{"id":2854,"date":"2022-04-07T07:14:24","date_gmt":"2022-04-07T06:14:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uk.legalvision.com.au\/?p=2854"},"modified":"2022-08-30T02:01:54","modified_gmt":"2022-08-30T01:01:54","slug":"returning-work-after-pregnancy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/employment\/returning-work-after-pregnancy\/","title":{"rendered":"Rights of Women Returning to Work After Pregnancy in England and Wales"},"content":{"rendered":"

As an employer, you may be familiar with your employees’ rights when they are pregnant, such as their right to take maternity leave<\/a>. However, your employee also has rights relating to their pregnancy and maternity leave when they return to work. These rights might be less familiar to you. There are also rules regarding what you can and cannot do when your employee returns to work after pregnancy. This article will explain employees\u2019 rights when returning to work after pregnancy and maternity leave.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Discrimination<\/span><\/h2>\n

It is unlawful to treat a member of your workforce unfavourably based on a \u2018protected characteristic\u2019, like their age, sex or gender. If you treat someone unfavourably from any of the protected categories, this can amount to discrimination<\/a>. Indeed, one of the nine protected characteristics is a person\u2019s maternity status.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As an employer, you should understand your obligations when your worker is on maternity leave and when they return to work. For example, if you treat your employee unfavourably when they return to work based on a decision made during their maternity leave, this could be unlawful discrimination.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Importantly, you should avoid treating your employee unfairly. Likewise, it is essential not to dismiss them due to their maternity leave or the birth of their child.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ordinary vs Additional Maternity Leave<\/span><\/h2>\n

When a woman takes maternity leave, it is in two parts. The first 26 weeks are \u2018ordinary maternity leave\u2019. Then, anything more than 26 weeks is \u2018additional maternity leave\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In cases where your worker decides to take more maternity leave than originally intended, they must let you know eight weeks before their initial date of return to work. They must also alert you if they wish to return to work sooner than interned. If your worker does not let you know, you should assume they plan to take the full 52 weeks. Again, this is the ordinary maternity leave plus the additional maternity leave. If this is the case, your employee is not obliged to notify you of their return.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n Continue reading this article below the form\n <\/i>\n<\/a>\n

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