Maternity leave and sick pay

A woman absent with a pregnancy-related illness has the same sick pay entitlement as any male or non-pregnant female employee (North Western Health Board v McKenna [2005] IRLR 895). She is not entitled to better pay.

There is no right to be paid statutory or contractual sick pay during maternity leave.

See also:

• Chapter 7, page 228: pregnancy, maternity and sex discrimination;

• Chapter 8, page 298 and 309: sick pay and sickness absence, pregnancy and maternity;

• Chapter 10, page 373: automatically unfair dismissal for reasons relating to pregnancy, maternity and childbirth; and

• Chapter 11, pages 425 and 433: redundancy selection and rights to suitable available employment.