LRD guides and handbook October 2014

Leave and pay for working parents - a guide for trade union reps

Chapter 1

Additional Maternity Leave

[ch 1: page 8]

The right to take Additional Maternity Leave (AML) covers all employees regardless of their service with the employer. It starts immediately after OML and continues for a period of 26 weeks bringing the total period of leave allowed up to one year.

If an employee chooses to return to work after her AML, she has the right to return to the same job but, if it is not reasonably practical, her employer can offer her a suitable alternative role on similar terms and conditions.