Summary of contractual maternity leave scheme

Application

All women employed by the University who meet the relevant qualifying criteria, and regardless of their staff group, grade or hours worked, will be eligible for the provisions of the University maternity leave scheme.

Qualification

In order to qualify for the University maternity leave scheme, at the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth an employee should:

  1. hold a current contract of employment with the University; and
  2. have at least 26 weeks' continuous service with the University; and
  3. provide her department with the correct notification of her intention to take leave, and
  4. intend to return to work following the birth of her baby.

Note that contractual pay will only apply where you have a current contract of employment wih the University. Therefore if your contract with the University of Oxford is due to end during your planned periods of Maternity Leave, the right to any contractual payments will end on the contract end date. If you are in any doubt about your entitlement to pay and leave, contact your departmental administrator or equivalent for clarification.

Benefits

If she meets all these requirements, the employee will be eligible to receive the benefits of the University maternity leave scheme as follows:

26 weeks' full pay (inclusive of any statutory maternity pay which is due); followed by

13 weeks' statutory maternity pay (if a woman does not meet all the statutory qualification rules for statutory maternity pay, she will only receive pay for the first 26 weeks of maternity leave); followed by

13 weeks' unpaid leave

Total = 52 weeks' leave

Notice periods

To claim maternity leave and pay under the University maternity scheme, an employee should notify her department no later than the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth of:

  1. the fact she is pregnant
  2. the expected week of childbirth
  3. the date when she intends to start taking leave
  4. her intention to return to work after the birth of her baby.

A Maternity Leave Plan is provided for employees and departments to use to collect this information and other details relating to the proposed maternity leave period. If the Maternity Leave Plan is completed fully by the employee and the department this will ensure that the notification requirements are met.

The employee should also provide her department with a copy of her MATB1 form that she will have been given by her healthcare provider (usually the GP or midwife) sometime around the 25th week of pregnancy.

Start of maternity leave/pay

A woman can choose to start her maternity leave any time after the beginning of the 11th week before the expected week of childbirth, and may change her chosen start date by giving 28 days notice.

Maternity Leave will start automatically if she gives birth before her notified date or is ill for a pregnancy-related reason during the last four weeks of her pregnancy.

During maternity leave

The employer may make contact with the employee (and vice versa) while she is on maternity leave, as long as the amount and type of contact is not unreasonable (e.g. to discuss plans for returning to work or to keep her informed of important developments in the workplace).

Work during the maternity leave period - keeping in touch days

The employee can undertake up to a maximum of 10 days' work under her contract of employment during her maternity leave, as long as both she and her department have agreed for this to happen, and agree on what work is to be done and how much she will be paid for it.

Returning to work

It is assumed that an employee will return to work at the end of her full 52 weeks of maternity leave unless she has told her department that she wishes to come back at any other time.

The employee can return to work earlier than the full 52 weeks of maternity leave, or can change the date of her return to work, as long as she gives eight weeks' notice to her department.

If an employee decides not to return to work at the end of her maternity leave, or returns to work for less than three months, the University reserves the right to reclaim all or part of the payments made under the University scheme, minus any statutory maternity pay element to which the employee was eligible.

End of contract during maternity leave

If a woman's contract is due to end during her maternity leave period normal arrangements for ending contracts will apply. However, it is recommended that the administrator contacts his/her Sector Personnel Officer for guidance on the appropriate procedures.

If the woman has provided written confirmation that she wishes the department to seek suitable alternative employment for her within the University, this should be sought in the normal way. If it has not been possible, under the normal University rules, to redeploy her, then University pay and rights under the university maternity scheme end on the same day that her contract expires, although she would continue to receive any remaining statutory maternity pay, if she qualifies.