Returning to work



Your employer should respond within 28 days to your notification of your intention to take maternity leave, and should tell you the date of your return to work. If you are returning to work within the first six months of your leave (that is after Ordinary Maternity Leave), you have the right to return to the job you were doing before you left work and on no less favourable terms.



You can add an extra four weeks of unpaid parental leave without affecting this right to return.


If you are returning to work after Additional Maternity Leave (AML), you have more limited rights to return. You have the right to return to your old job. However, if it is not reasonably practicable for the employer to offer you your old job back, you must be offered appropriate similar employment, on no less favourable terms, and with your seniority and pension conditions unaffected.