What notice does an employee have to give prior to taking maternity leave?
An employee must provide, where practicable, a medical certificate to their employer 10 weeks before the expected date of birth advising (a) that the employee is pregnant and (b) the expected date of birth. An employee must then provide the employer with an application for a period of ordinary maternity leave no later than four weeks before the first day of the intended continuous period of maternity leave, unless it was not reasonably practicable to do so (for example, in the instance of premature birth). The application for leave must be accompanied by a statutory declaration stating the first and last days of the period of maternity leave; the first and last days of the period (or periods of paternity leave intended to be taken by the employee’s spouse; that the employee will be the child’s primary care-giver at all times during the period of maternity leave; and that the employee will not engage in any conduct inconsistent with her contract of employment during the period.
