Pregnant After Career Break: What Are My Maternity Rights?
Q.
I had my first baby in April last year with maternity leave from my job until December. I then took a 12 month career break from my employer which ends this December. I have just found out I am pregnant again and the baby is due at the beginning of February, just over one month after my career break ends! Where do I stand regarding maternity entitlement, pay etc?
A.
Congratulations on your happy news! It must be very nice knowing that you are about to add to a very quickly growing family, and that you have been able to take time out to spend with your first child during his or her first year, and hopefully with your second child as well.
The good news is that your career break will have no negative effect as far as continuous service, benefits and other entitlements are concerned. The rule is simple: women who become pregnant while on their career break have the same employment rights that women who become pregnant while not on a career break have.
However, unfortunately you will not qualify for SMP, or Standard Maternity Pay, although you may qualify for Company Maternity pay, depending entirely on the goodwill of your employer. Reason: SMP is calculated on your last 15 weeks of earnings before the EWC, or Expected Week of Childbirth. If during the last 15 weeks you were on a career break earning nothing, you would not qualify to receive the cash.
The rationale behind this is fairly straightforward. Your employer has had to hire someone to cover you when you have been away, which has cost them money, and they will not be able to claim your SMP back from the government, which would cost them even more money. It's a business decision, and one you can't do much about. You may, however, still qualify for maternity allowance, which will be roughly £100 a week for 39 weeks and is not subject to National Insurance or tax.
In any case, you should notify your boss or immediate supervisor immediately and tell them your news. Your career break will be suspended when you begin maternity leave, and if you want to resume the career break, that will be up to you and your boss. In your case, however, you would no doubt start maternity leave just as your career break finishes.
If there are complications with the pregnancy and you need to start maternity leave earlier – say two months before your career break would officially end – this is something you would also have to take up with your boss. Keep in mind that regardless of what happens with your career break, you may return to work after you have your baby, your holiday will still accrue while you are on maternity leave.
One possible solution to get more entitlements may be to postpone finishing your career break, meaning you would return back to work earlier than planned in order to qualify for full SMP and Company Maternity Pay. You would have to speak to your boss, immediate supervisor or HR manager to see if that could be a possibility for you, as this is also something that would be up to them. Good luck!
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