F171(1)An employee may, provided that she satisfies any conditions which may be prescribed, be absent from work at any time during an ordinary maternity leave period.
(2)An ordinary maternity leave period is a period calculated in accordance with regulations made by the Secretary of State.
(3)Regulations under subsection (2)—
(a)shall secure that no ordinary maternity leave period is less than 18 weeks;
(b)may allow an employee to choose, subject to any prescribed restrictions, the date on which an ordinary maternity leave period starts.
(4)Subject to section 74, an employee who exercises her right under subsection (1)—
(a)is entitled to the benefit of the terms and conditions of employment which would have applied if she had not been absent,
(b)is bound by any obligations arising under those terms and conditions (except in so far as they are inconsistent with subsection (1)), and
(c)is entitled to return from leave to the job in which she was employed before her absence.
(5)In subsection (4)(a) “terms and conditions of employment”—
(a)includes matters connected with an employee’s employment whether or not they arise under her contract of employment, but
(b)does not include terms and conditions about remuneration.
(6)The Secretary of State may make regulations specifying matters which are, or are not, to be treated as remuneration for the purposes of this section.
(7)An employee’s right to return under subsection (4)(c) is a right to return—
(a)with her seniority, pension rights and similar rights as they would have been if she had not been absent (subject to paragraph 5 of Schedule 5 to the M1Social Security Act 1989 (equal treatment under pension schemes: maternity)), and
(b)on terms and conditions not less favourable than those which would have applied if she had not been absent.
Textual Amendments
F1Pt. VIII (ss. 71-80) substituted for Pt. VIII (ss. 71-85) (15.12.1999) by 1999 c. 26, s. 7, Sch. 4 Pt. I; S.I. 1999/2830, art. 2(2), Sch. 1 Pt. II (with Sch. 3 para. 10)
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C1S. 71 restricted (15.12.1999) by S.I. 1999/3312, reg. 9
Marginal Citations