Apply for maternity leave
This guidance is for pregnant UCL employees. Please refer to the policy for full details of maternity leave entitlement and eligibility.
Before you start
There are two things you need to do to apply for maternity leave:
- notify your manager, preferably in writing; and
- complete the online maternity leave application form.
Both need to be done by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (or as soon as you can).
Please note: For some departments, a copy of your confirmation of maternity leave letter will need to be forwarded to your local HR contact - your line manager/PI will provide us with a name and email address when they sign off the form.
3. HR Services will write to you within four weeks of receiving your form.
4. To begin your application for maternity leave you will need to know:
- your estimated due-date;
- the date you would like to begin your maternity leave;
- Your proposed date of return (If unsure, you can provide us with an estimated return date, and update us via the Online Maternity Application form to notify us of any changes to your end date.)
Please Note: Your line manager should also conduct a Pregnancy Risk assessment and attach evidence that this has been completed, before signing the form
- 1. Fill out the maternity leave form
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- Please ensure that you have your Mat B1 form (Or accepted equivalent) ready to attach to the form. HR Services will not be able to process your maternity application without it.
- If you are still waiting for your Mat B1 form, you can save your progress by selecting 'finish later' in the top right hand corner of the form. You will then recieve an email from Docusign which will contain a link to your application form, please keep this safe as you will need this link to finish of your application.
- Once you have completed your form, it will be automatically sent to your line manager to sign off, and once they have done so, the form will then go automatically to HR Services to process.
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- 2. Form goes to your line manager
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- Your line manager will receive the form automatically via email once you have completed your section of the online form.
- Your line manager will then need to sign the form after they have been able to provide details of how they propose to cover your duties.
- Your line manager will also need to attach proof that they have conducted a Pregnancy Risk Assessment, by attaching the PDF downloaded from riskNET to the form when prompted to do so.
- If you are grant funded, the PI section is designed to act as a visual prompt for your PI to notify your funder to ensure that your Grant funding is not impacted by you going on leave.
- Once they have signed the form, it will automatically be sent to HR Services to process your application.
- 3. Form goes to HR Services
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- Once your line manager signs off their section, it will be automatically be sent to HR Services to process.
- Within four weeks of receiving your application, HR Services will email youto confirm your maternity leave has been processed.
- If in the event you need to change the start or end date of your maternity leave, please give HR Services at least four weeks' notice via email (hr-services@ucl.ac.uk) stating your revised dates so that your record can be amended.
- Your line manager will then need to sign the form after they have been able to provide details of how they propose to cover your duties.
- Once they have signed the form, it will automatically be sent to HR Services to process your application.
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- 4. Amendments to your Application
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- To amend the start date of an existing application please use the Online Materity leave form. You must must give four weeks' notice of your new start date, unless your maternity leave is automatically triggered as per the UCL Maternity Leave policy (see paragraph 31).
- To amend your return to work date, you must give at least eight weeks notice of your intention to return to work, if the date is earlier than previously agreed (or, if that is not possible, as soon as is reasonably practicable). You will need to provide the new date via the Online Maternity Leave application (select "Amendment" and then the type of amendment required). Please do NOT send anymore amendments directly to HR Services.
- If your existing application has not been processed yet, please void that one before submitting a new application with the correct dates.
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