Human Resources

This policy explains how much time you can take if you are pregnant and want to take maternity leave. It also explains how much you will be paid during your leave.

• You can take up to 52 weeks maternity leave.
• If you have 52 weeks or more continuous service you will be given University maternity pay of either 16 weeks full pay or 8 weeks full pay and 16 weeks half pay. You will also be given 39 weeks Statutory Maternity pay (SMP) or Maternity Allowance (MA) depending on your earnings.
• SMP or MA will be included in your full pay. When you are on half pay it will be on top of that amount.
• If you don’t qualify for University maternity pay you will be given SMP or MA depending on your earnings. You can choose to take the remaining 13 weeks of your maternity leave without pay.
• If you want to end your maternity leave early, you can choose to opt into Shared Parental Leave with your partner and share the remaining weeks' leave and pay.
• A health and safety risk assessment will be carried out by your manager to make sure that your working environment is safe for you and your unborn child.