Can a mother change her mind?


A notice to end maternity or adoption leave is binding except in very limited circumstances, and the scope for a mother or primary adopter to change her mind after making her decision is very narrow. It is only possible to undo a decision if the mother has not yet gone back to work, the date she gave for ending the leave has not already passed and either:


• the parties discover during the eight weeks after giving the notice that neither of them qualify for SPL or pay; 


• the partner dies; or


• (for biological mothers only), the notice was given before birth and the mother changes her mind within six weeks of birth. 


Note that these limited circumstances do not include, for example, a partner’s redundancy or illness, family break-up, or other unforeseen changes to family finances.