Law at work 2020 - the trade union guide to employment law (July 2020)

Chapter 9

Key elements of statutory maternity leave

[ch 9: page 317]

Statutory maternity leave lasts for a maximum of 52 weeks, as follows:

Compulsory maternity leave: the first two weeks (four weeks in the case of factory workers) from birth. A woman who gives birth must take this leave;

Ordinary maternity leave (OML): the first 26 weeks — includes the two compulsory weeks;and

Additional maternity leave (AML): a further period of 26 weeks which follows immediately after the OML.


This information is copyright to the Labour Research Department (LRD) and may not be reproduced without the permission of the LRD.