Maternity Leave Questions

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Hi!

I have a few questions about maternity leave - if you could help that would be great...

1. - I am a teacher .... and I may be on school holidays during my "due date".... So, would I be entitled to the maternity leave pay on top of my school holiday pay?

2. Can I hand in my resignation whilst on maternity leave? (essentially, go on mat leave and not go back to work)...

3. When do I need to notify my employer that I am pregnant and would like to apply for maternity leave?

Thanks if you can help!
 
i'm not sure what you mean by "maternity leave pay" - when I took maternity leave the only pay I got was my regular pay...i.e. I didn't get my salary deducted for taking maternity but I didn't get anything extra on top of my regular pay...perhaps that is something they at your school? (I'm also a teacher)

depending on what it stipulates in your contract, it could be possible to hand in your resignation during your maternity leave.

you need to give your school sufficient time to find a sub for you really - having said that "sufficient" is not very specific...i let the school know when I was 4mths pregnant and things were stable...i don't think there really is a fix time...
 
see a doctor, get him to give you a note stating you're pregnant and so and so along, and then hand it into your employer.

as for pay, i got the legal amount of four fifths my usual monthly salary.

yes you can hand in your resignation during the leave, but this depends on your contract (how much 'forenotice') etc.

Labour Department - Frequently Asked Questions
 
1. I really don't think so. At my school, if your mat leave falls on a holiday, it is calculated as mat leave. So during the summer, even if all of your coworkers get full pay without working, you still only get 4/5th pay.

2. Some schools let you and for others you have to give notice and work for a month.

3. There is no hard and fast rule. Most of my co-workers didn't tell until they were past 12 weeks. But I told around 6 or 7.
 
Thanks everyone - you have answered my questions! Yup, when I said Mat Leave Pay I meant normal pay whilst I would be away. My contract does not stipulate anything about resigning whilst on mat leave - only that I need to give 60 days notice - so I would do that when on mat leave I guess. Ta!
 
Here is my understanding but if you have any questions, it is best to contact the Labour Dept and they will answer them for you.

1. Under the legislation, you are entitled to 4/5 of your salary for the maternity leave period (10 weeks);
2. There are other threads on this (resigning whilst on mat leave) and I checked with the Labour Dept - the legislation prevents you from using your mat leave as part of your notice period. So, in your case, two months - you can't resign, for example on day 1 of your 70 day mat leave and then return to work for 10 days. If you want the mat leave and pay, you have to return to work, quit and then work out your notice period of 60 days. If you quit before you go on leave, then you are not entitled to mat leave and mat pay.
3. The legislation has no timing requirement - you are only required to notify your employer by way of providing them with a medical certificate stating that you are pregnant and the expected date of delivery. Most people do this around the 12 week mark. The expected due date is key as the legislation provides for the mat leave to start 4 weeks prior to delivery - this can be negotiated with the employer and reduced to 2 weeks prior and some employers are even more flexible and won't hold you to the letter of the law and will allow you to work right up to the due date.

Hope that this helps.
 
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