Employment Rights Act 1996

73 Duration of maternity leave period

(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), an employee’s maternity leave period continues for the period of fourteen weeks from its commencement or until the birth of the child, if later.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), where any requirement imposed by or under any relevant statutory provision prohibits the employee from working for any period after the end of the period mentioned in subsection (1) by reason of her having recently given birth, her maternity leave period continues until the end of that later period.

(3) Where the employee is dismissed after the commencement of her maternity leave period but before the time when (apart from this subsection) that period would end, the period ends at the time of the dismissal.

(4) In subsection (2) “relevant statutory provision” means a provision of—

(a) an enactment, or

(b) an instrument made under an enactment,

other than a provision for the time being specified in an order made under section 66(2).

(5) The Secretary of State may by order vary subsections (1) to (4).