A pregnant pause

The issue of pregnancy is complex. There are two possible reasons she wants to take early leave: firstly, a medical problem may require it; secondly, she wants to take leave for personal reasons not medically related. Conduct a meeting with her, enquiring as to her reasoning - at least then you will have a better understanding. If medically related then it would be prudent to obtain a report from her GP and ensure a risk assessment is carried out in the workplace to ensure there is no medical risk.

The law, starting with antenatal care, states an employee is entitled to paid time off during normal working hours and that right is not dependent on any length of service. Antenatal care can extend to more than antenatal care classes and medical examinations, it can also include relaxation classes, parent classes and indeed anything the GP thinks is necessary for a safe and healthy pregnancy. The first appointment is not paid but all subsequent appointments must be paid. If the employer unreasonably refuses to grant time off, or fails to pay the entire amount that is entitled, the employee can make a claim to Tribunal.

Ordinary maternity leave entitlement is 26 weeks, and additional maternity leave is a further 26 weeks for those who wish to avail themselves of it. There is no length of service requirement to qualify for additional maternity leave. All pregnant employees are therefore entitled to take a maximum of 52 weeks maternity leave in total. There are other rights that may delay a return to work beyond this, for example, if the woman is ill, if she elects to take parental leave, if she elects to take statutory holiday - all of these can extend the leave period.

There are other rules relating to statutory maternity pay. During leave, women are entitled to benefit from normal contractual terms and conditions of employment with the one exception of remuneration. She may well be entitled to statutory maternity pay subject to the qualifying rules, if she does not qualify then she may be entitled to payment from the state. It is possible that in your contractual terms you have given a commitment to pay some or all of her salary and you would be advised to check. Throughout additional maternity leave, the contract of employment does continue and this leave period counts as continuous employment.

Where an employee returns to work after just ordinary maternity leave she is entitled to return to the job in which she was employed before she went on leave.

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- Peter Done, Managing director, Peninsula Business Services.