9. Rights to time off work for working parents and carers 





This Chapter sets out the rights available to working parents and carers. 





The statutory payments for leave linked to childbirth, maternity and adoption, such as statutory maternity, shared parental and paternity pay, normally increase every year on the first Sunday in April, in line with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI).
From April 2019, the weekly rate of these payments increased to £148.68 or 90% of average weekly earnings whichever is the lower. To qualify, the employee’s average earnings must equal or exceed the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) which, from April 2019, is £118 a week. 





The rights explained in this Chapter are minimum statutory rights. In most unionised workplaces, negotiated improvements, for example, as to pay, notice and length of the leave will be reflected in collective agreements and individual employment contracts. These improvements will replace the minimum statutory rights. Under section 78 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 96), a woman who qualifies for contractual maternity leave and pay cannot take this as well as statutory leave and pay, but she can choose to take advantage of whichever regime is the more generous.



Outside unionised workplaces, awareness of these rights is low and unions and maternity rights campaigners have been lobbying to improve this. In response, the government has updated the MATB1 Form (the form issued by the GP to confirm a woman’s pregnancy and due date) to include a link to advice and guidance on employment rights for pregnant women and new mothers. 



Employers can claim back most (or in the case of small businesses, all) of the statutory payments described in this Chapter, through deductions from their National Insurance bill.





It is automatically unfair to dismiss an employee or subject them to a detriment such as withholding a promotion or pay rise, for trying to take advantage of any of the statutory rights to family-friendly leave and pay set out in this Chapter. No service is needed to have this protection. See Chapter 10: Automatically unfair dismissal. In some circumstances there may also be a claim for discrimination (see Chapter 7: Discrimination). 





The first (mandatory) step in any tribunal claim is to submit an Acas Early Conciliation (EC) Notification Form to Acas, available from the Acas website. For more information, see Chapter 14.