Employers and Maternity Leave

[Dedrei]

Hi girls

I have a friend who is pregnant and she is in discussion with her manager regarding her maternity leave. They are refusing to let her earlier on maternity leave. She is due beginning of March and is already suffering quite a bit.

She was thinking of leaving a month before her due date (I think she put in leave from her due date), but employer doesn't want to give in.

Can they legally do this? Just doesn't seem right to me. She works in a office at a desk all day, so luckily she doens't have to stand all day. But still.

Cheers

[aardvark]

If she gets a medical certificate, they have no choice, regardless of how far along she is.

And usually maternity leave is definately available from 34 weeks without any extra documentation, in fact you can be asked for more doco if you want to work past 34 weeks.

[~Emmylou~]

Considering that it's not at all uncommon for babies to arrive 2-3 weeks BEFORE their due date I can't see how they can make her work until then.

Leaving at 36 weeks seems reasonable - it's not like she's only 16 weeks FGS.

I think you have to put in writing to your employer when you intend to start leave no less than 10 weeks before you are due. The problem may be because she has already given them this notification and is now trying to change it. But even so I doubt that legally they would have a leg to stand on (but who knows now with the new IR laws :rolleyes: ). But as the PP said maybe she should just get a med cert and they can go whistle dixie then LOL.
Poor thing I hope they become more sympathetic. How nasty :(

[Dancing Girl]

aardvark is right - your should tell your friend that as long as she gets a medical certificate from her OB stating that they recommend your friend commence mat leave from the month before, she should stand her ground to leave early.

An employer cannot dispute a med cert and she is still entitled to take up to 52 weeks leave from the time she finishes work.

[MrsMiggins]

:yes: Yep! Again - I'm with aardvark!

I'm currently trying to put in for leave commencing 6 weeks +3 work days before my due date. My boss is splitting hairs a bit, but I'm not too worried as our EA states that they must accept any applications for leave commencing 6 weeks prior to the due date. I asked for the extra 3 days because I have some medical appointments that week & it will just be much easier if I have the time off work already organised, but if she's going to be painful about it, I will just take them as sick days.

[Stretchmark Diva]

The only thing I can think of as to why the employer might be behaving in such an unsympathetic fashion is if your friend hasn't been working there for 12 months. Technically she has to be there 12 months to be entitled to maternity leave.

But if she's been there 12 months, then her boss is just being an utter b@st@rd. If her OB provides a letter saying he wants her to stop working they are obliged under Workplace Health & Safety laws to allow her to stop work.

But as the others have said, a month before her due date isn't unusual - many workplaces require a note from the OB saying the pregnant woman is OK to work longer than that time.

She should bypass her boss and go to the human resources department (if her employer has one).

Good luck to your friend.

[Pobblebonk]

Hi! How are you? I actually used to have the Family Leave Award in full copy but I've thrown it out recently.

As I could understand it, you need to give your employer a letter along with a medical certificate stating you are pregannt and your EDD notifying them of your intention to take maternity leave. You DO NOT have to tell them in this letter when you will be taking it. Just notify them of your intention to take it. As long as you have been with them for 12 months from when you intend to take it, you're entitled to it.

Then, four weeks before you intend to start maternity leave, you write another letter notifying them of when you intend to take maternity leave from.

The only other thing you need to do is to notify them four weeks before you intend to return to work, is write another letter letting them know of your intended date of return.

I don't think that in the FLA does it say that they can refuse you maternity leave if you have been with them for 12 months from the date you intend to take it.

That was my understanding of it all.

[Sheer Bliss]

I am taking Leave from about 32 weeks - and as far as i know they can't refuse when you start - so long as you have given them notice (it might vary depending on the award/agreement you have). And yep with a medical certificate they can't deny it at all. I was actually on sick leave for 2weeks before DD was born (toxemia). My dr gave me a cert to say that i was unfit for work from that day to my due date.

[mz sv6]

i had to take maternity leave 34 weeks cause they don't like ppl working more than that but if i wanted to stay till 36 weeks i had to have a medical certificate from the doctor saying i could keep working

[iluvmeboyz]

i work for coles and last yr in sept i leaft early on maternity leave i was 30 wks cause i could not work anymore cause i'm a nitefiller they are ok with that ,i would ask her doc to write out a doc certificater saying that she cant work anymore the maternity leave is 12 months but for my work in 07 it changes to 2 yrs.

[missie_mack]

Ok Ive done a little checking (as Im not use to the Qld industrial relations system) and depending on what system she falls on here are her basic rights

Federal Industrial Relations Legislation
Under the Parental Leave Test Case Decision 1990
Parents are entitled to a total of 52 weeks unpaid leave on a shared basis to care for their newborn child or their adopted child. Employees must have a minimum of 12 months continuous service by the expected date of birth or adoption. Employees are entitled to return to the same position they held before taking leave and their continuity of service is not affected. The decision also provided access to part-time work with the agreement of the employer up to a maximum of two years from the birth or adoption of the child. It also provides for maternity leave of up to six weeks before the birth of the child.

And those coming under State System

The minimum entitlements for parental leave outlined in the Family Leave Award 2003 though similar to the Industrial Relations Act 1999 contain additional entitlements:

Working while pregnant: During the six weeks before the expected date of birth, the employee must produce a medical certificate on the employer’s request, stating that she is fit for her normal duties or transfer to a safe job (section 2.1.5).
Part-time employment: the Family Leave Award 2003 provides for part-time employment for pregnant employees and employees returning from parental leave.Hope this is of some help! They reckon working on your rear is the worst as this is when we get the most pressure and a lot of women suffer sciatica...

[iluvmeboyz]

i never had to produce a certificate to my work place.

[Kizmet]

i was due on the first of march and left work on the 1st of feb cuz i couldnt sit any longer and my anniversary for working there was the 24th of feb so i got no maternity leave because of 23 days:thumbsdown:

[Baileyjaysmum]

Hi

I went on maternity leave when I was just over six months pregnant. It was not my choice to do so but we were moving house and my employer would not give me two days to move house(I worked three days a week) so I was forced to take maternity leave. It just means I go back in August which is 12months when Charlize will only be 8months old. So it can be done. The only thing is that I hope they take me back because I left on bad terms but I have worked for them for seven years so that should count for something.

[roselllana]

Hello Dedrei,

I had the same problem as your friend. Have a look what I found on the Internet when I was trying to solve that problem. http://www.simply-docs.co.uk/Document.aspx?documentID=604

Good luck
Roselllana