海角社区

To make sure your maternity leave and pay are arranged correctly, you must let the University know you’re pregnant by the 15th week before your baby is due (known as the qualifying week). 

• Please complete the following Maternity Leave Notification Form
• The following information must be provided on the form:
  • The expected week of childbirth: This is the week your baby is due
  • A copy of your MATB1 certificate: You can get this from your GP or midwife – it's usually issued between 20 and 26 weeks of pregnancy
  • The date you plan to start your maternity leave: Maternity leave can begin anytime from the 11th week before your baby is due. 

HR Services will take the following steps after receiving your notification:

• Acknowledge receipt of your maternity leave notification
• Ask you to complete a Risk Assessment if you have not already done so. HR may also want to consult Occupational Health for specialist advice and guidance
• Schedule a meeting with you to review maternity leave arrangements and discuss the risk assessment
• Confirm your entitlement to maternity leave and pay
• Confirm the agreed start date for your maternity leave

Yes, by giving 28 days’ written notice or as much notice as reasonably practicable. 

If you experience early childbirth or a change in medical circumstances, inform your line manager and HR Services as soon as reasonably practicable. In these cases, maternity leave will begin automatically, and HR will issue updated confirmation of your leave and pay entitlements. 

Pregnancy-related sickness refers to any illness or condition directly associated with pregnancy. This would need to be evidenced by a medical certificate. 

Before the fourth week prior to the expected week of childbirth: Standard sickness absence procedures apply. On or after the fourth week prior to the expected week of childbirth: Ordinary Maternity Leave will start automatically from the first day of absence. 

Yes. You and your manager can agree on what level of contact is reasonable before your maternity leave begins. This will vary depending on your circumstances and preferences. This includes updates about important changes in the workplace and any vacancies or promotion opportunities that arise while you are on leave. 

A KIT day is any day during maternity leave when you perform work, regardless of the number of hours worked. Even a short activity, such as attending a one-hour training session, counts as a full KIT day. 

You can take up to 10 KIT days during your maternity leave, with prior agreement from your line manager. These can be used at any time during your leave except for the first two weeks after childbirth. 

The purpose of KIT days is flexible and agreed upon between you and your line manager. Common uses include:

• Attending training or professional development sessions
• Participating in meetings or team activities
• Completing specific work tasks 

A KIT day form must be completed by your line manager and submitted to Payroll for processing. 

Provide at least 8 weeks’ written notice of your intended return date to your line manager & HR Services. Once you have done this, HR Services will write to you to confirm your return to work. 

Yes, you should provide as much notice as possible for antenatal appointments. After the first appointment, you may be asked to provide proof, such as an appointment card or confirmation letter. 

Please discuss your leave arrangements with your line manager and confirm the agreement in writing. Please follow the locally agreed process for recording leave.

As a minimum, you are required to take any accrued annual leave before your maternity leave begins. For example, if you start maternity leave three months into the leave year, you should take approximately 25% of your annual leave entitlement. Your manager may also allow you to take additional leave beyond what you've accrued. 

While annual leave should normally be taken in the year it is accrued, if you are unable to use all your leave due to maternity leave or a premature birth, any remaining leave, including bank holidays and concessionary days, can be carried over to the next leave year and must be used immediately following your maternity leave. This annual leave carry over is not subject to the usual carry-over limits in the Annual Leave Policy. 

Please see below table that gives a breakdown of pension contributions during the  different pay periods:  

Maternity Pay Type

Please refer to Pensions for further information. 

You will need to ensure any required updates on your laptop are installed, by leaving your device on for a while before accessing University data,  if that device has been off for a while. Please refer to the IT Services Posture Check FAQ’s for further information. 

Yes. If you wish to change your working pattern, please discuss this with your manager well in advance of your return. You may wish to refer to the Flexible Working Policy for further information. 

Staff who take maternity/adoption/shared parental leave are expected to resume their normal academic duties upon their return. However, the absence may have impacted their career trajectory, making it harder for them to progress in the normal way.

Therefore, any member of staff who has been absent from work for an extended period as a result of family leave should be given the following assistance to help them to re-establish their academic profile:

• All RTE staff who return from extended family leave (maternity, adoption or shared parental leave) in excess of four months to automatically receive a period of time to focus on their research.
• RTE staff returning from extended family leave should receive a period equivalent to four months of term time to help them to re-establish their academic profile. In exceptional circumstances a Dean may agree a longer period. A phased return over a maximum of four weeks may also be agreed.
•  The purpose of this time is to give the employee time to rebuild their research profile following their period of leave. Exact details of activity, e.g. focusing on outputs, funding or other research activities should be agreed between the employee and the Dean and the employee is not expected to carry out any teaching related activity or other associated leadership roles.
• If a member of staff is completing the New Lecturers’ Programme (NLP), this should recommence at the end of the four-month period.  PDRs should take place as normal if the window falls in the four-month period.
• Schools are encouraged to think creatively about how to do this and to avoid the use of casual contracts, e.g. to cover teaching, wherever possible.
• Schools are also required to discuss what support any member of staff might need on return from extended family leave and ensure that this is put into place. A Research Mentor could be allocated if appropriate.  This might be support that is required initially on return or support that is needed on a more ongoing basis.  A record of the discussion and the support provided should be retained by the school and may be audited for best practice.
• Schools may wish to allocate some funding to the member of staff to support them during the four-month period.
• Some objectives for the period should be agreed at the outset but as this is a period of readjustment, it may not always be possible for colleagues to complete the agreed objectives within the agreed timescale.
• This arrangement has been designed to facilitate flexibility for both the Dean and the employee, but there is an explicit requirement that Deans should ensure they are acting within the spirit of the policy at all times.
• Audits and reviews of support for staff returning from extended family leave may take place to monitor the effectiveness of this arrangement in terms of support provided.