You can choose how long you take off work for maternity leave, up to a maximum of 52 weeks. However, the law says that you must take at least two weeks immediately after the baby is born. If you work in a factory, you must take at least four weeks.

The period of payment, highly depends on which mode of payment you are on. You may qualify for SMP, Maternal Allowance, statutory sick pay, statutory adoption pay, or ordinary statutory paternity pay.

If you qualify for SMP, it is paid:

• for the first six weeks at 90 per cent of your average gross weekly earnings with no upper limit
• for the remaining 33 weeks at the lower of either the standard rate of £128.73, or 90 per cent of your average gross weekly earnings

If you’re pregnant or have a new baby but don’t qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) from any employer, you may be able to claim Maternity Allowance (MA) through Job centre Plus. Maternity Allowance pays a standard weekly rate of £128.73 or 90 per cent of your average gross weekly earnings (before tax), whichever is the smaller.

MA is paid for a maximum period of 39 weeks.

The amount of Maternity Allowance you get depends on your gross average weekly earnings or the amount you are treated as earning from your self-employment. Maternity Allowance can be paid every two weeks or every four weeks directly into your bank or building society.

The earliest you can get Maternity Allowance is from the 11th week before the week your baby’s due. The latest you can get it is from the day following your child’s birth. If an employee is unable to work because she is ill she may be able to get the Statutory Sick Pay. It is paid by your employer and can be paid for up to 28 weeks. The standard weekly rate for SSP is £81.60 a week.

Statutory Adoption Pay is a weekly payment you get from your employer to help take time off work when you adopt a child.

If your average weekly earnings are £102 or more (before tax), Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay is paid for one or two consecutive weeks at £128.73 or 90 per cent of your average weekly earnings if this is less.

• Who is eligible
• How, where and when to apply
• What information / documents needed
• Payments
• When will you receive your first payment
• How much will you receive (depending on model)
• How long can you receive payments
• When to inform your Employer
• Earliest possible starting date for Maternity Leave
• How long do I receive Benefits
• Sickness while on Maternity Leave
• Additional income / Working while on Maternity Leave
• What are my Responsibilities
• Contact Authorities-Local Contacts

To qualify for Statutory Maternity Leave you must be an employee. If you are an employee and you give your employer the correct notice, you can take Statutory Maternity Leave no matter:

• how long you have been with your employer
• how many hours you work
• how much you are paid

The only pre-condition for maternity leave is that the woman is an employee, therefore self-employed staff and contractors may not be entitled to the statutory minimum. The following conditions have to be met:

• she has been employed by the employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (EWC);
• she has average earnings at or above the lower earnings limit for the payment of national insurance contributions for the 8 weeks before the 14th week before the EWC;
• she has given 28 days’ notice to the employer that she intends stopping work due to pregnancy and to receive SMP;
• she has medical evidence of the expected week of childbirth;
• she is pregnant (or has already given birth) at the start of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth; and she has stopped work (wholly or partly) because of pregnancy

If you are a worker, your employer may allow you to take unpaid leave. Alternatively, you could consider taking paid holiday, unpaid leave or parental leave. You may still be entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay. Fathers are also entitled to paternal leave under the following conditions:

Basically, if you have been employed by the same employer since before your partner became pregnant, you’ll probably be eligible for paternity leave – but you’ll need to still be employed by them when the baby is born.

The precise criteria are:

• you must have a contract of employment (most agency workers and contractors are not eligible)
• you must have been working for the same employer for 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the beginning of the week the baby is due (translation – about when the baby was conceived)
• you must be either the biological father, or the mother’s father or partner (counts for same-sex couples too)
• you will be involved in the care of the child and are taking time off to care for the baby or support the mother

Parental / Maternity Leave Information – Table of Content

When applying for a parental leave in the UK, there are certain things one needs to know. The application process includes a formal letter of application, and an application form. In the letter of application, it is important to include when you wish to start your leave and the due date or due week of your delivery. It is also important to state what type of leave you are applying for and if you wish to combine it with your annual leave as the case below.

Below are examples of the contents of a formal maternal leave application letter:

“I wish to apply for maternity leave from 31^st July 2009 and have attached the relevant form of application. As you are aware, I am pregnant and the baby is due on the 20^th of August 2009. I wish to apply for full maternity benefit for the period of maternity leave beginning 31^st July 2009 up to 20^th June 2010. I shall intimate any delay, if any, in my resuming duties and similarly, will notify if I am to join earlier than 20^th August.

I have not taken any annual leave for this year and wish to combine it with the maternity leave and request that I may be allowed to do so. I request you to kindly confirm the dates of relieving and resuming.”

You can choose when to start your maternity leave. It can be at any time in, or after, the 11th week before your baby is due. However, your maternity leave will start automatically if you’re off work for any reason to do with your pregnancy from the fourth week before your baby is due.

The application process can be done by the Human Resource Office in your work place although some institutions and organizations encourage online applications. Which ever way one applies it is still important to make a visit to the Human Resource office and find out if your application was received in good time.

As for when to apply for your leave, you must tell your employer, preferably in writing, by the end of the 15th week before your baby is due. You must provide the information on these:

• That you’re pregnant
• The date your baby is due
• The date you want your maternity leave to start.

Parental / Maternity Leave Information – Table of Content

In life most things must be done and organized systematically to ensure the smooth running of our lifestyles. Pregnancy being one of life’s natural experiences for most women, it  must be properly organized to ensure no unplanned hiccups come up or sprout seemingly from no where to disturb this special process of creation.

It is this very reason that then demands a maternal leave. A time to give the mother a break to do whatever it is she wishes. But before one comes to the leave (a much awaited time), What does a mother need to know before taking that paper and pen to apply for her parental leave? What documents are needed to apply for your parental leave?

Below is the information that must be notified to the employer by the end of the 15th week before the Expected Week of Childbirth “the EWC” unless this is not reasonably practicable, failing which, the right to your maternity or parental leave may be forfeited or denied:

• confirmation of the fact of pregnancy;
• confirmation of the EWC;
• confirmation of the date on which the woman intends to commence Ordinary Maternity Leave (this confirmation must be given in writing);
• If so required by the employer, a certificate from a registered practitioner or a registered midwife stating the EWC.

The confirmation of your pregnancy is needed as prove of your right to get your leave. In addition to that, the confirmation of date on which you must commence your leave is done in writing and can be changed. One it can be changed to an earlier date incase of pregnancy complications. Two it can be rescheduled to a later date for women who need to maximize their leave once the baby is born.

The employer must respond to this notification within 28 days of receipt of this information and confirm her expected date of return to work if she is to take her full entitlement of Ordinary Maternity Leave and, if applicable, Additional Maternity Leave.

Ordinary Maternity Leave may start at any time after the beginning of the 11th week before the EWC or in any case the day after the birth. Statute prohibits a mother from returning to work until at least two weeks after childbirth. The two week period commences with the day of childbirth.

Parental / Maternity Leave Information – Table of Content

While you are on maternity leave, you may be entitled to maternity pay either under your contract of employment or by law through Statutory Maternity Pay or Maternity Allowance, which can be paid for up to 39 weeks. The rules about maternity pay depend on how long you’ve worked for your employer, how much you earn and what your contract says.

If a woman is entitled to SMP, the first 6 weeks are payable at the higher rate, being ninety per cent (90%) of her average weekly earnings. For the following 20 weeks, she will receive the less of ninety per cent (90%) of her average weekly earnings or the standard rate determined from time to time.

Your employer will usually pay you in the same way and at the same time as your normal wages. It can be paid for up to 39 weeks.

To qualify for SMP you must have been:

• employed by the same employer continuously for at least 26 weeks into the 15th week before the week your baby is due (the qualifying week)
• earning on average an amount which at least equals the lower earnings limit which applies on the Saturday at the end of your qualifying week

The lower earnings limit is the amount you have to earn before you are treated as paying National Insurance contributions. This is £102 a week if the end of your qualifying week is in the 2011-12 tax year.

If you have a visa that allows you to live and work in the United Kingdom you may be able to get SMP. If your visa includes the condition that you have “no recourse to public funds” you may still get SMP provided you satisfy the qualifying conditions. The qualifying conditions for SMP depend on your recent employment and earnings history. Because of this SMP does not constitute public funds.

To make a claim for SMP, you must:

• tell your employer when you want your SMP to start
• provide medical evidence of the date your baby is due

If you qualify for SMP, it is paid:

• for the first six weeks at 90 per cent of your average gross weekly earnings with no upper limit
• for the remaining 33 weeks at the lower of either the standard rate of £128.73, or 90 per cent of your average gross weekly earnings

Parental / Maternity Leave Information – Table of Content

The earliest your Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) can start is from the 11th week before the week your baby is due. The latest is from the day following the birth. If you continue to be employed into the 11 weeks before the week your baby is due, you can choose the date when you want to start getting your SMP. You do not have to be actually at work to have this choice. For example, you might be off sick.

SMP will start from any day you choose once you have stopped work to have your baby. This means your SMP should start from the first day of your maternity leave.

Circumstances that may make a difference to your start date include but not limited to:

1.     If you are off work because of your pregnancy:
The start of your SMP will change if you are off work because of your pregnancy, either at the start of or in the four weeks before the week in which your baby is due. If this happens, SMP will start from the day following the first complete day you are off work for a pregnancy related reason in this four week period.

2.     If  you leave your employment:
If you leave at any time after the start of the 11th week before the week your baby is due and before the start of your Maternity Pay Period (MPP), your SMP will start from the day after you left your employment.

3.     If your baby is born early:
The start of your SMP will change if your baby is born more than 11 weeks early i.e. before the date you chose to start your SMP. If this happens your SMP will start from the day following the birth of your baby.

4.     Premature:
If your baby is born early but after the start of your MPP, SMP will continue to be paid for 39 weeks from the date your MPP started. If your baby is stillborn after the start of the 25th week of your pregnancy, you are entitled to the same SMP you would have received if your baby had been born alive.

5.     Stillbirths:
If your baby is stillborn earlier than the 25th week of your pregnancy you will not be able to get any SMP, but you may be able to get Statutory Sick Pay (SSP).

Parental / Maternity Leave Information – Table of Content

If you qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) it is paid for a maximum period of 39 weeks. It is paid:

• for the first six weeks at 90 per cent of your average gross weekly earnings with no upper limit
• for the remaining 33 weeks at the lower of either the standard rate of £128.73, or 90 per cent of your average gross weekly earnings

Your employer will usually pay you SMP in the same way and at the same time as your normal wages. SMP is treated as earnings so your employer will deduct Income Tax and NI contributions. Your employer may also make other deductions that would be made from your pay such as trade union subscriptions and pension contributions.

If you are expecting more than one baby, the SMP you will get will be exactly the same as if you were expecting only one baby. Even if you don’t intend to return to work, you can still get SMP. You don’t have to repay it if you decide not to return to work. Once you have qualified for SMP your employer must pay it to you even if you leave employment with them.

Entitlement to SMP does not affect your right to any other maternity payments provided by your employer. But SMP will count towards any maternity payments your employer pays you.

To qualify for SMP your average weekly earnings must be at least equal to the lower earnings limit (LEL). The LEL that applies to you is the one which is current on the Saturday at the end of your qualifying week. The LEL changes every year. The LEL is £102 a week in the 2011-12 tax years.

If you get sick pay, overtime payments, bonus payments, arrears of pay or holiday pay this is all included to work out your SMP, if you actually get them in your set period. It is when you get paid the money that counts, not when it was actually earned. If your employer awards a pay rise which is effective at any time from the start of the set period used to work out your SMP and the end of your maternity leave, your employer must work out your SMP again and pay you any balance due to you.

Parental / Maternity Leave Information – Table of Content

If you qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) it is paid for a maximum period of 39 weeks. It is paid:

• for the first six weeks at 90 per cent of your average gross weekly earnings with no upper limit
• for the remaining 33 weeks at the lower of either the standard rate of £128.73, or 90 per cent of your average gross weekly earnings

Your employer will usually pay you SMP in the same way and at the same time as your normal wages. SMP is treated as earnings so your employer will deduct Income Tax and NI contributions. Your employer may also make other deductions that would be made from your pay such as trade union subscriptions and pension contributions.

If you are expecting more than one baby, the SMP you will get will be exactly the same as if you were expecting only one baby. Even if you don’t intend to return to work, you can still get SMP. You don’t have to repay it if you decide not to return to work. Once you have qualified for SMP your employer must pay it to you even if you leave employment with them.

Entitlement to SMP does not affect your right to any other maternity payments provided by your employer. But SMP will count towards any maternity payments your employer pays you.

To qualify for SMP your average weekly earnings must be at least equal to the lower earnings limit (LEL). The LEL that applies to you is the one which is current on the Saturday at the end of your qualifying week. The LEL changes every year. The LEL is £102 a week in the 2011-12 tax years.

If you get sick pay, overtime payments, bonus payments, arrears of pay or holiday pay this is all included to work out your SMP, if you actually get them in your set period. It is when you get paid the money that counts, not when it was actually earned. If your employer awards a pay rise which is effective at any time from the start of the set period used to work out your SMP and the end of your maternity leave, your employer must work out your SMP again and pay you any balance due to you.

Parental / Maternity Leave Information – Table of Content

You must tell your employer, preferably in writing, by the end of the 15th week before your baby is due of the following facts:

• That you’re pregnant
• The date your baby is due
• The date you want your maternity leave to start.

You must produce a medical certificate (MATB1), if your employer asks for one, showing when your baby is due. You can get your MATB1 from your midwife or GP.

Once your employer has received your notice that you want to take maternity leave, they must write to you within 28 days and tell you the date your maternity leave runs out and therefore the date when you are expected to return to work from maternity leave.

When you are on maternity leave, your employer should keep you informed of issues which may affect you. For example, you should be informed of any relevant promotion opportunities or job vacancies that arise during your period of maternity leave.

The amount and type of contact between you and your employer must be reasonable. Contact can be made in any way that best suits either or both of you. You are also allowed to work for up to ten days during your maternity leave without it affecting your maternity pay. These are called ‘Keeping in Touch Days’.

Both you and your employer must agree about whether you work any keeping in Touch Days, how many you will work, when you will work them and how much you will be paid for them. You are under no obligation to work them and your employer is under no obligation to offer them to you.

You must also agree between you what sort of work you will do. Keeping in Touch Days could be particularly useful in enabling you to attend a conference, undertake a training activity or attend for a team meeting.

The rate of pay is a matter for agreement with your employer. It may be set out in your employment contract or agreed on a case-by-case basis. However, you must be paid at least the National Minimum Wage.

Fathers must inform their employers of their wish to take paternity leave by the end of the 15th week before the EWC, unless this is not reasonably practicable.

Parental / Maternity Leave Information – Table of Content

You can choose when to start your maternity leave. It can be at any time in, or after, the 11th week before your baby is due. That means two months, nine weeks before your due date or week. However, your maternity leave will start automatically if you’re off work for any reason to do with your pregnancy from the fourth week before your baby is due. This is provided in case of pregnancy related complications that may seem harmful to you and your baby.

You can start your Statutory Maternity Leave any time from 11 weeks before the beginning of the week when your baby’s due. If you are off work because of your pregnancy within four weeks of the expected birth date, your employer can make you start your Statutory Maternity Leave then.

You do not have to take all of your Statutory Maternity Leave. However, you must take two weeks (or four weeks if you work in a factory) of ‘compulsory’ maternity leave after your baby is born. You can still take your Statutory Maternity Leave if your child is stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy or born alive at any point of the pregnancy.

The father of your child or your partner could have the right to up to 26 weeks’ Additional Paternity Leave. This is in addition to the two weeks’ Statutory Paternity Leave they could be entitled to. Additional Paternity Leave can be taken 20 weeks after the child is born. It must finish before the child’s first birthday.

The Statutory Paternity Leave starts two weeks after the baby is born while the Additional paternity leave therefore starts five months after the baby is born.

SML also begins on the day after the day of childbirth if the birth occurs before:

• the notified SML start date
• the employee has notified you of any SML start date

This applies even if the birth takes place before the start of the 11th week before the EWC. In these circumstances, the employee should give you notice – in writing if you request it – of:

• the date of the birth if it has already taken place
• the original expected date of birth

The employee can provide you with evidence of the actual and expected dates of birth on the maternity certificate (MATB1) provided by her doctor or midwife.

Parental / Maternity Leave Information – Table of Content

The payment you receive to cover you and your unborn child during pregnancy highly depends on the mode of leave you apply and qualify for. If you continue to be employed into the 11 weeks before the week your baby is due, you can choose the date when you want to start getting your SMP (Statutory Maternity Pay). You do not have to be actually at work to have this choice. For example, you might be off sick.

SMP will start from any day you choose once you have stopped work to have your baby. This means your SMP should start from the first day of your maternity leave. If your employment ends before the start of the 11th week before the week your baby is due, your SMP will start at that 11th week.

SMP can be paid for up to 39 weeks, this is called the Maternity Pay Period (MPP). If you are unemployed you may receive Maternity Allowance. This will start 11 weeks before your baby is due. If you are working, you can start claiming 11 weeks before your baby is due, but you can delay claiming up until the day following the birth. It is paid for up to 39 weeks.

Apart from the SMP and Maternity Allowance, you may also be granted the SSMG.

The Sure Start Maternity Grant (SSMG) is a lump sum of £500. It is intended for people on a low income to help with buying things needed for a new baby. However, you can spend the money on anything. It can be claimed any time from the 29th week of pregnancy until the baby is three months old. People who are adopting a baby can also claim. This must be within three months of the adoption and the baby should not be more than 12 months old when you claim.

It is payable if you or your partner receive Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance or Pension Credit. Some people who get Child Tax Credit or Working Tax Credit are also eligible, depending on circumstances. Your savings are not taken into account.

Payment of the grant is conditional upon your providing evidence that you have received health advice from a health professional GP, midwife or health visitor.

Parental / Maternity Leave Information – Table of Content

Sickness during maternity leave can be grouped into two: The first is sickness during maternity leave. During this period, an employee is not entitled to Statutory Sick Pay during the 39 week maternity pay period regardless of whether she has returned to work in that period. She may be eligible for Statutory Sick Pay after the maternity pay period if she satisfies the relevant eligibility criteria.

Unless your contractual sick pay scheme provides otherwise, an employee will not be entitled to contractual sick pay while she is on maternity leave. However, an employee may give 8 weeks notice to end her maternity leave early in order to benefit from her employer’s contractual sick pay scheme. This would mean that the employee is effectively “back at work” even though she would be on sick leave. She cannot opt to go back on to maternity leave once she is well again.

A woman on maternity leave has the same protected status as a woman who is pregnant. She must not be discriminated against, made to suffer a detriment or dismissed for a reason relating to her pregnancy or maternity leave.

The second is sickness at the end of a maternity leave. During this period, she should follow normal sickness procedures. An employee is unlikely to satisfy the eligibility criteria for Statutory Sick Pay if she did not receive any pay during the final 13 weeks of her maternity leave. She will be entitled to contractual sick pay in the normal way.

If an employee’s working conditions are affecting her health and safety on her return from maternity leave, you may need to carry out a risk assessment and take appropriate action.

Any pregnancy-related sickness absence and the time spent on maternity leave must still, however, be ignored for disciplinary purposes or if selecting for redundancy. An employee is protected against unfair dismissal in these circumstances. Failure to take appropriate action could result in a woman having to take sick leave if her working conditions are affecting her health and safety. Failure to carry out a risk assessment may constitute sex discrimination.

Pregnancy–related sickness should be recorded separately from other kinds of illness. The employer should not count pregnancy-related sickness towards an employee’s total sickness record or use pregnancy-related sickness absence as a reason for disciplinary action or when selecting for redundancy or for any other detrimental purpose.

Parental / Maternity Leave Information – Table of Content

Anticipating a new born is moment of great joy and anxiety for friends and family. However with all the happiness all around, a new born brings in new demands and increases a family budget whatsoever. This additional expenditure must be met and is a bit crucial because young infants are very delicate. So what should you do to earn an extra income at this critical point?

Income Support is extra money to help people on a low income. It’s for people who don’t have to sign on as unemployed. Whether you qualify or not and how much you get depends on your circumstances. It’s for people who all the following apply to:

• are between age 16 and the age they can get Pension Credit
• have a low income
• work less than 16 hours a week
• aren’t in full-time study (but there are some exceptions)
• don’t get Jobseeker’s Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance
• don’t have savings above £16,000
• live in Great Britain

You may get Income Support if you are one of the following:

• a lone parent
• on parental or paternity leave
• a carer
• a refugee learning English who arrived less than a year ago

If you take unpaid parental leave, or paternity leave (paid or unpaid), you may get Income Support. You must meet all other conditions for getting Income Support, and be entitled to one of the following benefits:

• Working Tax Credit
• Housing Benefit
• Council Tax Benefit
• Child Tax Credit  (at a higher rate than the family element)

Working Tax Credit provides support for working people, helping to top up earnings. Mothers who are already getting Working Tax Credit can continue to receive it while they are getting SMP or are absent from work during an ordinary maternity leave period or during the first 13 weeks of an additional maternity leave period. Mothers who were working at least 16 hours a week immediately before going on maternity leave may be able to claim Working Tax Credit while they are due SMP without having to wait until they return to work.

Parental / Maternity Leave Information – Table of Content

All pregnant women have the right to take at least 26 weeks’ maternity leave which is referred to as “Ordinary Maternity Leave”. Some women will be entitled to a longer period of leave because they satisfy certain qualifying conditions. This longer period is referred to as “Additional Maternity Leave. Others are:

• the right of all pregnant women to take time off work for ante-natal care
• the right of all pregnant women to work in a safe environment
• the right of all pregnant women to claim unfair dismissal if dismissed because of pregnancy

In addition to these rights, you have no automatic right to return to work part time after maternity leave. However, you may have the right to ask for flexible working and this request must be considered seriously by your employer. If they do not consider it seriously, this could be discrimination.

If you wish to return to work after AML, you should be offered your old job back, unless this is not reasonably practical. If it is not reasonably practical to offer you your old job back, you must be offered a job that is suitable for you and appropriate in the circumstances, on the same terms and conditions as your old job.

Pregnant mothers who have made an appointment to receive ante-natal care on the advice of a registered medical practitioner, midwife or health visitor, have the right (having first obtained the employer’s consent) to take time off with pay to keep the appointment. The woman must provide evidence of each appointment and, except for the first, produce a certificate stating that she is pregnant.

It is your responsibility to inform the employer about your pregnancy to ensure that the employer can assess any health and safety risks to the woman and her unborn child. If any risk is identified, the employer should notify the woman immediately and make arrangements to eliminate that risk.

Other rights include suspension from work on full pay if there is an unavoidable health and safety risk and an alternative job cannot be found and free dental care and NHS prescriptions for the length of your pregnancy and up to 12 months after the birth.

It is also a right not to suffer unfair treatment, be dismissed or selected for redundancy on grounds related to your pregnancy or maternity leave.

Parental / Maternity Leave Information – Table of Content

The US, as a western country, are still lacking a good Parental / Maternity Leave program. Only the FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act), which was established in 1993, comes close to such a program. But still, the FMLA is not comparable to other Maternity Leave programs other countries are providing. The possible leave written down in the FMLA can be both used of men and women in the first five years of their baby. It is not essential for them to have the Parental / Maternity leave already during pregnancy or immediately after the child was born.

The leave can be individually taken for fifteen weeks. If the partners a choosing a combined leave, then this leave should not exceed 65 weeks. Thanks to the FMLA it is now also for men easier if they want to stay a home for a couple of weeks to support their wife with taking care of the baby. Especially in the first couple of month a combined leave is very useful for a family. Although the FMLA already supports men and women to stay at home with their child it is still a long way for the US to establish a good Parental / Maternity leave program which will be comparable to other countries. In the UK for example the employees insurance takes the responsibility of the monetary aspects of the maternity leave. In the UK the government offers a good Parental / Maternity leave program for workers.

When applying for maternity leave, it is not necessary for women to provide a medical certificate.  They just have to submit a certificate that they are going to deliver a baby and they have to mention the approximate date of delivery of the child. The maternity leave can be used in different stages, means it is not required to avail the leave continuously.

There is definitely a need of good maternity leave programs. Therefore usually companies offer leave to their staffs, on humanitarian grounds, even if there is no law for paid maternity leave. The following links provide a good overview of the Parental / Maternity leave programs in the various countries:

• Parental / Maternity Leave in the US
• Parental / Maternity Leave in the UK
• Parental / Maternity Leave in Canada
• Parental / Maternity Leave in Australia

In the past there was no real need for Parental / Maternity Leave since usually the wife was staying at home and taking care of the kids. The world and the working-paradigm have changed and nowadays both partners are working and a balanced Parental / Maternity leave program is getting more and more important.

In the past, since there were only a few women workers, companies didn’t take care of them and they were not providing Parental Maternity Leave to them and some cases, they were granted unpaid maternity leave for a few weeks, that too, after the birth of the child. In the United States of America, there are no specific rules for the companies and so the companies do not have to allow paid Parental Maternity Leave to their workers.

Many companies are offering special medical leave for their women staffs, if they are working for a few years. Some companies even offer paid maternity leave for their staffs, and it is up to the management of the companies how to handle parental maternity leave.

Both, men and women are provided with Employees Insurance and they are eligible for Parental Maternity Leave and to avail this leave, they have to fulfill certain conditions and they have to produce confirmation certificate of pregnancy with the expected due date and they are allowed to take unpaid maternity leave and of course, the monetary benefits would be offered by their employees insurance company.

In the United Kingdom Parental Maternity Leave is provided by the companies to their staffs, and of course, without monetary benefits. They could avail this leave for the newborn, adoption and for placements. There are a few countries that offer paid Parental Maternity Leave for their government employees and the company acts provides benefits for the workers of private companies.

Generally, women and men are in need of leave to balance their families, whether they are provided with maternity or parental leave for them. In the United States of America, people are not worried by the rules, since many companies have their own rules and regulations. The purpose of availing maternity leave is to make proper arrangements for the protection of their child and to balance their lifestyle. Most of the countries offer unpaid or paid maternity leave for their employees, only after the birth of the child and there are only a few countries which offer maternity leave, during the pregnancy period also. It is up to the users of leave to decide when they want their leave. Job security is the main concern for the workers and if they have assurance for their jobs, they would not mind in availing unpaid maternity leave.

In some families, women are going to offices and men are rearing children at homes. So, the leave should benefit both men and women and the companies have to provide maternity or parental leave for both women and men and for this purpose, the companies should grant leave for both of them.

The TUC is the voice of Britain at work. With 58 affiliated unions representing 6.2 million working people from all walks of life, we campaign for a fair deal at work and for social justice at home and abroad. The TUC campaigns for decent employment rights, and helps unions make the most of advances in employment protection. This is where you can find our policy briefings and expert advice on employment law for unions.

The offices are located at:

Trades Union Congress
Congress House
Great Russell Street
London
WC1B 3LS
Tel: 020 7636 4030
Fax: 020 7636 0632

The Trades Union Congress:

• brings Britain’s unions together to draw up common policies
• lobbies the Government to implement policies that will benefit people at work
• campaigns on economic and social issues
• represents working people on public bodies
• represents British workers in international bodies, in the European Union and at the UN employment body – the International Labor Organisation
• carries out research on employment -related issues
• runs an extensive training and education programme for union representatives
• helps unions develop new services for their members
• helps unions avoid clashes with each other
• builds links with other trade union bodies worldwide

In Northern Ireland, advice on pregnancy and maternity rights is available on the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland’s website at www.equalityni.org.

Advice on pregnancy and maternity rights is also available on the website of the Equality and Human Rights Commission at: www.equalityhumanrights.com.

For advice on making a complaint, or to make a complaint over the telephone, please call the LGO Advice Team on 0300 061 0614 or 0845 602 1983. The Advice Team is available Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5.00pm, except for the period 9.30am-10.30am, Tuesday to Friday. You can also text ‘call back’ to 0762 480 4299. And you can contact us using a text phone via the Text Relay service (formerly Typetalk).

There are three Local Government Ombudsmen in England. Each of them deals with complaints from different parts of the country, but all new complaints will go to the LGO Advice Team (see above). Make your complaint over the phone, or send it to:

The Local Government Ombudsman
PO Box 4771
Coventry CV4 0EH

Fax: 024 7682 0001

If you have a complaint, use the complaint form or ring the Advice Team (see above).

Parental / Maternity Leave Information – Table of Content