Maternity Benefits Guide - Hampshire County Council

3 Introduction
Hampshire County Council (HCC) believes that all female
employees should be treated fairly and consistently in
applying maternity benefits. We seek to apply best practice to
all employment groups. There are, however, a few conditions
that differ fundamentally between staff groups as a direct
consequence of nationally and locally negotiated conditions of
service.
The purpose of this guide is to provide you, and your line
manager, with information concerning the maternity benefits
that are available during your employment with HCC. All
correspondence sent by your HR caseworker will be copied to
your line manager. The information in this document reflects
the position for all categories of staff employed under a
contract of employment within HCC departments and schools.
In the majority of cases, if you are pregnant you are likely to
be entitled to maternity leave and maternity pay. The flow
chart in Section 5 provides an outline of the communications
process to be followed by you and your line manager and your
HR caseworker.
Section 5 contains a chart which indicates, in more detail, the
steps you may complete during the course of your maternity
leave period. This chart assists you to work your way through
the guide and highlights the key actions that you must take.
Consequently this guide is intended to be a source of reference
for you and your line manager throughout your pregnancy and
maternity leave period.
The guide aims to outline your entitlement. You, or your line
manager, should not hesitate to contact your HR caseworker
should further information be required concerning your
particular circumstances, or for clarification of any aspects of
maternity rights and benefits in general.
Some of the rules concerning entitlement to maternity benefits
are complex and consequently difficult to interpret and apply.
This guide deals only with the normal situation where you are
employed in one unit or school and under a single contract of
employment. If this is not the case, you and your line manager
should contact your HR caseworker for additional information
and support.
Contact details you will require are in Appendix 1. Details of
acronyms and definitions of the terms used in this guide can
be found at Appendix 2.
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