Maternity Leave

We're completely OK with her accruing at the normal rate, we're just having practical issues as to how we might allow her to take it dependant on when she chooses to come back. I was hoping that if she took a week now before it starts it would leave less of a backlog, as we don't want to end up breaching the Working Time Regulations.

Gemma, you can't insist that they take their accrued leave before they go on maternity leave, however, in practice most women will choose to take it so that they get full pay for more of their maternity leave period.

As Alison said in her previous post they will continue to accrue leave at their normal rate whilst on maternity leave so they will still have some when they return which they may wish to tag on to the end of the 6 months maternity leave period (assuming thats how much they have choosen to take)

Can you insist a pregnant employee takes accrued holiday before their maternity leave starts to ensure there is no backlog at the point of return ?

RE: Caring for a baby in the workplace, another easy step would be to check your insurance, as I know working at a College we were not insured to have children under the age of 14 on site; unless pre-arranged and parent would have to be with them constantly. Also what facilities are there on site; would they be expecting to keep the baby in the staff room for instance, as I am sure a number of your other staff would have something to say about this.

You could also talk to colleagues in other local schools to see if this request has ever been raised and then possibly consider good practice in making your decision.

Hi Linda

There is no specific piece of legislation, that I am aware of, covering your particular issue. The parents have made a request, which in due fairness you may find best to investigate and decided whether it is reasonable or otherwise. The points to consider are the parents plans for sharing the parental responsiblity for the childs care, then you may wish to look at how this best, ifn at all, fits in with your work procedures. At this point 2 risk assessments need to be reveiwed or carried out. The most important would be your Fire risk assessment which should indicate the increased risk for the baby, and how the responsible person could put in place control measures to ensure safety, then either a specific risk assessment or an addendum to the current risk assessment looking at the specific risks and any control measures than you have or can introduce to ensure the safety of the baby. Your insurance carrier may wish to be informed of the changes. If you are a local authority school then perhaps you could seek guidence on thier policy, if there is one, on this issue, if a private school then ask the governing body. To be honest I suspect that the parents are looking for a low or no cost child care option and should be looking at alternatives. Common sense needs to prevail here. The work place is generally not the best place to offer child care unless specific child care facilities are in place with sutably trained employees in charge

Common sense would say this is a definite no-no. A workplace is a workplace not a childcare facility (irrespective of whether it is a school or not). I can't think of a specific piece of legislation at the moment but I'm sure there is something in place somethere which would discourage this sort of arrangement. Possibly ACAS can advise you?

In any case, how can both parents be sure that they won't be teaching at the same time?

In repsonse to the other question, as holiday accrues throughout maternity leave, it can be more practical for the employee to take most of her entitlement, including leave she will accrue whilst on mat leave, before she goes. This can make it easier when returning to work, as there won't be a backlog of holiday to take before the year end.

Apologies this is not a response to this question but a related one and quite a bazaar question. I have just been asked where in the legislation does it say that on return from maternity leave you cannot bring your baby into work with you. I am in a school where both the parents teach and the suggestion is that they can share the childcare between them when they are not teaching. I obviously said that we have a duty to provide a suitable place for breastfeeding but they are arguing to bring the baby to work. Advice please???

Holiday Entitlement during maternity, Legally what is the situation regarding taking annual leave.

Can you only take leave you have accrued so far that year, or can you take your full annual leave entitlement before maternity starts, as I am hearing conflicting reports???