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Under the Work & Families (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 all pregnant employees with babies expected on or after 1^st April 2007 are entitled to a years maternity leave consisting of 26 weeks Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML) and 26 weeks Additional Maternity Leave (AML) regardless of their length of service.

An employee will qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) if she has been continuously employed by her employer for 26 weeks by 15 weeks before the week her baby is due (ie around the 25^th week of pregnancy), and earns at least enough to be relevant for National Insurance purposes.

Under the new legislation an employee should inform her employer (in writing if requested) no later than the end of the 15^th week before the baby is due that:

·        she is pregnant (you can do this sooner if you wish – the laws which protect you at work only apply once your employer knows you are pregnant)

·        the expected week of childbirth

·        when she wants her maternity leave to start

An employer must notify the employee of the end date of her maternity leave within 28 days of receiving her notification.  The woman can change the date she starts her maternity leave as long as she gives, where possible, 28 days notice to her employer.

If you aren’t planning to take your full maternity leave you must give 8 weeks notice of your return date.  You can change your mind later on as long as you give eight weeks’ notice of any change to that date. 

For pregnant employees whose baby is due on or after 1^st April 2007, SMP will be paid for 39 weeks.  Six weeks is paid at 90% of average weekly earnings and 33 weeks at a flat rate (currently £117.18 week) or 90% of average weekly earnings if that amount is lower.  Tax and National Insurance are payable on SMP.  Some employers also offer extra maternity pay on top of what you are entitled to under the law.

If a woman does not qualify for SMP she may, if she meets qualifying conditions based on her recent employment and earnings record, be able to claim Maternity Allowance (MA).  MA is paid for 39 weeks at a flat rate (currently £117.18 week) or 90% of the woman’s average weekly earnings if that amount is less.  Your employer must tell you if you don’t qualify for SMP by giving you form SMP1 which you can take to your local Jobs & Benefits office to claim MA.

The new legislation also allows for ‘Keeping in Touch Days’.  The employee can do up to 10 days work under her contract of employment, as long as both she and her employer have agreed for this to happen, have agreed on what work is to be done and how much she will be paid for it.  ’Work’ in this context is not limited to the employee’s usual job and can include training or any activity undertaken for the purposes of keeping in touch with the workplace.  This will not affect her maternity leave or pay.

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