Maternity leave and pay
Leave entitlement
Employees are entitled to take up to 52 weeks leave, made up of 26 weeks Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML) and 26 weeks Additional Maternity Leave (AML). This is regardless of the number of hours worked or length of service.
Pay entitlement
Employees are entitled to either:
- 39 weeks Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), or
- 39 weeks Statutory Maternity Allowance (SMA) - if not eligible for SMP.
You may also be entitled to Occupational Maternity Pay (OMP).
For more information on entitlements, notification of pregnancy, returning to work refer to the maternity policy and procedure (MS Word, 106KB)
Apply for maternity leave
If you intend to take maternity leave, please inform your line manager before the end of the qualifying week (the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth), or as soon as practicable afterward.
You must notify your manager in writing of the fact that you are pregnant, your expected week of childbirth and the date on which you intend to start your maternity leave.
You must provide your line manager with the MATB1 form supplied to you by your doctor or midwife confirming the date that your baby is expected. The MATB1 form is normally available from the 20th week of pregnancy.
Maternity leave must be entered on Unit4 by your line manager in advance of it being taken. Guidance for keying maternity leave is available on the Unit4 support site. Enter the password ‘Unit4’ (this is case senstive).
Click on the 'HR/Payroll' category and scroll to the 'Leave/ absence' tab.
Once the maternity information has been entered, the Transactional Service Centre (TSC) will forward the relevant documents to you.
If you have a query please contact the TSC via the online form: Recruitment and Pay enquiry and select Absence Team East when asked which organisation the query relates to.
More information
Keeping in touch days - FAQs (MS Word, 25KB) - keep in contact with your team and developments within your department by working paid 'keep in touch' (KIT) days while on maternity leave
New and expectant mothers at work - Health and Safety guidance note (MS Word, 164KB) - includes a copy of the risk assessment form for new and expectant mothers
Gov.uk - information on statutory maternity pay