Maternity Leave and Pay

If you are pregnant you should contact HR to discuss your eligibility to maternity benefits, and the information you need to provide in order to receive these benefits.  

EWC - Expected Week of Childbirth means the week, beginning with midnight between Saturday and Sunday, in which it is expected that childbirth will occur.

QW - Qualifying week is the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth.  

Ordinary Maternity Leave – First 26 weeks of your maternity leave. 

Additional Maternity Leave – Additional 26 weeks of your maternity leave.

Antenatal Care - You have the right to reasonable paid time off to receive antenatal care (for example, visiting antenatal clinics) prescribed by a registered doctor or midwife, or health visitor.

 

You will be required to produce proof that antenatal appointments have been made (e.g. appointment card) before paid time off is granted (except in the case of first appointment).  

You should advise your Manager in advance of the time you need to take off to attend antenatal clinics.  In addition, you should obtain from your doctor or midwife a medical certificate (MATB1 form) stating you are pregnant and the expected week of childbirth.

Fathers and partners have the right to take unpaid time off to accompany expectant mothers to up to two antenatal appointments that have been made on the advice of a registered medical practitioner, nurse or midwife.  Each appointment can last for up to 6 and a half hours and there is no qualifying period required.

You should advise your Manager in advance of the time you need to take off to attend these appointments, and book them on the CISI absent management system.

 All employees are entitled to 26 weeks Ordinary Maternity leave, and 26 weeks’ additional maternity leave and must fulfil the conditions set out below. 

You cannot start your maternity leave earlier than the 11th week before your EWC, unless childbirth has occurred.  It can commence at any time after that date up to the actual date of birth. 

From the end of your 29th week of pregnancy, you will need to provide the Institute with regular certificates from your Doctor confirming that you are well enough to continue working.  You will be reimbursed for any charges made by the Doctor. If you are unable to provide certificates the options such as unpaid leave, paid leave, or starting maternity leave will be discussed.

If you are absent due to a pregnancy related illness within the 4 weeks before your EWC, you will automatically transfer to maternity leave. 

You must notify the Institute of your intention to take maternity leave by the end of the 15th week before your EWC, or as soon as reasonably practicable.  You must notify the Institute, in writing, that you are pregnant; the week the baby is expected to be born and when you want to start maternity leave. You must also provide medical evidence of your EWC in the form of a maternity certificate (MATB1 form). This is available from a registered doctor or midwife no earlier than 20 weeks before your EWC  and must be forwarded to the Institute as soon as possible but no later than three weeks after the start of your Maternity Leave. 

No Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) can be payable without this certificate or an acceptable alternative.

If you wish to change the date you wish to start maternity leave, you must give the Institute at least 28 days’ notice in writing (unless it is not reasonably practicable). 

Once you have given notice, the Institute will write to you, within 28 days, unless you have varied the date, in which case the Institute will response within 28 days of the start of maternity leave.  The Institute will set out the date on which you will be expected to return to work if you take your full entitlement of maternity leave. 

You will need take all of your current year’s annual leave before you start your maternity leave. 

Please inform HR of the date of birth of the baby at the earliest opportunity.

You may not return to work within the two weeks' period following the actual date of birth.

You do not have to give notice of your return to work unless you wish to return before the end of your full maternity leave.  However, it is helpful if you give the Institute an indication of your plans and keep in touch regarding your return to work. 

If you wish to return early from your maternity leave period, you must give at least 8 weeks’ notice in writing to HR.  If you wish to change this date, you must give 8 weeks’ notice.

If you fail to give 8 weeks’ notice of an early return, the Institute may postpone your return so that the Institute has the full benefit of the 8 weeks’ notice. However, your return will not be postponed beyond the end of your maternity leave. 

If you are unwell at the end of your maternity leave, you must contact HR and submit a medical certificate confirming that you are suffering from a medical condition, which prevents you from working. The Institute’s rules of sickness absence will then apply.

If you return to work after your Ordinary maternity leave, you have the right to return to your own job on the same terms & conditions of service. 

If you return after Additional maternity leave, you are entitled to return to the same job or, if that is not reasonably practicable, to an alternative job of equal grade, pay and conditions on no less favourable terms.  

Where you will be returning to an alternative job, you will be advised as soon as is reasonably practical and a meeting will be arranged with you to discuss the alternative job.

If you do not wish to return to work after your ordinary and/or additional maternity leave period, you must give the Institute notice of termination as required by your Contract of Employment.  In certain circumstances, the Institute will accept shorter notice than your contractual notice if you do not wish to return to work.

While you are on maternity leave, the Institute may make reasonable contact with you to discuss for example, arrangements for your return to work, or to keep you abreast of developments in the workplace.  This will be discussed with you before you start your maternity leave.

There is the option for you to work up to 10 days during your maternity leave without losing your statutory maternity pay and without bringing your maternity leave to an end.   These would be arranged by mutual agreement and could be so that you can attend a conference, training or team meeting, etc (not to do your job).  There needs to be a purpose and structure for the day(s). You would be paid at your daily / hourly rate of pay. This can be discussed and arranged with your line manager during your maternity leave. 

You continue to be an employee throughout your whole maternity leave.  During this period, you are entitled to the benefit of your employer's implied obligation of trust and confidence and any terms relating to notice of termination by the employer, redundancy pay and disciplinary or grievance procedures. You remain bound by your implied obligation of good faith and any terms as to notice of termination by you, disclosure of confidential information, acceptance of gifts or other benefits and participation in any other business. 

Your contract continues during ordinary and additional maternity leave and all contractual benefits except wages and salary will continue.  Your contractual benefits could include life assurance and permanent health insurance, cover continues subject to the insurers terms, and membership of the private medical insurance.

• You will continue to be eligible for the Travel and London office allowance, where applicable.  If you have an annual travel ticket, you may wish to return it, as you pay tax and national insurance contributions on its value. 

• Your entitlement to your contractual paid holiday entitlement will accrue during your maternity leave.

• In the spirit of the positive changes, we have made to maternity leave, we have decided that we will now treat the three days at Christmas, when the UK office is closed, as a contractual benefit and therefore three days will be added to the leave you accrue during maternity or shared parental leave.

If you are a member of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment’s Pension scheme with Aviva the Institute will continue to make contributions to your pension, subject to the rules of the scheme and government limits on levels of contributions.  |Aviva must legally treat any period of unpaid maternity leave (e.g. when you are not receiving statutory maternity pay) as a contribution holiday.

To be eligible to receive the CISI’s enhanced maternity pay you must have been an employee of the CISI for at least two years at EWC. 

The maximum entitlement to Maternity pay is 39 weeks. Employees will receive a higher rate of maternity pay in respect of the first seventeen weeks and SMP for the remaining 22 weeks. 

Weeks of payment at the lower rate may be lost if the employee does any work for the CISI during their maternity leave apart from the ‘keeping in touch days’.

• Higher rate maternity pay is 100% of your normal weekly salary 

• SMP  is a flat rate set by the Government each year

Employees who are not eligible for the enhanced maternity pay will receive statutory maternity pay subject to meeting the criteria below. 

The maximum entitlement to Maternity pay is 39 weeks. Employees will receive higher rate maternity pay in respect of the first six weeks and SMP for the remaining weeks. Weeks of payment at the lower rate may be lost if the employee does any work for the CISI during their maternity leave apart from the ‘keeping in touch days’.

• Higher rate SMP is 90% of your average weekly earnings.

• Lower rate SMP is a flat rate set by the Government each year. 

Maternity pay will be paid in the same way as your salary on or around the 24th of each month and is subject to tax and National Insurance.

Employees who:

(a) Are taken into legal custody, or

(b) Work for another employer

During their Maternity period must notify the Institute as soon as possible, as their entitlement to SMP may be affected.

Entitlement to SMP is dependent on the following: -

• You still being employed in the QW (the 15th week before your EWC); and 

• At the QW you have at least 26 weeks’ continuous service; and 

• You have given proper advance notification of your pregnancy; and 

• You have provided a MABT1 certificate; and 

• You have stopped work/left employment for a reason connected with your pregnancy; and 

• You earn more than the national insurance lower earnings limit; and 

• You are not excluded e.g. have been taken into legal custody.

If your pregnancy means that you are unable to do your job adequately, or where it is unlawful for a pregnant woman to do a particular job, or where a health and safety risk to you or your baby has been identified but cannot be eliminated, the Institute may have to suspend you on full pay. Before such action is taken, every effort will be made to change your hours of work or conditions if there is a health and safety risk, or to find suitable alternative work for you.

You may continue working as close to your EWC as you wish, provided you continue to be capable of doing your job adequately. The Institute reserves the right to require you to be examined by the Institute doctor where it is felt that your health, or that of the baby, may be suffering as a result of your continuing to work.

As the Contract of Employment continues during maternity leave, it is a condition of your continued entitlement to benefits during your maternity absence that you do not work for another employer during this time. Should you wish to take up other employment during your maternity absence you must contact the HR Department at least four weeks before you wish to start the work in question.

If a bank holiday falls during the period when you are receiving SMP only, you will be paid for that day via the payroll.  This is pro-rata for part-time employees.