Maternity Leave

You are entitled to receive up to 52 weeks maternity leave, whether or not you plan to return to NHS employment.

How much you take is your choice.

The amount of pay you receive will depend on:

• Your pay

• Your length of service within the NHS and the Trust

• Whether you plan to return to work following your maternity leave

To take maternity leave and claim maternity pay, you must notify your employer by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (ie by 25 weeks) of the following:

• Your pregnancy

• Your expected week of childbirth

• The anticipated date that you would like your maternity leave to start

Notify your employer by contacting your line manager / rota coordinator and they will be able to direct you from there

• Can start any time from the start of the 11th week before the Expected week of Childbirth (EWC) ie any time from ~29 weeks

• You can however continue to work as long as you wish

• You must give 28 days notice to change the start date of your maternity leave if you can

  • "Unless not reasonably practical" for example sickness, preterm delivery

The start of maternity leave is automatically triggered by the following:

• The day you give birth

• Absence from work due to pregnancy related illness from 36 weeks.

  • However odd days of pregnancy related illness during the 4 weeks before your baby is due may be disregarded by your employer if you want to keep working until your previously agreed maternity leave start date

When planning your maternity leave, remember that you accrue annual leave and bank holidays during maternity leave.

This is paid at your full rate of pay before maternity leave.

Discuss with your employer about when this should be taken. Usually any accrued annual leave is taken immediately following maternity leave, before your return to work.

LTFT

Your LTFT % doesn’t affect the number of weeks of accrued annual leave

For example:

• If you are full time, and you accrue 25 days of annual leave, this will equate to 5 weeks of accrued annual leave

• If you are LTFT 80%, you will accrue 20 days of annual leave in this same time period (80% of the full time leave allowance during this period), this will equate to 5 weeks of accrued annual leave, as you use them based on a 4 day working week

If you are LTFT, you accrue bank holidays pro rata

For example:

If you are LTFT 80% and there are 10 bank holidays during your parental leave, you will accrue 8 days in lieu

If you are changing your LTFT % on your return, this change starts after you return to work, following your period of accrued annual leave.

Here is a link to an excel document that you can use to help work out your return-to-work date.

Please also confirm your dates with your HR department!

This calculator is designed as a guide, not gospel!

If you are on parental leave, you will still have an ARCP

• All you need to do for it is submit an up to date Form R

• You will receive a “Not Assessed” ARCP outcome which will confirm why you haven’t been assessed

  • This is just so HEE records can be kept up to date

For information on how pregnancy and maternity leave impact your training posts, and how rotating between training posts affects your maternity leave and pay, click here.