the right of all pregnant women to take time off work for ante-natal care (see under heading Time off for ante-natal care )

the right of all pregnant women to work in a safe environment (see under heading Right to work in a safe environment )

the right of all pregnant women to claim unfair dismissal if dismissed because of pregnancy (see under heading Dismissal or unfair treatment because of pregnancy )

the right of some pregnant women to be away from work for up to 40 weeks (see under heading The right to be away from work for up to 40 weeks )

The statutory rights outlined above are minimum rights. Many workers will have better rights in their contract of employment.

police women and women serving in the armed forces are entitled to statutory maternity pay, and can claim sex discrimination, but are not entitled to the other rights for pregnant women workers.

Any woman (except some types of workers, see under heading Workers who do not have statutory maternity rights ) who is working and pregnant will qualify, regardless of how long they have worked for their present employer, and regardless of how many hours per week they work.

You can have time off for appointments for ante-natal care if your doctor, midwife or health visitor advises that it is needed. Your employer should pay your usual wage for the time off, as long as you only have a reasonable amount of time off. However, if you take a lot of time off, you may be treated as if you are off sick, and will only get paid if your contract of employment allows for you to be paid sick pay. If you are off sick, you may qualify for statutory sick pay or incapacity benefit.

After the first ante-natal appointment, you will have to show your employer, if requested, a medical certificate stating that you are pregnant, and an appointment card for the ante-natal care.

If your employer refuses to allow time off for an ante-natal care appointment or refuses to pay, you can complain to an employment tribunal within three months of the appointment. The tribunal may tell your employer to pay the wages they have withheld.

If you want to make a claim to an employment tribunal you should consult your union representative or, if you are not a union member, an experienced adviser, for example, a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB .

An employer is under a legal duty to make the working environment safe for all employees, and particularly for women of childbearing age, to work in. This means that the employer must assess what health and safety risks there are in the workplace, and specifically, what risks may be posed to pregnant women, women who are breastfeeding and women who have given birth in the past six months.

Where there is a health and safety risk in the workplace, the employer must take action to eliminate the risk by:-

taking any legal action required, for example, ensuring that pregnant women do not come into contact with hazardous chemicals

altering your working conditions or hours of work so you are not put at risk, for example, a shop assistant could be given a chair so she does not have to stand for long periods. Other examples are, a person working at a computer could be given a more comfortable chair or more breaks and a woman whose job entails some lifting could have someone else do the lifting for her

if altering your working conditions or hours is not possible, the employer must consider offering you different work, at the same pay

if offering you different work is not possible, your employer must suspend you on medical grounds and pay you full pay while you are suspended.

If you are a pregnant woman or have recently given birth or are breastfeeding and you think you are at risk through health and safety problems at your workplace, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB .

If you are dismissed because of pregnancy, you can claim unfair dismissal. It does not matter how long you have worked for your employer or whether you work full or part-time. This is because the law says that it is automatically unfair to dismiss a woman because she is pregnant.

A woman who is unfairly treated (suffers detriment) in connection with her pregnancy or maternity can make a claim to an employment tribunal. For example, she is passed over for promotion.

As well as claiming unfair dismissal or unfair treatment, a woman who is dismissed or suffers detriment because she is pregnant should claim compensation for sex discrimination.

Claims for unfair dismissal, unfair treatment and sex discrimination are made to an employment tribunal (industrial tribunal in Northern Ireland). You should apply by filling in form IT1, which you can get from the local job centre. The completed form IT1 must reach the tribunal within three months of the dismissal. You can make all your claims on one form. You can also get these forms from law centres, CABX and off the employment tribunal website.

If you want to make a claim to an employment tribunal you should consult your union representative or, if you are not a union member, an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB .

Dismissal because of pregnancy does not affect your entitlement to any of the other maternity rights. If you qualify for statutory maternity pay and for the right to return to work, you will still qualify if you are dismissed because you are pregnant.

All women employees, apart from those listed (see under heading Workers who do not have statutory maternity rights ) are entitled to 18 weeks maternity leave. It does not matter how long you have worked for your employer, nor how many hours you work, you will still have this entitlement.

Whether you are entitled to statutory maternity pay during her maternity leave will depend on how long you have worked for your employer (see under heading Statutory maternity pay ). You may be entitled to contractual maternity pay (see under heading Contractual maternity pay ).

If you are not entitled to statutory maternity pay or contractual maternity pay you may be entitled to maternity allowance which is paid by the Benefits Agency.

Some women who have worked for their employer for one year and three months by the time the baby is due may be entitled to a longer period of maternity leave (see under heading The right to be away from work for up to 40 weeks ).

You must tell the employer, preferably in writing, at least 21 days before you want to start your maternity leave, that:-

You must produce a medical certificate (MATB1), if your employer asks for one, showing when your baby is due. You can get your MATB1 from your midwife or GP.

You can start your 18 weeks’ maternity leave at any time in, or after, the 11th week before your baby is due. However, the maternity leave will start automatically if you are off work for any reason to do with your pregnancy from the sixth week before your baby is due.

Your maternity leave will finish at the end of the 18th week after you went on maternity leave. If this means that you would have to go back to work within two weeks of the birth (four weeks if you work in a factory), your maternity leave will be extended so that you have two (or four) weeks off after the birth.

You do not have to give the employer any notification of your return to work unless you are returning early. You just return to work at the end of the 18th week of maternity leave.

If your employer refuses to take you back after maternity leave this counts as a dismissal and you can claim unfair dismissal and sex discrimination (see under heading Dismissal or unfair treatment because of pregnancy ).

During the 18 weeks’ maternity leave, all your rights (except your rate of pay) under your contract of employment will continue as if you were still at work, for example, the right to holiday pay or the right to receive a pay increase.

You do not retain your contractual rights to your usual pay while you are on maternity leave. However, you may have a clause in your contract which gives you paid contractual maternity leave (either at your usual rate of pay or at a different rate). Otherwise, you may be entitled to SMP or maternity allowance (see under heading Statutory maternity pay ).

For more information on contractual rights, see What is a contract of employment in Employment status and contracts of employment .

Some workers have no right to any maternity leave (see under heading Workers who do not have statutory maternity rights ).

If you have worked for the same employer for at least one year at the beginning of the 11th week before your baby is due (roughly, you will have been employed for one year and three months on the date the baby is due), you are entitled to 29 weeks’ additional leave. This additional leave is on top of the 18 weeks’ leave which all pregnant workers are entitled to, but is subject to your being entitled to a maximum of 40 weeks’ maternity leave altogether.

You can be absent from work from the beginning of the 11th week before your baby is due, until the 29th week after the birth (a total of 40 weeks). It is up to you to decide how much time you actually take off during this period.

If you are entitled to additional maternity leave because you have worked for long enough for your employer, you only have to give the same notice as required for woman who only take 18 weeks’ maternity leave (see under heading 18 weeks maternity leave ). You not have to give separate notice of your wish to take the extra leave.

Some employment rights, such as the right to claim statutory redundancy pay, depend on how long you have worked for your employer. The length of time you have worked for your employer is the length of your ‘continuous employment’. It is important, therefore, to note that time spent on maternity leave counts when calculating how long you have been with your employer.

Some women cannot claim statutory maternity pay (SMP) from their employer because they have no entitlement to maternity leave (see under heading Workers who do not have statutory maternity rights ).

you have worked for the same employer for 26 weeks continuously into the 15th week before your baby is due. It does not matter how many hours per week you work. For example, if your baby is due in the week beginning 8 December 2002 (expected week of childbirth), 15 weeks before that is the week beginning 25 September 2002 (the qualifying week), and 26 weeks before the qualifying week is the week beginning 9 March 2002. So you would have to have started work on or before 9 March 2002 in order to qualify for SMP if your baby is due in the week of 8 December 2002; and

you have average weekly earnings of at least the national insurance lower earnings limit. This is worked out on your average earnings in the eight weeks up to the 14th week before your baby is due.

A woman who is not entitled to statutory maternity pay may be entitled to maternity allowance paid by the Benefits Agency. For details, see Maternity allowance in Benefits for maternity and for children .

SMP is paid for up to 18 weeks and this period is known as the maternity pay period (MPP). The earliest the MPP can begin is the 11th week before the baby is due. The latest the MPP can begin is the week after the week when the baby is born. You can choose when you want the 18 weeks to start within this period, unless you are sick.

If you are sick with a pregnancy related illness in the six weeks before your baby is due, the MPP will start the week following the week you become sick. If you are sick with a non-pregnancy related illness you can claim statutory sick pay until the week the baby is due.

There are two rates of SMP. The higher rate is paid for the first six weeks of maternity leave and is 90% of your average gross weekly earnings (that is, before tax and national insurance contributions are deducted), with a minimum of £75. The lower rate is paid for the remaining twelve weeks of the maternity pay period (MPP). The lower rate is £75 from 6 April 2002.

To claim SMP you must tell your employer, 21 days before you decide to start maternity leave, that you will be off work because of the birth. Your employer will want to see a medical certificate (a MATB1) and you must get one and show it to your employer (see under heading 18 weeks maternity leave ).

Statutory maternity pay is paid by your employer in the same way and at the same time as your wages are normally paid, for example, weekly or monthly. Your employer then claims the money back from the government.

If your employer refuses to pay SMP, you can complain to the Benefits Agency which will decide whether or not you should be getting SMP.

This is complicated and if you are in this position will need the help of an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB .

If you qualify for statutory maternity pay but are dismissed because of pregnancy (see under heading Dismissal or unfair treatment because of pregnancy ) before the beginning of the 14th week before your baby is due, you will still remain entitled to statutory maternity pay.

The right to statutory maternity pay does not depend on going back to work. You will still receive it, even if you do not go back. You will not have to pay back any SMP if you do not return to work.

You may have both contractual rights and statutory rights to maternity leave. Contractual rights will usually be better than statutory rights. If they are not, you can ignore them and rely on your statutory rights.

You will need to look at your contract of employment to find out you’re your contractual rights are to maternity leave and maternity pay.

If you are in one of the groups who does not qualify for statutory maternity rights, you may still be entitled to contractual maternity rights (see under heading Workers who do not have statutory maternity rights for a list of women who do not qualify for statutory maternity rights).

If you are a woman who thinks she has contractual maternity rights but you are not sure how to enforce them, or if you are not sure what your contractual maternity rights are, you should speak to an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB .

After 18 weeks’ ordinary maternity leave, you do not have to give your employer notice that you are returning to work, you can just turn up for work on the day you are due back (see under heading 18 weeks maternity leave ).

If you are not allowed to return to work you can claim your dismissal is automatically unfair for a reason to do with your pregnancy or maternity leave. You could also claim sex discrimination. Both of these claims can be made regardless of how long you have worked for the employer or how many hours per week you work.

If you wish to make claim for automatic unfair dismissal and/or sex discrimination, you should speak to an experienced adviser, for example, a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB .

If you are sick when you are due back to work at the end of your 18 weeks’ maternity leave you must get a medical certificate to send to your employer. Your maternity leave will end at the end of the 18th week and you will then go onto sick leave. You will be protected from unfair dismissal for an additional four weeks after the 18 weeks’ maternity leave if you are sick for this period.

If an employer tries to dismiss a woman who is sick at the end of her maternity leave and so cannot return to work, this is likely to be sex discrimination and if you are in this position you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB .

If you have been working for your employer for a certain period of time and therefore qualify to take maternity leave of longer than 18 weeks, see under heading The right to be away from work for up to 40 weeks, you do not have to inform your employer of the date you intend to return as it will be expected that you will return at the end of your additional maternity leave (see The right to be away from work for up to 40 weeks ).

If you want to return to work before your additional maternity leave runs out, you will need to write to your employer at least 21 days before you want to return informing your employer of this.

If you wish to return to work after additional maternity leave, you should be offered your old job back, unless this is not reasonably practical. If this is the case, you must be offered a job that is suitable for you and appropriate in the circumstances, on the same terms and conditions as your old job, for example, her pay must be at least the same as her old job.

If an employer does not offer a woman returning from additional maternity leave a suitable job, or her old job back, she can claim unfair dismissal and sex discrimination.

If you are in this position, you will need to speak to an experienced adviser, for example, a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB .

The employer can write and ask if you intend to return to work at any time from 21 days before your 18 week maternity leave period ends (even though you are actually off for longer than this).

You must reply to the letter within 21 days of receiving it, telling the employer you want to return to work (unless you definitely do not want to - you can always change your mind and decide not to return). However, if you say you do not want to return, your employer will not have to accept you back if you change your mind later.

If you fail to respond correctly to your employer’s letter, the employer can take disciplinary action, but you will not necessarily lose your right to return.

If you have not been offered your old job back, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB .

If an employer does not allow a woman who was working full-time before her maternity leave, to return to work part-time, this may be unlawful discrimination. For more information, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB .

This paragraph only applies to women on additional maternity leave, not to women on the ordinary 18 week maternity leave. If the firm you work for had only five workers or fewer before you went on additional maternity leave, then the employer does not have to take you back if it is not ‘reasonably practicable’.

If you are in this situation you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB .

You can claim working families’ tax credit or disabled person’s tax credit if you are receiving statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance.

For more information about working families’ tax credit and disabled person’s tax credit, see Introduction to benefits, working families’ tax credit and disabled person’s tax credit .

If you do not qualify for statutory maternity pay, you may be entitled to maternity allowance paid by the Benefits Agency.

A woman on maternity leave may be able to claim income support if her income is below income support level. This may apply even if you are getting statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance. For details, see Income support .

If you are entitled to income support you may also be entitled to a lump sum payment for maternity needs from the social fund. For details, see The social fund .