Pregnancy and childbirth and caring for your children should be a happy experience. Unfortunately, it can often be made stressful by encountering problems in the workplace. It may be that as an employee you feel side-lined as soon as you announce your pregnancy to your employer or your requests for
flexible working are turned down without proper explanation or reason.
Legally, your employer is not allowed to subject you to any detriment on the grounds of pregnancy, childbirth or because you have taken maternity leave.
You may find that your employer is refusing to allow you time off to attend antenatal appointments, that you have been selected for redundancy during your maternity leave or that you have been discriminated against on the grounds of your sex.
Pregnant employees are entitled to 52 weeks maternity leave. This is made up of 26 weeks of ordinary maternity leave (OML) and 26 weeks of additional maternity leave (AML).
During OML, an employee is entitled to receive all of their normal contractual and related benefits, with the exception of wages or salary. On return from OML, an employee is entitled to their old job back on the same terms and conditions. Where an employee is entitled to return to their old job after AML or, if that is not reasonably practicable, to another job which is suitable and appropriate in the circumstances.