As soon as you feel comfortable
Inform the department and rota coordinator
Inform your educational supervisor
Complete an initial risk assessment
ASAP
Consider stopping salary sacrifice schemes by week 17
Your average weekly earnings are calculated on your gross income
If you are in a salary sacrifice scheme, the calculation will be based on your pay after this is taken out
Therefore your maternity pay will be reduced compared to what you might expect
It's worth considering stopping any salary sacrifice schemes early enough so your maternity pay isn’t impacted
More info on how your parental leave pay is calculated can be found here
Week 14
Inform your TPD and HEE of your pregnancy
This is not an official deadline, however if you are due to rotate hospitals after 29 weeks and choose not to rotate, it’s useful to give as much notice as possible as HEE has to give 3 month’s notice of changes to rotations.
Week 20
Get you MATB1 form
You can get this from your midwife any time from 20 weeks
Your MatB1 form provides proof of your pregnancy and due date
You (and your partner) will need to share it with your employer when you apply for parental leave and pay
Week 25
Submit your maternity leave application and MatB1 form to your employer
This is the latest you should notify your supervisor and employer of your pregnancy
This needs to be done by now in order to be eligible for maternity leave and pay
This application officially informs your employer of your pregnancy, EDD and anticipated maternity leave start date
Week 25
This is your "qualifying week"
Parental pay is worked out based on your average weekly earnings on the 2 payslips before this.
You need to have been employed by your trust for 26 weeks prior to this to qualify for SPP, unless you have moved trusts due to a training (more info here)
Week 20-30
Complete a risk assessment
You may want to discuss changes to on call commitments and your anticipated start date mat leave
Click here for more information
Week 29
Maternity leave can start any time from now
You need to have 12 months continuous service with the NHS by this point to receive occupational maternity pay
If you are due to rotate hospitals after this point you have the right to choose to either
Rotate to another hospital or
Stay at your current post until delivery (click here for more info and references)
Week 34
If your partner is planning on taking SPL immediately after your compulsory 2 weeks of maternity leave:
Make sure you have submitted a SPL application by now
Submit your notice of curtailment of ML if your partner is planning to take SPL
A minimum of 8 weeks notice is needed for changes to SPL dates and for notice of curtailment of ML
Think about the original maternity leave date you submitted - remember you must give 28 days notice to change the start date of you maternity leave
Month before your leave
You should receive a breakdown of your anticipated parental leave pay a month before your leave is due to start
There is some guidance here to help you check your pay is correct
You may also want to clarify how much you will be paid for any KiT / SPLiT days you chose to take
If you haven't received this you may want to contact HR / payroll
Week 36
Pregnancy related illness from now can trigger the start of maternity leave
However if you want to keep working until your previously agreed maternity leave start date, odd days may be disregarded
Before you go
Apply for SuppoRRT
Meet with your ES and fill our the pre-absence form here if you are a London trainee
SuppoRRT is an HEE initiative to help give individualised support to trainees returning to work after a period of time out
To access this you need to complete a pre-absence form before going on maternity leave
Click here to find out more and how to apply in your local HEE region
Before you go
Inform your professional bodies of your upcoming leave to access membership discounts - click here for more info
Before you go
Contact IT to ensure your hospital log ins are not deleted
Contact NHS Email to ensure your email address is not deleted
Place an out of office on your emails with a return date
Consider booking an antenatal class – these become very booked up from early in pregnancy
Can be a great way to meet local parents-to-be expecting at a similar time
Sign up to childcare waiting lists – childcare options can have waiting lists 1-2 years long therefore you need to join well before baby arrives depending on if and when you’re planning childcare for your baby!
As soon as your midwife confirms your pregnancy, ask for your Maternity Exemption card
This gives you free dental care and prescriptions during pregnancy and 12 months after birth of baby
Click here for NHS advice for vaccines during pregnancy
16-32/40 Pertussis vaccine (every pregnancy)
28-36/40 RSV vaccine (every pregnancy)
Any time Flu vaccine (if applicable - seasonal, starting from September every year)