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Entitlements and support available to pregnant employees and to those on, and returning from, maternity leave.
Contents
- Time off for Ante-Natal Appointments
- Entitlement to Maternity Leave
- Entitlement to UCL's Occupational Maternity Pay
- Entitlement to Statutory Maternity Pay or Statutory Maternity Allowance
- Notification Process
- Keeping in contact during Maternity Leave
- Keeping in touch days (KIT days)
- Annual leave and parental leave
- Bank Holidays and Closure Days during any type of parental leave
- Authorised deductions from pay
- Pregnancy and baby loss
- Neonatal Care Leave
- Returning to work
- Quiet rooms
- Ending employment by resignation
- Ending employment by redundancy
- Financial assistance for departments
Time off for Ante-Natal Appointments
1. Employees who are pregnant, are entitled to take reasonable paid time off during working hours for antenatal care.
2. Employees must endeavour to give as much notice as possible to their line manager for antenatal appointments.
3. It is not necessary to provide any proof of the first appointment but employees may be asked to produce proof of subsequent appointments.
Entitlement to Maternity Leave
4. Providing that the correct notification process has been followed, employees are entitled to take up to 52 weeks maternity leave in one continuous block. There is no qualifying length of service.
5. In instances of multiple births, the entitlement remains 52 weeks ML in total.
6. The earliest that maternity leave can start is 11 weeks before the Expected Week of Childbirth (EWC).
7. If the employee takes any time off work with a pregnancy-related condition in the 4 weeks prior to the EWC, maternity leave will usually start automatically on the day after the first day of absence. However, if the pregnancy-related sickness absence is mild, and only for one or two days, the line manager can agree that maternity leave is not triggered. If maternity leave is triggered early, the manager must notify myservices.ucl.ac.uk/self-service as soon as possible.
8. Employees must take a minimum of 2 weeks’ maternity leave commencing with the day on which childbirth occurs, except where a child is born before the expected week of childbirth (EWC), when the compulsory maternity leave starts on the day after the child is born.
9. An employee can opt to return to work any time after the end of the 2-week compulsory leave period and before the 52-week maximum maternity leave period.
10. Where the baby is born early, maternity leave will automatically start the day after the baby is born. The employee or their next of kin should notify the line manager as soon as possible. It will be the responsibility of the line manager to ensure that myservices.ucl.ac.uk/self-service is informed.
11. If the baby is stillborn after the start of the 24th week of pregnancy, maternity leave will start automatically the day after the baby is born.
Entitlement to UCL's Occupational Maternity Pay
12. Providing that the correct notification process has been followed, all employees taking maternity leave, regardless of length of service, are entitled to Occupational Maternity Pay (OMP).
13. OMP is calculated to ensure the employee receives 22 weeks' full pay, or 11 weeks' full pay followed by 22 weeks' half pay.
14. OMP includes any entitlement to statutory maternity pay (SMP) or statutory maternity allowance.
15. Payment of OMP commences simultaneously with the beginning of the maternity leave period and is paid monthly in arrears (in the same way salary is paid).
Entitlement to Statutory Maternity Pay or Statutory Maternity Allowance
16. An employee will be eligible for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) if they have at least 26 weeks' service at the Notification Week (15th week before the EWC) and provided that the average earnings are above the lower earnings limit for National Insurance contributions at the 26th week. Employees who are not eligible for SMP will be informed by payroll and provided with the SMP1 form so they may claim Statutory Maternity Allowance (SMA).
17. SMP or SMA is payable for a 39 week period. SMP is included in OMP where applicable. Where the employee is entitled to claim SMA, this will be deducted from the amount of OMP. After exhausting OMP, employees may receive SMP or SMA for the remaining weeks unless or until they return to work or enter into the Shared Parental Leave scheme.
Notification Process
18. Employees should let their line manager know (confidentially if required) that they are pregnant as soon as is reasonably practical, so that a risk assessment can be carried out. The risk assessment will identify any potential risks in the workplace to the expectant mother and their unborn baby/babies. The employee should agree with their line manager when others can be told such as the Departmental Administrator/local HR contact (if applicable) so that the absence can be planned for.
19. The employee may wish to curtail their maternity leave in order to enter into shared parental leave with their partner. For details on this refer to the Shared Parental Leave Policy. If the employee and/or their partner are considering entering into Shared Parental Leave, the employee must book a consultation meeting with employmentpolicy@ucl.ac.uk.
20. At least 15 weeks before the Expected Week of Childbirth, and once the employee has finalised any shared parental leave, if applicable, the employee must complete the maternity online application form to confirm the dates of ML and provide a copy of the MATB1 form (which can be requested from the 20th week of pregnancy), or a letter from their doctor or midwife confirming the expected due date. Once signed by the Line Manager, the application form will automatically be sent to MyServices for processing. MyServices will then write to the employee confirming the maximum amount of ML and Maternity Pay to which they are entitled, including the date by which they are expected to return to work.
21. The employee and the line manager should review and complete the Parental Leave Checklist at the earliest opportunity and before the employee starts their maternity leave.
22. The employee can raise a request via the MyServices Portal if they have a query about eligible dates and entitlements. Employees can also use the maternity leave calculator to help plan leave.
23. If an employee subsequently changes their mind about the start date of their maternity leave, they must complete a new Online Maternity Leave application, selecting "amendment" where prompted. Four weeks' notice of the new start date is normally required, unless maternity leave has been automatically triggered due to an earlier than expected birth, or maternity related sickness as explained in point 7. In these circumstance, employees should complete a new application (choosing "amendment" where prompted) within 8 weeks of the new start date of their maternity leave.
24. If an employee wishes to amend their return-to-work date, at least eight weeks’ notice must be given, if the date is earlier than previously agreed (or, if that is not possible, as soon as is reasonably practicable). The new date will need to be provided via the Online Maternity Leave application, selecting "amendment" where prompted. If an employee's original application has been submitted, but not yet processed, please contact HR Services to void the original application before submitting a new one.
25. Maternity leave will automatically end 52 weeks after the start date unless the employee has specified a return date or given 8 weeks' notice in writing to return before this date.
Keeping in contact during Maternity Leave
26. Line managers should ask employees to ensure their personal contact details are up to date on the Inside UCL mobile app (or on MyHR) and should discuss with the employee how and when they would like to be in contact during their period of ML. The line manager should inform employees on ML, (and consult with, where appropriate) about any important business changes or announcements which may affect them.
27. Employees on ML should continue to have the same access to training and career progression as other employees and should not be disadvantaged in any way by their absence.
Keeping in touch days (KIT days)
28. An employee and their manager can agree that the employee may work up to 10 'keeping in touch' (KIT) days during maternity leave, without bringing the maternity leave to an end. KIT days are not mandatory and are not an automatic entitlement; they should be mutually agreed upon between the manager and the employee.
29. KIT days can be used for any activity that the employee would normally undertake if they were at work. Examples of activities are attendance on training courses, meetings, briefings, and conferences. The time should be used productively and agreed upon in advance.
30. Any work undertaken on a KIT day will count as a whole KIT day and will be subtracted from the 10 day allowance.
31. Employees will be paid their normal rate of pay to the nearest half or full day for any KIT days they work, in addition to any SMP/SMA and/or OMP they are receiving at the time the KIT day is worked. Payment for KIT days is funded by the department budget.
32. Payments for KIT days are subject to deductions for tax and NI but will not be eligible for salary sacrifice. Whether payments for KIT days are pensionable is dependent on the particular pension scheme. Please contact Pensions for further information.
33. Employees should complete the online KIT/SPLIT Day form, with the dates worked. Once signed by the Line Manager, this will be sent to the Departmental Administrator/Local HR Contact, who will raise this payment via Departmental Transactions using the “KIT Day Payment” pay element. This should be submitted on, or after the KIT day has been worked.
Annual leave and parental leave
34. Where an employee will take a period of at least 6 weeks of any form of parental leave, UCL will require the employee to take a reasonable proportion of untaken annual leave (including annual leave carried forward and purchased annual leave) before the parental leave begins, to ensure that arrangements for carrying leave forward under the Annual Leave Policy are adhered to wherever possible.
Please see Table of annual leave accural before Parental Leave
35. Annual leave (pro-rata for part-time staff) is accrued throughout any period of parental leave.
36. Except for 5 days which can be automatically carried over and taken at any time during the following leave year, employees should, where possible, take annual leave accrued during parental leave in the leave year in which it is accrued. Employees will normally only be allowed to carry over more than 5 days’ leave into the next leave year if it has not been possible to take it. Where parental leave crosses two annual leave years, annual leave accrued during the period of parental leave in the first leave year can be carried over to the next leave year, but must be taken immediately following the parental leave, and before returning to work.
Bank Holidays and Closure Days during any type of parental leave
37. Bank holidays and UCL closure days accrue during parental leave and must be manually added to the employee's annual leave balance. This should be done via Employee Self Service in MyHR. Please see the guide to adjust annual leave entitlement.
38. Accrued bank holidays and closure days must be taken immediately following ML, and before returning to work.
Authorised deductions from pay
39. Where an employee has authorised salary deductions (e.g. Trade Union membership subscriptions or Give as You Earn) these payments will continue to be deducted during maternity leave. Unless instructed otherwise, UCL will continue to pay all of an employee's authorised deductions during the period of unpaid maternity leave and these contributions will be recovered from future salary payments.
40. If an employee wishes to cancel any authorised salary deductions or contributions whilst on maternity leave, they should contact MyServices. For details of how maternity leave affects pension contributions, employees should contact the HR Pension Services Teams.
Pregnancy and baby loss
41. Where the employee experiences pregnancy loss before 24 weeks into their pregnancy, they will be entitled to 10 days paid leave. Further details are outlined in the Special Leave Policy.
42. Where an employee has a stillbirth from 24 weeks of pregnancy onwards, or the baby only survives for a short period of time after birth, full maternity leave and maternity pay will be retained, irrespective of the timing of the birth. In addition, they are entitled to take 4 weeks’ paid bereavement leave, which can be added to the end of their maternity leave. For further details, please read the Special Leave Policy.
43. Employees can access support and counselling via the Employee Assistance Programme.
44. Employees may also wish to access support from various baby loss organisations.
Neonatal Care leave
45. Please see the Neonatal Care Leave policy for details on leave and pay arrangements for employees whose baby has received at least 7 consecutive days of neonatal care, within the first 28 days of birth.
Returning to work
46. Employees wishing to take any additional periods of leave such as unpaid parental leave or carer's leave should refer to the relevant policy.
47. Employees wishing to amend their working pattern on their return to work, should refer to the Flexible Working Policy.
48. Academic employees returning from ML (where a single block of leave is more than 3 calendar months duration) are entitled to take one term of Research Leave, without teaching commitments, in accordance with the principles set out in the Research Leave Policy.
49. A risk assessment should be carried out if new mothers are breastfeeding or expressing milk at work.
Quiet rooms
50. There are quiet, private rooms in various UCL buildings which can be used by expectant mothers to rest, or for expressing/breastfeeding. Reasonable paid time off is permitted for employees who need to use these facilities.
Ending employment by resignation
51. Employees who decide not to return to work, during or following a period of ML, should give the correct amount of notice to resign in line with their contract of employment. Their employment will end once their notice period comes to an end. There is no requirement to repay any OMP or SMP.
52. When processing the employee as a leaver in MyHR the leaver reason to be selected is "Maternity- not returned".
53. UCL will pay the appropriate OMP entitlement until the last day of employment. After this date, if an employee is entitled to any SMP, this will be paid as a lump sum in their final payslip, plus any outstanding annual leave.
Ending employment by redundancy
54. An employee who is pregnant, on maternity leave or has returned from maternity leave, and is potentially at risk of redundancy or their contract is due to end, will be consulted as appropriate in accordance with the Termination Procedure or Organisational Change Procedure.
55. They will have priority status for redeployment opportunities in line with the Redeployment Procedure.
56. UCL will pay the appropriate OMP entitlement until the last day of employment. After this date, if an employee is entitled to SMP, this will be paid as a lump sum in their final payslip, plus any outstanding annual leave.
Financial assistance for departments
57. The department may request financial assistance to cover the duties of the employee while on any form of parental leave which cannot be covered by other staff in the department within their usual working week.
