Pregnancy and maternity: Manage an employee's maternity leave and pay
When to use this pregnancy and maternity flowchart
Use this pregnancy and maternity flowchart when an employee informs you that they are pregnant.
All employees, regardless of length of service, are entitled to 52 weeks' statutory maternity leave. However, to qualify for statutory maternity pay, an employee must have at least 26 weeks' continuous service ending with the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth and average weekly earnings of at least the lower earnings limit for national insurance purposes.
Key steps
- Consider how the employee's work will be covered while they are on maternity leave
- Collect details of the employee's expected week of childbirth and intended maternity leave start date
- Calculate the employee's statutory maternity pay entitlement
- Conduct pre-maternity-leave interview(s)
Key "What if...?" events
- What if? ... a potentially redundant employee is pregnant or on maternity leave
- What if? ... the employee becomes pregnant again while on maternity leave
- What if? ... the employee receives a pay rise during or before their maternity leave
