A Complete Guide to Maternity Leave

You’re entitled to maternity leave if ¹: 

• You’re employed and classed as an employee (this means that you work under a contract of employment). 
• You give your employer the correct notice. 

It doesn’t matter how much you earn, how many hours you work or how long you’ve been at your place of employment; if you meet the criteria above, you’re entitled to maternity leave. This is even the case if you’re already pregnant when you start your new job¹ .  

There’s a process to follow when telling your employer you want to take maternity leave, which involves providing them with the following information²: 

• The fact that you’re pregnant. 

• Your baby’s due date. 

• The date you’d like your maternity leave to start. 

You’ll need to give this information to your employer at least 15 weeks before your due date (this is also known as your ‘qualifying week’ for the purposes of maternity pay). You don’t have to put the information in writing, but doing so can help to keep a record of your request, just in case of any disagreements. 

You’re entitled to 52 weeks of maternity leave. 

The first 26 weeks are known as ‘ordinary maternity’ leave, whilst the last 26 are ‘additional maternity leave’.

No, but you must take at least the first two weeks off from work after your baby is born. This increases to the first four weeks if you work in a factory³.  

Whether you take all your maternity leave is entirely your choice, so just focus on what works for you and your life and circumstances.

You might also want to consider using some of your maternity leave for shared parental leave if you and your partner are eligible.  

During your maternity leave, you’ll still build up your standard holiday allowance (this includes bank holidays), but you can’t take it or receive holiday pay whilst you’re off⁴. Not all employers offer the same holiday entitlement and benefits, so always check your contract or speak with your employer about what your holiday entitlement is. 

You can agree with your employer that you’ll use your holiday allowance once your maternity leave ends, giving you a little extra time to spend and bond with your new addition⁴. Different employers may have other benefits in regards to holidays, so please do check your contract or get in touch with your HR department.

You can start your maternity leave as early as 11 weeks before your due date, although some situations mean your maternity leave will start automatically. These are³:

• Your baby arriving early. If this happens, your maternity leave will start the day after you’ve given birth. 

• If you have time off work for an illness related to your pregnancy in the 4 weeks before your baby’s due date.  

You can keep working until your baby is born if you want to, which is a choice many women make. Others may prefer to finish up early with plenty of time to spare;

Ultimately, there’s no right or wrong here; there’s only what’s right for you and your situation. 

Some employers offer what’s known as ‘enhanced’ or ‘contractual’ maternity pay. If you’re unsure whether your employer does this, take a look at your employment contract and talk to your employer to see what you may be entitled to.  

If this isn’t applicable, there are a number of other possibilities. 

You might be eligible for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), which is paid for up to 39 weeks. To be eligible, you’ll need to⁵:

• Be classed as an employee (the GOV.UK website has lots of helpful information if you’re unsure of your employment status).  

• Have worked for the same employer for 26 weeks continuously before your ‘qualifying week’ (your qualifying week is 15 weeks before your due date). 

• Earn, on average, at least £123 per week for 8 weeks before your qualifying week.

For the first 6 weeks of maternity leave, you’re entitled to 90% of your average pre-tax earnings. 

For the remaining 33 weeks, you’ll be paid £184.03 or 90% (whichever of the two is lower) of your average weekly earnings⁶.

Head over to the handy maternity pay calculator from the GOV.UK website to help you plan ahead, or download our easy-to-follow cheat sheet. 

If you’re not eligible for SMP, you might be able to get a payment from the government known as Maternity Allowance. It may also apply to you if you’ve stopped working recently, you’re self-employed or work for the business of your partner or spouse on an unpaid basis⁷.  

You can make an application as soon as you’re 26 weeks pregnant by filling out a Maternity Allowance claim form, the MA1. The form contains lots of helpful information about making a claim and any additional information you’ll need to send.

Maternity allowance can be paid between 11 weeks before your baby is born and the day after the birth⁸. Like SMP, it’s paid for up to 39 weeks, and the amount will vary depending on your circumstances.  

You can work during your maternity leave using what are known as ‘keeping in touch days’ (KIT days). You get up to 10 KIT days (20 if you’ve opted for shared parental leave), and they’re paid in addition to any maternity pay you’re getting⁹. 

You don’t have to use your KIT days; it’s entirely up to you;

Once your application is approved, you and your employer will agree on the date you’ll return to work following maternity leave. If you want to change this date, you can; you just need to provide your employer with at least 8 weeks' notice¹⁰.  

This all depends on how much maternity leave you’ve taken. If you return to work after the first 26 weeks (ordinary maternity leave), you can return to the same job you left¹¹. 

If you return after the last 26 weeks (‘additional maternity leave’), you still have the right to return to the same job, but if that’s not possible, you might be offered a similar one (if there have been changes at your place of work, for example)¹¹. If this happens, the job you’re offered can’t be one with worse terms and must offer the same¹¹:

• Pay.

• Holiday entitlement and benefits. 

• Location.

• Level of seniority. 

How you’ll feel about going back to work after maternity leave can be tricky to predict. While some parents are ready to jump back into the world of work, others find adjusting to being away from their baby a little harder. 

This is where flexible working might be something to consider.

You can request flexible working at any time, regardless of how long you’ve been at your place of work. Changes you might request include¹²:

• Where you work - you might find working from home a few days a week a little easier, for example. 

• What time you start and finish. This might be helpful if your baby is in nursery or childcare, and you need to pick up and drop-off.

• The days or number of hours you work - it might even be that you’d rather return to work part-time.  

Whilst you can request flexible working, your employer doesn’t need to agree to it. However, If they refuse your request, they must have a good business reason for why they’re doing so¹².  

Knowing the nuts and bolts of what you’re entitled to is one thing; deciding what works for you and your baby when returning to work after maternity leave is quite another.

So, if you’re getting ready to trade soft play for the office once again, take a look at our top tips for how to make it work: 

• Keep in touch during your maternity leave. Using your KIT days and attending the odd team lunch or event can help you feel included and in the loop about what’s been going on.  
• Talk to your colleagues. Your colleagues can be a real source of support, especially if they have children and can relate to how you feel about returning from maternity. 

We've also got some top tips from real mums below:

If your spouse or partner is expecting a baby, you might be eligible for 1-2 weeks of paternity leave as well as paternity pay. If you decide to take 2 weeks, you can choose to take them together or separately¹³.  Read more about paternity leave here

Before you head off on maternity leave, you have various rights and protections while pregnant at work. 

If you’re eligible for maternity leave, you can take time off for pregnancy-related medical appointments without impacting your pay or being required to make up your time. Although antenatal appointments are the obvious example here, this right also extends to things like parenting and relaxation classes, too¹⁴.