Maternity Benefits Guide - Hampshire County Council

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Contents
1 Service Provision ................................................................................................................... 6
2 Who is covered by this guide ......................................................................................... 7
2.1 Included ...................................................................................................................... 7
2.2 Excluded ..................................................................................................................... 7
2.3 References .................................................................................................................. 7
3 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 8
4 Background to Maternity Rights ................................................................................. 9
5 Maternity Benefits Procedure ...................................................................................... 10
6 Informing us you’re pregnant ...................................................................................... 15
6.1 Changing your maternity leave start date ............................................ 16
7 Communication with your HR caseworker .......................................................... 17
8 Completing Form M1 ........................................................................................................ 18
9 Your maternity leave ......................................................................................................... 19
9.1 Entitlement to Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML)............................... 19
9.2 Entitlement to Additional Maternity Leave (AML) ............................ 19
9.3 Commencement of your maternity leave ............................................... 19
9.4 Your HR caseworker’s role ............................................................................. 20
9.5 Ensuring your health and safety at work ............................................. 20
9.6 If you don’t take maternity leave ................................................................ 20
9.7 Newly Qualified Teachers and maternity leave .................................. 21
9.8 At a glance service requirements for leave for EHCC staff .......... 22
9.9 At a glance service requirements for leave for teaching staff .... 23
10 Other maternity related absences ............................................................................ 24
10.1 Health and well-being care ............................................................................ 24
10.2 Annual leave ........................................................................................................... 24
10.3 Sickness and maternity ................................................................................... 24
10.4 Parental Leave ....................................................................................................... 25
10.5 Other family friendly schemes available ................................................ 25
11 Maternity pay ........................................................................................................................ 26
11.1 Maternity pay schemes .................................................................................... 26
11.2 Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) Scheme ................................................. 26
11.3 Occupational Maternity Pay (OMP) Schemes ...................................... 28
11.4 Requirement to repay OMP ........................................................................... 29
11.5 Postponing payment of OMP ......................................................................... 30
11.6 Combining OMP and SMP .............................................................................. 30
11.7 How your maternity payments are made .............................................. 31
11.8 Deductions from maternity pay .................................................................. 31
11.9 Childcare vouchers ............................................................................................. 33
11.10 Employees with more than one employment with HCC ............... 34
11.11 Entitlement to state benefits ........................................................................ 34
11.12 Entitlement in the event of miscarriage or stillbirth ...................... 34
11.13 Service requirements for Occupational and Statutory Maternity
Pay benefits ............................................................................................................. 35
12 Keeping In Touch ................................................................................................................ 37
12.1 The purpose of “Keeping in Touch” (KIT) days ................................... 37
13 Returning to work .............................................................................................................. 40
13.1 Nature of right to return ................................................................................. 40
13.2 Notification of intention to return to work or resign ....................... 40
13.3 Postponement of return by the line manager ..................................... 41
13.4 School based staff - returning to work during a school holiday
period .......................................................................................................................... 41
13.5 Returning to work part-time ......................................................................... 41
13.6 Flexible working ................................................................................................... 42
13.7 Job sharing ............................................................................................................. 43
13.8 Career breaks ........................................................................................................ 43
13.9 Reasonable contact ............................................................................................ 43