Informing your employer
You should inform your employer (through the Human Resources department) of your pregnancy by the 15th week before your baby is due (at about 25 weeks of pregnancy). If you are experiencing pregnancy-related symptoms or complications that are interfering with your work (e.g. nausea and vomiting of early pregnancy), you may decide to tell them sooner rather than later. This decision is very personal. You should also tell your clinical supervisor/line manager and your Training Programme Director (if you are a doctor in training).
Your employer should carry out an individualised risk assessment. This risk assessment is a statutory obligation. The assessment should review your specific job role, any hazards, and the possible risks to you as a pregnant person. However, there are no specific guidelines regarding the level of risk at which adjustments to work should be made for pregnant people.
Paperwork
Your Human Resources department will send you the relevant paperwork. You should keep copies of your MATB1 form, which your midwife will give you after your anomaly scan, as you will probably need to provide several copies.
Time off for antenatal care
You are entitled to time off to attend antenatal appointments. As far as possible, tell your unit in advance as they may need time to organise rotas. This should not affect your pay.
Health during your pregnancy
It is important to eat well, exercise regularly and rest appropriately during your pregnancy. All employers are legally required to provide suitable rest facilities for workers who are pregnant.
Illness during pregnancy
Illness during pregnancy is categorised based on the stage of pregnancy.
If the illness is prior to the fourth week before the expected week of childbirth (roughly 36 weeks of pregnancy), sick leave arrangements are usually the same as for non-pregnant colleagues. However, you should check this by consulting your employer’s absence policy.
If the illness is within four weeks of your expected delivery date, your employer may choose to start your maternity leave and pay.
If you experience difficulties that may prevent you continuing with your normal duties, you can discuss sick leave or amended duties. Always refer to your employer’s policy, but the following criteria usually apply:
- You need to have discussed your health with your medical advisor (GP or hospital consultant).
- Your medical advisor needs to write to your employing trust stating that you need to reduce your hours of work or stop work.
- You need to contact your employer’s occupational health department.
- Your employer will need to review your working week, taking into account your health and safety.
- You should not have to lose pay because of health problems during pregnancy.
Always discuss specific issues with your employer. You can also seek individualised advice from the BMA.
Maternity leave
Your maternity leave can start at any time after 11 weeks before your baby is due (29th week of pregnancy). You are entitled to up to 52 weeks of maternity leave. This is divided into 26 weeks of ordinary maternity leave and 26 weeks of additional maternity leave. You can change your mind about when you start or finish your maternity leave, but you should give 28 days’ notice of any change of start date and 8 weeks’ notice if you want to change the return date.
Before going on maternity leave
Consider how long you would like to take for maternity leave, both before and after your baby is born.
It is important to get all your paperwork sorted out in advance to make sure you receive your full maternity allowances. You will need to inform your human resources department when you want your maternity leave to start and give them your MATB1 certificate.
You will also need to inform your Local Education and Training Board (LETB) and Training Programme Director (if you are a doctor in training) about your maternity leave plans. They will need to find cover for your leave, so it is professional courtesy to give as much notice as possible.
During maternity leave
While on maternity leave, you will continue to accrue annual leave. However, you may need to discuss this before your maternity leave if you are changing trusts/employer.
You may want to be kept up to date with developments at work and can do this via ‘keeping in touch’ days. Both you as the employee and your employer can instigate these days. You can have up to 10 paid ‘keeping in touch’ days without affecting your statutory maternity pay (see below).
Paternity leave
To be entitled to paternity leave, you need to:
Have responsibility for the baby’s upbringing and be either/both the biological father of the baby and/or the mother’s husband/partner.
The above applies to same sex as well as heterosexual couples.
In addition, you will need to have worked for the same employer for 26 weeks prior to the 15th week before the baby is due and continue working for that employer from this time point until the baby is born. Rotational training with scheduled changes to another hospital as part of training does not affect this. Eligible doctors can take either one or two consecutive weeks.
Maternity pay
There are two main types of maternity pay: statutory maternity pay (SMP), and NHS maternity pay. There are different rules on who is eligible for each type.
Statutory maternity pay (SMP)
To be eligible for SMP, you must have been in continuous employment with one employer for at least 26 weeks ending with the 15th week before your expected week of childbirth. SMP is paid for 39 weeks of your maternity leave. If you are not eligible for SMP, you may be eligible for a maternity allowance (MA) – your employer’s HR department will be able to advise.
NHS maternity pay
To be eligible for NHS maternity pay, you must have 1 year of continuous employment with the NHS (not necessarily the same trust/health board), without a break of more than 3 months, by the time of 11 weeks before your expected week of childbirth.
Under the NHS scheme, you’re entitled to 8 weeks of full pay (less SMP/MA) and 18 weeks of half pay (less SMP/MA), then a further 13 weeks of SMP or MA, leaving 13 weeks of unpaid maternity leave if you wish to take the full 52 weeks of maternity leave.
Your NHS maternity pay is calculated on the basis of your average weekly earnings for the 8 weeks ending with the qualifying week, which is the 15th week before your expected week of childbirth.
It is important that you agree any changes to your working pattern with your employer, as this may affect your maternity pay. However, if you have agreed with your employer that you can stop night work, provided you continue with your normal duties and no alternative work is available to cover the part of your job you are not doing, you would continue to receive your normal pay. So, if you stop night work in agreement with your employer and occupational health, they could expect you to do other duties instead; as long as you complied with this, your pay would not be affected.