Maternity leave and pay policy

It’s for colleagues directly employed by the charity who are pregnant and for new parents. It’s also for line managers who need to support expectant and new mums.

• Once you know you’re pregnant, you should tell your line manager as soon as possible. This is to make sure you get the right support, particularly in relation to your health and safety and to ensure that Barnardo’s complies with the requirements of current legislation.
• You must complete the maternity leave application form and return it to your manager by the 25th week of pregnancy. 
• You must give a minimum of 28 days’ notice of your intention to take maternity leave. (A planner is available to help you calculate the key notification dates before the due date.)
• All pregnant colleagues can take up to 52 weeks’ maternity leave. 
• Maternity leave can start 11 weeks from the expected week of birth. You can also choose to wait until your due date to start your maternity leave.
• If the baby is born before the due date, maternity leave will start on the day the baby is born.
• The maternity pay you can get depends on your length of service (see section 2.6 of the policy for details).
• During maternity leave, you can work for up to 10 days (known as keeping in touch days) without your maternity leave or pay coming to an end.
• If you want to return to work before 52 weeks, you should give at least 8 weeks’ notice in writing. You can return to work earlier if you’re sharing parental leave.

• As a colleague, you’re responsible for: reading, understanding and following this policy; complying with the required notification periods, and returning the right paperwork.
• As a line manager, you’re responsible for talking to the people you manage about maternity leave and agreeing details with them. You should also tell your People Team what’s been agreed.
• People teams should help colleagues and line managers to understand and implement this policy. They should also record agreements in writing.