Maternity and Adoption Leave advice – individuals

If you are unsure of your rights to, during or following maternity leave or adoption leave, or you believe that you have been treated unfairly whilst you are pregnant, on maternity leave or adoption leave or on your return to work, Gotelee Solicitors’ team of specialist employment Solicitors can help you.

Maternity Leave

All pregnant employees qualify for 52 weeks “statutory maternity leave”, regardless of length of service. If you are pregnant and employed, you are entitled to:

• 26 weeks ordinary maternity leave (OML). During OML, all your terms and conditions of employment remain exactly the same, the only difference being that you do not have the right to receive pay. You must satisfy certain notification requirements. At the end of OML you have the right to return to your original job. If a redundancy situation arises, you must be offered any suitable alternative vacancy available (even if that means you are offered it in preference to any other employees who may also be at risk of redundancy).
• 26 weeks of additional maternity leave (AML). During AML your normal terms of employment do not apply (unless otherwise specifically agreed between you and your employer). At the end of the AML you are entitled to return to your original job or, if this is not reasonably practicable, to a suitable alternative job.
• Up to 39 weeks of Statutory maternity pay.
• Up to 10 Keeping in touch days.
• Paid time off to keep appointments for ante-natal care made on the advice of a registered medical practitioner, midwife or health visitor.
• Protection from dismissal or detriment on grounds related to pregnancy or childbirth.

If your child is born on or after 3 April 2011, then you will be able to elect for the father of your child to take up to 26 weeks of your maternity leave entitlement, if you want to return early.

Adoption Leave

Adoption leave is almost identical to maternity leave, in terms of the notification requirements that you have to follow, the amount of leave you can take, the effect of leave on your terms of employment and pay and your rights when you return to work.  One of the adopting parents can take adoption leave.  The other may be able to take paternity or parental leave.

How we can help

If you need advice on your rights or if you think that you have been treated unfairly, our Employment Solicitors can let you know what your options are and how to deal with the situation.  If you need to make a claim, we will work with you to achieve the best possible outcome for you.

For further advice and guidance please visit our Maternity and Adoption Leave – FAQs here

Our charges

As with everything we do, our charges are very reasonable and tailored to the work that you would like us to do.  In the vast majority of cases, we will agree a fixed fee for your work, so that you have comfort in knowing that you can safely budget, with no fear of receiving an unexpected bill from us.

What to do next

Contact our team of employment solicitors in Ipswich, Suffolk by telephoning 01473 298126 or by email.