long as is necessary to avoid the risks. If you do night work and your doctor advises that you should stop for health and safety reasons, you have the right to transfer to day work or, if that is not possible, to be suspended on full pay. You must provide a medical certificate. Further information can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/mothers DISMISSAL OR UNFAIR TREATMENT It is sex discrimination for your employer to treat you unfairly, dismiss you or select you for redundancy for any reason connected with pregnancy, childbirth or maternity leave. In most cases you must tell your employer you have a grievance before you bring a claim to an Employment/Industrial Tribunal so that you and your employer can try to sort out the problem. For more advice about this statutory dispute resolution procedure, call the Labour Relations <strong>Agency</strong> on 028 9032 1442 or 028 7126 9639. If you are dismissed while you are pregnant or during your maternity leave, your employer must give you a written statement of the reasons. You may also have a claim for compensation for sex discrimination. If you are making a claim against your employer, you must put your claim into the Employment/Industrial Tribunal within three months. OTHER TYPES OF LEAVE PATERNITY LEAVE What is it? Following the birth of a child, eligible employees will be able to take one or two weeks’ leave to care for the child or support the mother. They must give their employer the correct notice. The leave must be taken within 56 days of the birth. Who gets it? Your baby’s biological father, your husband or your partner, including a same sex partner, will be able to take paternity leave providing they: • expect to have responsibility for bringing up the child; • have worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks by the 15th week before your baby is due. When can my partner start paternity leave? Your husband or partner can choose to start paternity leave either: from the date of your baby’s birth; • from a chosen number of days or weeks after the date of the child’s birth (whether this is earlier or later than expected); or • from a chosen date. Paternity leave must have been taken within 56 days of your baby’s birth or, if your baby was born early, within the period from the actual date of birth up to 56 days after the expected week of birth. 143
Page 1 and 2:
Pre the nancy gbook Your complete g
Page 3 and 4:
Pre the nancy gbook Your complete g
Page 5 and 6:
11 LABOUR AND BIRTH Getting ready f
Page 7 and 8:
Your pregnancy at a glance 16-20 we
Page 9 and 10:
Introduction Every parent is differ
Page 11 and 12:
Your health in pregnancy • Eat pl
Page 13 and 14:
Your health in pregnancy VEGETARIAN
Page 15 and 16:
Your health in pregnancy S MOKING W
Page 17 and 18:
Your health in pregnancy P HYSICAL
Page 19 and 20:
Your health in pregnancy Foot exerc
Page 21 and 22:
obstetrician. If you do catch toxop
Page 23 and 24:
2 Conception To understand about co
Page 25 and 26:
Conception T HE WOMAN’ S MONTHLY
Page 27 and 28:
Conception T HE BEST TIME TO GET PR
Page 29 and 30:
Conception K NOWING THAT YOU’ RE
Page 31 and 32:
How the baby develops WEEKS 4-5 Wee
Page 33 and 34:
How the baby develops WEEKS 15-22 T
Page 35 and 36:
4 Deciding where to have your baby
Page 37 and 38:
Deciding where to have your baby HO
Page 39 and 40:
Deciding where to have your baby B
Page 41 and 42:
5 Feelings and relationships From t
Page 43 and 44:
Feelings and relationships WORRYING
Page 45 and 46:
Feelings and relationships FAMILIES
Page 47 and 48:
Feelings and relationships C OPING
Page 49 and 50:
6 Mainly for men Some pregnancies h
Page 51 and 52:
Mainly for men PRACTICAL SUPPORT Yo
Page 53 and 54:
7 Antenatal care and antenatal clas
Page 55 and 56:
Antenatal care and antenatal classe
Page 57 and 58:
Page 59 and 60:
Page 61 and 62:
Page 63 and 64:
Page 65 and 66:
Page 67 and 68:
Page 69 and 70:
The feeding question B REASTFEEDING
Page 71 and 72:
The feeding question Support contac
Page 73 and 74:
The feeding question HOW OFTEN AND
Page 75 and 76:
The feeding question B OTTLE FEEDIN
Page 77 and 78:
The feeding question The temperatur
Page 79 and 80:
9 Problems Your body has a great de
Page 81 and 82:
Problems FEELING HOT IN PREGNANCY D
Page 83 and 84:
Problems can empty it properly. The
Page 85 and 86:
Problems VAGINAL DISCHARGE Almost a
Page 87 and 88:
10 What you need for the baby This
Page 89 and 90:
What you need for the baby O UT AND
Page 91 and 92:
11 Labour and birth This chapter de
Page 93 and 94: Labour and birth PAIN RELIEF IN LAB
Page 95 and 96: Labour and birth • your contracti
Page 97 and 98: Labour and birth AT THE HOSPITAL Go
Page 99 and 100: Labour and birth • The heartbeat
Page 101 and 102: Labour and birth You can have your
Page 103 and 104: Labour and birth treatment takes ab
Page 105 and 106: Labour and birth A vaginal breech d
Page 107 and 108: When pregnancy goes wrong been due.
Page 109 and 110: 13 The first days with your new bab
Page 111 and 112: The first days with your new baby c
Page 113 and 114: The first days with your new baby b
Page 115 and 116: Babies who need special care I NCUB
Page 117 and 118: The early weeks: you L OOKING AFTER
Page 119 and 120: The early weeks: you T HE ‘ BABY
Page 121 and 122: 16 The early weeks: your baby The b
Page 123 and 124: The early weeks: your baby Sadly, w
Page 125 and 126: The early weeks: your baby CHANGING
Page 127 and 128: The early weeks: your baby WASHING
Page 129 and 130: The early weeks: your baby W HERE T
Page 131 and 132: as green, leafy vegetables and brea
Page 133 and 134: Rights and benefits How much is it?
Page 135 and 136: Who gets it? Pregnant women and new
Page 137 and 138: Rights and benefits You must have n
Page 139 and 140: • your baby is born before your M
Page 141 and 142: Rights and benefits (MAT B1 form),
Page 143: Rights and benefits Giving notice f
Page 147 and 148: • state that this is an applicati
Page 149 and 150: USEFUL ORGANISATIONS Some of these
Page 151 and 152: In Northern Ireland: Northern Irela
Page 153 and 154: INDEX A abnormalities tests to dete
Page 155: The Pregnancy Book “It contains e
show all

here - Health Promotion Agency

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?