Maternity

This page will guide employees and managers through the organisation and management of maternity leave, providing an overview of what to expect and consider before, during and at the end of maternity leave at the Council.

The buttons below enable you to click into key information as you need it at different stages of your maternity leave and also provides links to relevant forms. 

Before Maternity Leave     During Maternity Leave     End of Maternity Leave

Maternity Pay (non teaching)

If you have less than 26 weeks’ continuous service* by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth

You will not be entitled to SMP or OMP but you may be entitled to claim Maternity Allowance through Jobcentre Plus.

If you have 26 weeks’ continuous service* or more by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth and your average weekly earnings are equal to or more than the lower earnings limit for National Insurance contributions:

You will be entitled to OMP and SMP for a maximum period of 39 weeks as follows:-

For the first six weeks you will get a sum equal to 90% of your normal pay     For the following 12 weeks you can get a sum equal to 50% of your normal pay (this is optional and you can choose whether or not to receive this money ).  In addition you will get the flat rate of SMP or 90% of your average weekly earnings if this is less than the flat rate of SMP.  The maximum amount you can receive for these 12 weeks is your normal full pay.

·       For the following 21 weeks you will get the flat rate of SMP (or 90% of your average weekly earnings if this is less than the flat rate of SMP).

·       The remaining 13 weeks of maternity leave, if taken, would be without pay.

If you have 26 weeks’ continuous service* or more by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth but your average weekly earnings are less than the lower earnings limit for National Insurance contributions:

You will not be entitled to SMP but you may be entitled to claim Maternity Allowance through Jobcentre Plus. 

You will be entitled to OMP as follows:-

For the first 6 weeks you will get 90% of your normal pay (which includes any Maternity Allowance).

For the following 12 weeks you can get a sum equal to 50% of your normal pay (this is optional and you can choose whether or not to receive this money – see notes below for further details).  The maximum amount, including any Maternity Allowance, you can receive for these 12 weeks is your normal full pay. 

The remaining 34 weeks of your maternity leave, if taken, will be without pay.

The full maternity guidance (non-teaching staff) can be found here

You may be interested in the OIL Course, ‘Guide to Maternity’.  Further information is available here on the People Development page.

Click on the links below for additional sources of information for both the employee and the manager.

Employee Maternity Checklist     Maternity FAQ's     Information for Managers  

You might also be interested in

Shared Parental Leave

Employee Benefits

Flexible Working

Other useful sources of information:

Maternity leave and pay

Maternity Allowance

Click here to return to the main Family Friendly page.

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