Rights during leave





An employee on maternity leave, adoption leave, paternity leave or SPL is entitled to all their normal contractual and statutory employment rights except remuneration (wages). The contractual right to wages is replaced by a right to statutory maternity, paternity, shared parental pay or adoption pay, or by any enhanced contractual entitlement. Employees must benefit from any pay rises and improvements to terms and conditions awarded during the leave period. 




Childcare vouchers bought under a salary-sacrifice scheme are “wages”, meaning that employees have no right to receive the vouchers while on maternity leave (Peninsula Business Services v Donaldson [2016] UKEAT/0249/15/DM).





Employer pension contributions must continue throughout the paid leave period of maternity, paternity, adoption or SPL (whether pay is statutory or contractual) and must be based on pay before the maternity leave started. Employee pension contributions will be based on their actual pay during maternity leave. Pension contributions usually stop during periods of unpaid leave. 



The whole of the leave period (paid and unpaid) must be taken into account when assessing length of service for occupational pension purposes (Boyle v EOC [1998] IRLR 717).




Men and women at risk of redundancy during maternity, adoption or shared parental leave have enhanced rights to be offered alternative employment (see page 411, Chapter 11). 



There is protection from pregnancy, maternity and sex discrimination during this period (see Chapter 7). There is also protection from automatically unfair dismissal and detriment (see Chapter 10).