Breadcrumbs Home Advice Holiday, sickness and leave Maternity, paternity and adoption Your maternity leave, pay and other rights. Taking maternity leave If you're entitled to maternity leave and pay, you can choose to start it either: from up to 11 weeks before your baby is due the day you give birth You must tell your employer the date you plan to start maternity leave no later than 15 weeks before your baby is due.
After your baby is born, by law you must: start your maternity leave if you have not already take off at least 2 weeks 4 weeks if you work in a factory — this is known as 'compulsory maternity leave' take all your maternity leave in one go Your maternity leave and pay ends when you go back to work. Changing the date you start maternity leave If you want to change the start date of your maternity leave, you must give your employer 28 days' notice, or agree a new date together.
If your baby arrives early If your baby is born earlier than expected or is premature, your maternity leave starts straight away. If you'd planned to work up to when your baby is born If you told your employer you want start maternity leave the day after your baby's born, you do not need to change anything.
If you want to start your maternity leave early, you can ask your employer. If you have a partner, their paternity leave starts when the baby is born. Holiday You still build up 'accrue' your holiday entitlement during maternity leave. You cannot take holiday during maternity leave as this would end your maternity leave and pay.
You could arrange whether to take your holiday entitlement before or after your maternity leave. It's against the law for the reason not to renew it to be your sex, pregnancy or maternity. Print Download. Print close X. Download close X.
Email address. There are a number of things you can do to make your maternity leave the best possible for both you and your employer:. For Additional Information: U.
Maternity Leave. What is Short-Term Disability? How long is maternity leave? How does unpaid leave work? Check with your human resource department regarding your family leave time: Determine if there is a state family leave mandate. Find the policies and restrictions on using vacation, sick, and unpaid time together. Check with your boss about any concerns related to your time away. Inquire about what happens to your benefits while you are on leave, whether or not anything changes, and who pays your premiums while you are on leave.
When should I take my maternity leave? Recommendations for Maternity Leave: There are a number of things you can do to make your maternity leave the best possible for both you and your employer: Check-in with your human resources department to find out the details about your maternity leave options.
This will help you plan for your best maternity leave options. Sit down with your partner and evaluate what time you can afford to take. It is better for you and your employer to know the plan ahead of schedule. After completing your first trimester , start the communication with human resources and those affected by your leave to help all parties prepare. Some employers are less friendly to pregnancy than others.
You may need to evaluate the best time to share the news based on previous experiences you have witnessed in the office. Provide your boss with suggestions and strategies to address your duties while you are gone, insights on what projects you are working on, and suggested co-workers to meet your responsibilities while on leave.
This can help overcome the potential concerns noted above. You're not qualified for disability leave in this case, but you are allowed 12 weeks of unpaid leave under the FMLA — or possibly more under your state's provisions or your company's policy. Generally this leave begins once the child arrives at your home or when you leave to go get the child if you're adopting from another country.
You may also be eligible to take time off during the adoption process to meet with lawyers or attend home visits. You can take paid vacation time as well, and some states and employers even allow you to use your sick leave. Federal guidelines require you to request leave at least 30 days before you plan to take it, but it may be best to give your boss more advance notice — you probably don't want to wait until you're obviously showing to tell your employer about your pregnancy.
But you may want to wait until after your first trimester, when your risk of miscarriage goes down significantly. After that, think about breaking the news as soon as you've thought through your leave request and your post-pregnancy work schedule. You'll be in a stronger position to negotiate a leave if you approach your boss with a specific plan and allow her plenty of time to help you implement it. If you have trusted co-workers who have been through this before, ask them how they handled their leave and what kind of reaction they got.
There's no "right time" to stop working. A lot will depend on your energy level, how easy or complicated your pregnancy becomes after the initial exhausting months, and the stress and physical labor involved in your job. Your financial situation will also be a factor, as the sooner you start your leave, the sooner it will run out after your baby's born.
Some women start their leave when they're seven or eight months pregnant, while others work right up until delivery. You'll need to monitor your pregnancy to determine the right time to start maternity leave. If your doctor puts you on bedrest or complications develop that require you to be out of work before you give birth, you'll most likely be put on short-term disability if your state or company offers it.
Under the FMLA, you can start taking unpaid leave anytime during your pregnancy — or anytime thereafter — as long as you conclude your leave within 12 months after your child's arrival.
Check with your human resources department to find out if any limitations apply under your company's leave policies. If you're sure you qualify under the FMLA or your state's provisions, make sure you've given the required notice and you have a plan to get your responsibilities covered while you're gone. Then, gently let your employer know more about these laws.
Contact the U. But start by being reasonable. You don't want to alienate your boss by making demands unless you have to. If reason doesn't work and you believe you're entitled to leave, contact your regional office of the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division to file a complaint.
A phone call from the Labor Department to your employer can resolve most problems. If the problem is not resolved, the Labor Department will investigate your complaint and may sue your employer on your behalf. If you don't get immediate results, consider hiring a lawyer who is familiar with employees' rights to help you.
You may also want to get in touch with Equal Rights Advocates , a national nonprofit organization that advocates for women's rights in the workplace. Call ERA's confidential, toll-free hotline at for advice on issues related to maternity leave and pregnancy discrimination.
To find out what kind of disability or unemployment insurance and other family leave provisions are currently available or coming soon to your state, check with your state's Department of Labor.
You can also search the Internet for your state's disability insurance policies. For a directory of companies that offer private short-term disability coverage for individuals, contact America's Health Insurance Plans. BabyCenter's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world. When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organizations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals.
We believe you should always know the source of the information you're seeing. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies. Department of Labor. Revised California Department of Fair Employment and Housing.
California Employment Development Department. Family and Medical Leave in Executive Summary. Updated Join now to personalize. What is maternity leave? How does short-term disability work? Will I have to pay income tax on disability income? What do I do when my short-term disability coverage runs out? How can I find out whether I'm entitled to unpaid leave?
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