Employer Duties: Maternity and Parental Leave

From the moment you know an employee is pregnant, special protections apply. You must carry out a specific risk assessment for pregnant workers and new mothers and remove any risks to their health. If risks cannot be removed, you must offer suitable alternative work or, if none is available, suspend on full pay.

Pregnant employees have the right to paid time off for antenatal appointments — this includes not just medical appointments but also relaxation or parenting classes if recommended by a doctor or midwife. The employee does not need to make up this time. You must not subject a pregnant employee to any detriment or dismiss them because of pregnancy — this is automatically unfair dismissal and direct discrimination, regardless of length of service.

Eligible employees are entitled to 52 weeks of Ordinary and Additional Maternity Leave — 26 weeks of Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML) followed by 26 weeks of Additional Maternity Leave (AML). Employees must give at least 15 weeks' notice before the expected week of childbirth and can start leave from 11 weeks before the due date.

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is payable for up to 39 weeks: the first six weeks at 90% of average weekly earnings, and the remaining 33 weeks at the lower of £194.32 per week (2025/26) or 90% of average earnings. You pay SMP through your payroll and can reclaim 92% from HMRC (or 103% if you qualify as a small employer). Contractual enhanced maternity pay can be offered on top, provided it does not discriminate against part-time or fixed-term employees.

Eligible employees are entitled to Statutory Paternity Leave (one or two consecutive weeks within 56 days of birth) and Statutory Paternity Pay (£194.32 per week or 90% of average earnings if lower). Shared Parental Leave (SPL) allows eligible parents to share up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of Shared Parental Pay following the birth or adoption of a child.

On returning from maternity or adoption leave, employees have the right to return to the same job (if returning from OML) or the same or an equivalent job (if returning from AML). You must not offer a worse role, reduce pay, or change terms without agreement. Employees also have the right to request flexible working from day one of employment (since April 2024), and you must deal with requests reasonably.