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CHW106-Maternity Leave Policy

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Registration Number: {{org_field_registration_no}}

Maternity Leave Policy

1. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that employees of {{org_field_name}} who are pregnant, take maternity leave or exercise associated statutory family-related rights receive their statutory entitlements and are treated fairly, consistently and lawfully. The policy also ensures that maternity-related absence is managed in a manner that maintains the safe and effective operation of the care home service.

This policy is informed by, and must be applied in accordance with, current legislation and statutory requirements, including, where applicable:

The CIW regulatory framework does not replace employees’ statutory maternity rights. Its relevance to this policy is principally the requirement for the service provider to maintain sufficient and appropriately skilled staffing, effective management arrangements and continuity of safe care during any period of staff absence, including maternity-related absence.

This policy aims to:

2. Scope

This policy applies to employees of {{org_field_name}}, including full-time employees, part-time employees and employees engaged under fixed-term contracts.

Statutory Maternity Leave is an employment right available to employees who meet the statutory notification requirements. There is no minimum length-of-service requirement for Statutory Maternity Leave.

Statutory Maternity Pay is subject to separate statutory eligibility conditions, including requirements relating to continuous employment, average weekly earnings, notification and evidence of pregnancy.

Individuals who have the legal status of a worker rather than an employee may not qualify for Statutory Maternity Leave, although they may have other statutory rights, including possible entitlement to Statutory Maternity Pay depending upon their individual employment and earnings circumstances. Where employment status is unclear, {{org_field_name}} will determine the individual’s entitlement in accordance with current employment legislation.

This policy applies to:

The policy covers:

3. Maternity Leave Entitlement

3.1 Eligibility and Notification

An employee is entitled to Statutory Maternity Leave regardless of their length of service, the number of hours they work or their level of earnings, provided that they are an employee and comply with the statutory notification requirements.

No minimum period of continuous employment is required in order to qualify for Statutory Maternity Leave.

Unless it is not reasonably practicable to do so, the employee must notify {{org_field_name}} no later than the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth of:

Where requested by {{org_field_name}}, this notification must be provided in writing.

The employee may change the proposed maternity leave start date by providing at least 28 days’ notice of the new date, unless it is not reasonably practicable for them to do so.

{{org_field_name}} will confirm the employee’s expected maternity leave start and end dates in writing within 28 days of receiving the employee’s notification.

A MATB1 certificate or other acceptable medical evidence is not a condition of entitlement to Statutory Maternity Leave. However, appropriate evidence of pregnancy is required for Statutory Maternity Pay.

3.2 Length of Maternity Leave

Eligible employees are entitled to a maximum of 52 weeks’ Statutory Maternity Leave, comprising:

An employee does not have to take the full 52 weeks.

The employee must not work during the compulsory maternity leave period immediately following childbirth. The compulsory maternity leave period is:

{{org_field_name}} will not permit an employee to undertake work, including Keeping in Touch work, during the applicable compulsory maternity leave period.

4. Maternity Pay Entitlement

4.1 Statutory Maternity Pay

Statutory Maternity Pay is separate from the statutory right to maternity leave.

To qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay, an employee must satisfy the applicable statutory conditions, including:

For the 2026/27 tax year, the earnings threshold for Statutory Maternity Pay is £129 per week.

Statutory Maternity Pay is payable for up to 39 weeks as follows:

Any remaining period of Statutory Maternity Leave after the 39-week Statutory Maternity Pay period is unpaid unless {{org_field_name}} provides a separate contractual entitlement to pay.

Statutory rates and earnings thresholds are reviewed by the Government periodically. Where the statutory rate or threshold changes, the rate prescribed by legislation for the relevant period will apply automatically and will take precedence over any monetary figure stated in this policy.

An employee must normally provide at least 28 days’ notice of the date on which they wish Statutory Maternity Pay to begin, unless it is not reasonably practicable to do so.

If {{org_field_name}} determines that an employee does not qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay, the employee will be provided with the prescribed SMP1 form within the statutory timescale together with the reason for the decision. The employee may be entitled to claim Maternity Allowance.

4.2 Additional Maternity Pay and Benefits

4.3 Keeping in Touch Days

An employee may, by agreement with {{org_field_name}}, undertake up to 10 Keeping in Touch days during Statutory Maternity Leave without bringing the maternity leave period to an end and without losing Statutory Maternity Pay solely because the employee has undertaken work on those days.

Keeping in Touch days:

Any work undertaken on part of a day counts as one Keeping in Touch day for statutory purposes.

Payment for work undertaken on a Keeping in Touch day will be agreed in accordance with the employee’s contractual arrangements and statutory maternity pay requirements.

4.4 Neonatal Care Leave and Pay

Employees may have a separate statutory entitlement to Neonatal Care Leave where their baby was born on or after 6 April 2025 and receives qualifying neonatal care.

Neonatal Care Leave is a day-one employment right for eligible employees and is additional to other statutory family leave, including maternity leave.

Subject to the statutory eligibility requirements, an employee may receive one week of Neonatal Care Leave for each qualifying period of seven complete and continuous days during which their baby receives neonatal care, up to a maximum of 12 weeks.

Qualifying neonatal care must begin within the statutory period following birth and must satisfy the conditions prescribed by legislation.

Where the employee is already taking maternity leave, Neonatal Care Leave does not interrupt maternity leave. Any Neonatal Care Leave to which the employee is entitled must be taken in accordance with the statutory rules governing the timing of neonatal leave and, where applicable, after maternity leave has ended.

An employee may also qualify for Statutory Neonatal Care Pay if they satisfy the statutory continuous-employment and earnings conditions.

For the 2026/27 tax year, Statutory Neonatal Care Pay is payable at £194.32 per week or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower, subject to the statutory eligibility requirements.

Employees should notify {{org_field_name}} of qualifying neonatal care and proposed Neonatal Care Leave as soon as reasonably practicable and comply with the statutory notice requirements applicable to the period in which the leave is to be taken.

5. Health and Safety for Pregnant Employees

5.1 Workplace Risk Assessment and Protective Measures

{{org_field_name}} will protect the health and safety of employees who are pregnant, have recently given birth or are breastfeeding in accordance with applicable health and safety legislation.

Once {{org_field_name}} has been notified of an employee’s pregnancy, or where applicable that the employee has given birth within the previous six months or is breastfeeding, the existing workplace risk assessment will be reviewed and an individual assessment will be undertaken where required having regard to the employee’s work and circumstances.

The assessment will consider risks relevant to the employee and their baby, including where applicable:

The risk assessment will be reviewed where the employee’s circumstances change or where new information indicates that the existing assessment may no longer adequately control the risk.

Where a significant risk to the employee or their baby is identified, {{org_field_name}} will follow the statutory hierarchy of protective measures.

{{org_field_name}} will first take reasonable steps to remove, reduce or control the risk.

Where the risk cannot adequately be removed or controlled, {{org_field_name}} will, so far as required by law:

Any health and safety adjustment will be based on the identified risk and will not be used to subject the employee to unfavourable treatment because of pregnancy or maternity.

5.2 Time Off for Antenatal Care

A pregnant employee is entitled to reasonable paid time off during working hours to attend antenatal care appointments made on the advice of a registered medical practitioner, registered midwife or registered nurse.

Antenatal care may include:

Except for the first appointment, {{org_field_name}} may request evidence of the appointment and, where permitted by law, evidence that the appointment was made on the advice of an appropriate healthcare professional.

An eligible employee who is the pregnant employee’s spouse, civil partner, partner or the child’s father, or who otherwise falls within the statutory categories entitled to accompany the pregnant person, may take unpaid time off to accompany them to up to two antenatal appointments.

The statutory entitlement to accompany the pregnant person is limited to a maximum of six and a half hours for each appointment.

6. Returning to Work

6.1 Notice Period for Returning

6.2 Flexible Working Requests

Every employee has a statutory right to request flexible working from the first day of their employment.

An employee returning from maternity leave may therefore make a statutory flexible working request, including a request relating to:

A statutory flexible working request must be submitted in writing and must contain the information required by current legislation.

An employee may make up to two statutory flexible working requests during any 12-month period but may normally have only one live statutory request with {{org_field_name}} at any one time.

{{org_field_name}} will deal with each statutory request in a reasonable manner and in accordance with the applicable legislation and Acas Code of Practice.

Unless {{org_field_name}} agrees to the employee’s written request in full, the employee will be consulted before a decision to reject the request is made.

The request, including any appeal forming part of the statutory process, will normally be determined within two months of receipt unless {{org_field_name}} and the employee agree to extend that period.

A statutory flexible working request will only be refused for one or more of the statutory business reasons permitted by legislation.

Where a request is agreed, any resulting contractual change will be confirmed in accordance with the applicable legal requirements.

6.3 Breastfeeding and Expressing Milk at Work

Employees who intend to continue breastfeeding or expressing milk after returning to work should notify {{org_field_name}}, preferably in writing, so that any necessary health and safety arrangements can be considered before their return.

Where {{org_field_name}} has been notified that an employee is breastfeeding, relevant workplace risks will be considered and the risk assessment will be reviewed where required.

{{org_field_name}} will provide suitable facilities for an employee who is breastfeeding or expressing milk to rest and, where required, to express milk in appropriate conditions.

Facilities provided for this purpose will be hygienic, safe and appropriately private. A toilet will not be treated as suitable accommodation for expressing breast milk.

Appropriate arrangements for storing expressed milk will be considered where required.

Any requests for adjustments to break arrangements or working patterns associated with breastfeeding will be considered in accordance with applicable health and safety, flexible working and equality requirements.

7. Employee Rights and Protection

7.1 Protection Against Discrimination

7.2 Right to Return to Work

An employee’s statutory right to return following maternity leave will be determined in accordance with the period and combination of statutory leave taken.

An employee returning following Ordinary Maternity Leave will normally have the right to return to the same job in which they were employed before their absence, on terms and conditions that are no less favourable than those which would have applied had they not been absent.

Where an employee returns following Additional Maternity Leave, they will normally have the right to return to the same job. Where it is not reasonably practicable for {{org_field_name}} to permit the employee to return to the same job for a reason other than redundancy, the employee will be offered another job which is both suitable and appropriate and on terms and conditions that are no less favourable than those which would have applied had the employee not been absent.

Where a redundancy situation exists, the separate statutory redundancy protections set out in section 7.3 will apply.

Nothing in this section prevents an employee from agreeing a lawful change to their role or working arrangements with {{org_field_name}}, including through the flexible working procedure.

7.3 Redundancy Protection During Pregnancy and Following Maternity Leave

Pregnancy or maternity leave will never itself be used as a reason for selecting an employee for redundancy.

Where a genuine redundancy situation arises, {{org_field_name}} will comply with the enhanced statutory redundancy protection applicable to pregnant employees and employees who take maternity leave.

For pregnancy and maternity cases falling within the current statutory regime, the protected period normally begins when the employee informs {{org_field_name}} that they are pregnant.

Where the employee takes maternity leave following the birth, the protected period will normally continue until 18 months after the child’s exact date of birth where that date has been notified to {{org_field_name}}. Where the exact date of birth has not been notified, the statutory rules based upon the expected week of childbirth will apply.

Different statutory end dates may apply where a pregnancy ends before the employee becomes entitled to Statutory Maternity Leave, including following miscarriage.

If an employee is selected for redundancy during a statutory redundancy protected period and there is a suitable alternative vacancy available with {{org_field_name}} or, where applicable, an associated employer, the employee will be offered that suitable alternative vacancy in priority to employees who do not have the corresponding statutory priority.

The employee will not be required to compete for a suitable alternative vacancy where legislation gives them priority to be offered that vacancy.

The existence of redundancy protection does not prevent a genuine redundancy. However, {{org_field_name}} must be able to demonstrate a lawful redundancy reason, a fair process and compliance with the employee’s statutory priority in relation to suitable alternative vacancies.

8. Managing Maternity Leave Efficiently

8.1 Responsibilities of the Employer

8.2 Responsibilities of the Employee

8.3 Care Home Staffing, Management and CIW Requirements During Maternity Absence

Maternity leave or pregnancy-related absence must be managed so that the service continues to comply with the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016, the Regulated Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2017, as amended, and applicable statutory guidance.

{{org_field_name}} will ensure that maternity-related absence does not result in unsafe staffing arrangements or prevent individuals receiving safe, appropriate and continuous care and support.

During any maternity-related absence, the service provider and manager will ensure that:

Ordinary maternity absence by a member of care staff does not of itself require a notification to Care Inspectorate Wales. However, separate regulatory notification requirements apply where maternity leave or maternity-related absence concerns particular regulated roles.

Where the appointed manager is expected to be absent for 28 days or more, the Responsible Individual must ensure that appropriate management-cover arrangements are established and that Care Inspectorate Wales is notified in accordance with the timescales and requirements prescribed by the applicable regulations.

Where the manager’s absence is unexpected, the Responsible Individual must comply with the applicable regulatory notification requirements and ensure that suitable arrangements are in place for the effective management of the service.

The return of the appointed manager from a notifiable absence must also be notified where required by the applicable regulations.

Where the Responsible Individual is expected to be absent for 28 days or more, the service provider must ensure that effective interim arrangements are made for management, oversight, regulatory compliance and quality monitoring and that the required notification is made to Care Inspectorate Wales.

All notifications to Care Inspectorate Wales must be made in the manner and within the timescale required by the current regulations and CIW notification arrangements, normally through CIW Online.

No employee will be discouraged from taking maternity leave or subjected to unfavourable treatment because regulatory cover or staffing arrangements are required. Responsibility for ensuring adequate staffing, management cover and regulatory compliance remains with {{org_field_name}}, the service provider and the Responsible Individual, as applicable.

9. Related Policies

This policy should be read in conjunction with:

10. Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed annually or sooner if regulatory requirements change. Regular audits and feedback from employees will ensure continued effectiveness.

Responsible Person: {{org_field_registered_manager_first_name}} {{org_field_registered_manager_last_name}}
Reviewed on: {{last_update_date}}
Next Review Date: {{next_review_date}}
Copyright © {{current_year}} – {{org_field_name}}. All rights reserved.

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