Maternity and parental rights

In a relatively rare case on the scope of the statutory right to reasonable time off to care for dependants, a tribunal has held that an employee had suffered a detriment and had been unfairly dismissed for taking time off work to arrange emergency childcare.

An employee may choose a start date for her Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) that is later than the date on which she ceases work before the birth, provided that she has given her employer the required notice of the start date for the SMP.

The legislation making it at first sight fair to terminate the employment of someone engaged to cover for a woman who is absent on maternity leave when she returns to work (Employment Rights Act 1996, s. 106) requires clear and unambiguous language in the written information given to the employee on engagement. If the wording is ambiguous, the provision will not apply.

The EAT has clarified when an employer must carry out a risk assessment for pregnant staff and also confirmed that no positive discrimination is required when an employee becomes pregnant.

The EAT has considered whether IVF treatment and pregnancy are the same thing. It held that absence due to IVF treatment generally falls to be treated as sickness absence in the usual way.

This case deals with the common scenario of a woman returning from maternity leave and asking to alter her working hours. Most employers know that they cannot reject such a request out of hand and must produce good reasons.