Maternity pay and fixed term contracts

[jplw]

Whilst avoiding writing up my thesis I was just pondering things and although completely hypothetical I was wondering if anyone knew the answer to this question;

If you are on a fixed term contract with the NHS (inc DClinPsy) and you became pregnant in the last year of your contract and were due to go on maternity leave maybe a month or so before your contract came to an end what are you entitled to with regards to maternity leave and pay? Would you receive the full maternity pay that you would on a permanent contract or do you only get paid up until the end of your fixed term contract?

[jplw]

I've just answered my own question, for anyone who's interested, if your contract ends after the 11th week before you expect to give birth then your contract will be extended to allow 52 weeks maternity leave (provided you meet the criteria for this amount of leave, e.g. 12 months continuous service).

This will also not count as a break in employment provided you take up a new NHS employment afterwards

Right I've satisfied my curiosity, on with the thesis....

[Bdawson]

NHS national policy states that an employee who is on a fixed term contract will have their contracts extended to include 52 weeks paid maternity leave. In essence. There is a proviso that you have been working for at least 12 months continuous NHS service, but even that has a rider included that says you could still be entitled if you havn't got that.

So really, you get you contract extended for a year Not much else to it.

[Bdawson]

Beat me to it

[Cattius]

I've often wondered about this - I know if you're on a DClinPsy course you get mat. leave - by continuous NHS service for 12 months, does this mean in that current fixed term contract? I have worked for the NHS since 2006 continuously no breaks, the last two roles have been fixed term, and my next role is a 9 month fixed term contract - not that I'm planning a baby, I'm just wondering how it works!! I have a feeling by the time I get on to the course it'll be baby time!

Cat
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Cattius.

"Go away, I'm alright" The last words of HG Wells.

[Bdawson]

Continuous service is in any post and can have a gap of up to.....3... months? If memory serves, dont quote me on the 3 months.. it's just a memory estimate

So yea, if youve worked in any NHS post for the past 12+ months (even with a gap between jobs) you are entitled.

My interest would be, what happens if you didnt? If you havnt racked up 12 months continuous service in the NHS, say you'd come from private 9 months ago and got pregant early on, can they deny you Mat leave? I always thought mat leave was a right in law, rather than contracts.

[lakeland]

[Cattius]

There's all sorts of rules and regs... they can't say "you can't have mat leave" but they can only pay you statutory rates (about £120 a week) rather than "half pay" plus statutory mat pay. You're entitled to so many months of each, so you start on half pay plus statutory then it drops down to just statutory pay, I'm pretty sure you get a few months full pay too. It's very complicated!!

Cat
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Cattius.

"Go away, I'm alright" The last words of HG Wells.

[Cattius]

[jplw]

Personally I wouldn't try to get pregnant whilst on the course as I think it would be a nightmare trying to cope with the demands of both course and baby. However I fully understand that in reality the course ought to be seen as any other job and people shouldn't feel they have to wait until it's over before they can contemplate having a family. Particularly since the majority of trainees will be at 'the right age' for wanting babies (ie, late 20's to early 30's).

I think it's good to know the rules and regs for if pregnancy happened, but I don't think it's a good idea to plan it - not for me anyway.

I suppose it comes down to individual choice and preference and the age at which you get onto the course. If I was getting on for 35 before I got on the course I might think different to how I do now as at that time of my life a family would be much more important to me than my career. I would regret more waiting to have a baby and then having difficulty getting pregnant due to age than struggling to cope with a baby and the course.

[Loula]

[miriam]

As someone who has just done the maternity leave thing, there are a couple of extra comments I can add.

Firstly, your trust can often spread your pay evenly over the length of maternity leave you choose if you ask them to, rather than paying you a lot at the beginning and then less and less and finally zero!

Secondly in terms of how feasible it is to do whilst on training or working: don't forget that to keep up your income you have to work whilst you are pregnant even if you take maternity leave right at the end and when the babies are born. So don't underestimate how tired you will be, the days you might feel sick, the impact of hormone challenges (which might be a bit like longer lasting PMT), the weight you will be carrying at the end, and the impact of having a visible bump on your clients (this was a particular issue for me, working in adoption and child protection contexts). There might also be different worries, and changes to your family relationships and view of the world (and your work/life balance). Plus there are the practical demands of having to organise for all the changes in your life, whether it be in terms of buying baby clothes, cot, pram and nursery items or changes in childcare arrangements, and/or attending antenatal classes. You do get paid work time for appointments, but I imagine wrapping all that around trying to complete academic and placement requirements could be pretty tough, even if the pregnancy runs relatively smoothly!
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Miriam

Friends are like stars: you can't always see them but they are always there.

(18lbs lost since 18th July)

[chixta]

Just to second what Miriam says, my husband and I considered babies during the course, but I am so glad we didnt!! Far too much stress, it would have been the end to my psych career before it even began! 8 months to go to the end of the course, I'll be just turned 30, and plenty of time for kids yet. Of course, its an individual decision, based on lots of factors, but just dont underestimate the stress levels of completing the course!

[lakeland]

I think although in theory the course should be viewed as any other job, it definitely isn't in practice. Obviously all courses are different, but on my course at the moment, there are some teaching days that don't finish until after 6.30pm. And then with travelling, it can be a very long day. I can't imagine how I could manage if I had a family to attend to. Especially when a lot of the time, coursework takes up evenings and weekends - who knew I'd spend all my study days actually studying?!

[BlueCat]

Some people manage. In my cohort of 24, there were five babies over the duration of the course (two of the trainees became fathers rather than mothers), and people managed. I think generally one does manage, because there isn't really an other option!

There are some people, with and without children (I am NOT one of them!) who managed to organise their time really well and get all their studying done on study days, leaving evenings and weekends free for the rest of their lives. It can be done, but I think to do this one has to suspend the desire to do really really well on every assignment, and be very focussed and efficient with study time (i.e. not spend half the time "organising" notes, or making a list of books I'd like to read.....).