Leave and pay entitlements

If you are pregnant, you are eligible to take up to 52 weeks' maternity leave.

To be able to take maternity leave and receive maternity pay you will need to meet the relevant qualifying criteria. You can check your eligibility and if you meet the qualification criteria by referring to the maternity leave scheme section in the 'Family support leave policy'.

Leave	Occupational pay	Statutory pay	Unpaid
Up to 52 weeks (you must take compulsory maternity leave of at least two weeks immediately following the birth of your child)	18 weeks ('top up' SMP / MA / or equivalent to full pay)
	39 weeks Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) or 90% pay (whichever is less) or Maternity Allowance (MA) or equivalent
			13 weeks unpaid

You are required by law to take at least 2 weeks of 'Compulsory maternity leave' immediately following the birth of your child.

If you do not wish to take all of the maternity leave/pay that you are entitled to, your partner may be able to take what is left over. For more information on this please refer to the Shared parental leave scheme section of the 'Family support leave policy'.

Antenatal appointments

You can go to antenatal appointments during work hours, but try to arrange these so they have the least impact on your work.