Organising childcare for a new baby was a challenge before the pandemic and has become extraordinarily difficult in the current environment. You must notify your employer of your intention to take maternity leave by the end of the 15th week before your child is due, and you must give your employer the information in writing if they request it. You need to register with HMRC so you can pay tax and national insurance for your employees. You’ve accepted all cookies. Your maternity leave may commence no earlier than the 11th week before the Expected Week of Childbirth. 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I live [Add your location of address] and you are my local MP. When the lockdown began, we were sent a 12-week shielding letter. We know that women are struggling to organise safe, reliable, affordable childcare and many cannot return to work as they had planned. Most of my family, who live in Northern Ireland, have not met her in person yet.”. Kirsty, from Harlow, Essex, says: “I have no choice but to take three months’ unpaid leave at the end of my statutory maternity pay. You do get annual leave when on maternity leave, so you could use it to get longer than a year, but that would only get you another month or so. There are, unfortunately, few legal protections for women in this situation. No, despite petitions to lengthen the amount of time you get on maternity leave, there have been no changes made. This view was backed by Dr Trudi Seneviratne, the chairman of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Faculty of Perinatal Psychiatry, who said financial support was critical. Find out about maternity pay. I understand that I qualify for 52 weeks’ maternity leave, made up of 26 weeks ordinary maternity leave and a further 26 weeks additional maternity leave. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. More than 180k people have now signed a petition calling for maternity leave to be extended by three months - 'to allow for this development and bonding to take place'. To benefit from maternity leave, you should tell your employer by the end of the 15th week before the week your baby is due, when you give notice of your intention to take maternity leave and claim Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP). The learning support assistant was due to return to work in July, but nurseries have been shut for viewings or refusing to take on new children temporarily, meaning son Jake does not have a place yet. Your employer only has to keep your job open for 1 year. You must give this notice to your employer before the end of the 15thweek before your baby is due at the latest. Mothers will have to give employers an extra week's notice of when they intend to start and return … Ask for leave extension and suggest a new date. Furlough costs so much more than SMP, why would the government reject an extension? Self-employed mums can choose to extend their own maternity leave beyond 52 weeks, however, you won't get paid for longer than 39 weeks, which is the maximum length of time you can claim Maternity Allowance for. She said: “One of the key things you are supposed to do on maternity leave is to prepare for the transition of returning. I don’t have the option to provide 8 weeks notice to my employer - can I still extend my maternity leave? I’ve had to extend my maternity leave and take it unpaid. For example: All employers owe on-going duty to avoid risks at work to all More than 50,000 people have added their names to the petition, calling for the UK Government to extend maternity leave for three months. She helped rebuild my confidence. You build up holiday as normal while you’re on maternity leave. More than three-quarters of parents who have signed the petition said they would not be able to find childcare to return to work in the current circumstances due to nursery closures and grandparents being off limits, with 81 percent considering a delay. Employers are required to offer pregnant workers safe working conditions, suspension on full pay or furlough arrangements, but many women have been wrongly told to take early maternity leave instead. Changing the date you start maternity leave. My childcare arrangements have fallen through - I’ve managed to secure a nursery but any son can’t start there until mid October. We’ll send you a link to a feedback form. She says: “I will need time off her many appointments and I know I will not mentally capable of going back, meaning I will have to take unpaid leave. The father-of-one said: “My wife and I feel this is a vulnerable group which has been forgotten about by the government.”. The financial worry of this will make my mental health deteriorate further. Mother-of-two Kirsty Pearce faces going into debt because she cannot get childcare for her baby and has had to extend her maternity leave without pay. Olivia says: “My own appointments have been postponed too. You have a right to return to work after your maternity leave. You can change your cookie settings at any time. Thursday, 17th December 2020 See today's front and back pages, download the newspaper, I’m one of the thousands of new Mums and Parents who have found it extremely hard on Maternity/ Parental Leave. I’m wanting to raise a concern to the UK Government that many new Mothers are feeling at the moment whilst us Mothers are on Maternity leave with very young babies. This gives mothers less time with their new babies, which is deeply unfair. You must also give at least 4 weeks’ written notice if you want to take the 16 weeks’ additional maternity leave. If you have a partner, you might be able to use Shared Parental Leave (SPL). She told the Petitions Committee: “We know that concerns about financial stability and employment all feed into developing depression and anxiety.”. No you can't extend it to 2 years. Maternity leave. You may be able to take this holiday at the end of your leave, which will effectively extend your leave. Grace, 31, said: “My health visitor was amazing and really took care of me, coming to see me at home regularly. The UK’s Maternity Leave offer is already amongst the most generous in the World – up to 52 weeks of leave are available, 39 weeks of which are paid – and we currently have no plans to extend it. Don’t worry we won’t send you spam or share your email address with anyone. Precautions to protect Genevieve from COVID-19 mean all of her medical appointments have been cancelled, with essential physio taking place online. Workers stood down from their jobs under this system are paid up to 80 percent of their monthly wage, capped at £2,500, and government guidelines allow companies to use this to relieve staff with caring responsibilities. “Having an extension of the paid leave would take off the pressure, financially and emotionally, so I can tackle Lily’s separation anxiety and not worry about the bills.”. to end your leave later, tell your employer at least 8 weeks before your old end date; If you decide not to return to work, your contract will tell you what notice to give - if there’s nothing in your contract, you need to give at least 1 week’s notice. This can start any time after your 29th week. ... up to the 15 week notice. Martin Lewis offers advice on maternity leave and furlough, Coronation Street spoilers: Rosie Webster's return sealed ? If you want to extend your time away from work beyond this, you may need to … • Ros Bragg, Director of Maternity Action, the UK’s leading maternity rights charity. “My Dennis is a key worker for a delivery company who does night shifts and sleeps in the mornings. You can unsubscribe at any time. That is a lot of money to young families, so we are running a legal challenge arguing for Maternity Allowance to be treated in the same way as Statutory Maternity Pay. “On our advice lines, Maternity Action is hearing from hundreds of mothers on maternity leave struggling to deal with the impacts of the pandemic on their work and income. Provide reasons. But this will not start until 2023 and Olivia, from Ashtead, Surrey, is due back to work as a teacher in October. But no petitions are being put to Parliament because of the COVID-19 pandemic. I understand that if I wish to change this date I have to give you a minimum of 28 days’ notice. “They seem to be helping certain groups and ignoring others.”. He said: “The impact of the pandemic on newborns and their families is one of the areas where precious little attention has been paid so far. Introduce yourself and indicate the date when your leave normally expires. ... to 12 weeks' notice. You can notify them earlier than this, and there are many reasons why this can be a good idea. For further advice and guidance, check out our resignation letter templates and samples. At least 15 weeks before the baby is expected, your employees must tell you the date that: You must then confirm their leave start and end dates in writing within 28 days. Shadow health minister Justin Madders is among politicians who are now calling for a debate on the issue. “But nurseries are not allowing any viewings and although my mum has offered to look after the baby, she hasn’t seen Lily in over 12 weeks. “Being on maternity leave meant we were on a tight budget anyway. The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has stated there are no plans to extend paid leave at present, telling petitioners: “The UK’s maternity leave offer is already amongst the most generous in the world.”. Following a consultation, which Slater and Gordon responded to, the Government has now announced that it will extend that period from notification of pregnancy (whether orally or in writing) through to six months after the woman returns to work. “My GP has referred me counselling for post-traumatic stress but I cannot access those services.”. I have not been able to have scans to check why I went into labour prematurely or obtain the free dental care new mums are entitled to. Shared Parental Leave. You also need to make checks when you recruit and employ someone. Make sure that they are valid and make sense. We live in a small flat so before the pandemic, Lily and I would go out to give him some rest, seeing family and doing activities like swimming. I don’t understand why the government isn’t listening.”. Women on maternity leave have additional protections against unfair redundancy, however these protections cease at the end of their leave. Goodbyes could be tough. Current UK rules give new mothers up to a year off, six weeks of it at 90 per cent of the mother’s average pay, followed by 33 weeks on statutory maternity pay of £128.73 a week. More than 220,000 people have signed a parliamentary petition requesting an extra 13 weeks of Statutory Maternity Pay, while a post on the issue on the House of Commons Facebook page attracted a record 25,000 comments. Edinburgh mothers have voiced their support for a growing petition to have maternity leave extended due to the Coronavirus lockdown. She was due to return towork by 30th October, 1995, but this was extended due to ill healthby four weeks until 27th November, (in accordance with thestatutory provisions). The earliest you can start your maternity leave is 11 weeks before your expected week of childbirth. This is usually the same date they want to start their leave. We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Even if I could find a nursery place, I wouldn’t be able to go inside to do the usual settling in sessions.”. It is deeply unfair for women to lose their jobs purely because they had a baby. This response was given on 14 May 2020. 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