Uk - paying back maternity leave

Depends how many hours you do , if part time 10-16 then it’s around 6 months , should be 3 if doing full time .

Are they offering enhanced maternity pay? Or statutory? If enhanced, then they can set the terms, and it's up to you whether you accept the extra money or not.

For enhanced pay I don’t think there are standards - you’d find places like NHS and civil service with a set number but private companies especially can basically do what they want. As Robyn says it’s then up to you about whether you want to take the extra money or negotiate etc. Statutory should never have to be paid back.

If you’re given a substantial amount of enhanced pay I would say a year is reasonable. There is no ‘standard’, companies can stipulate what they want, as they don’t have to give you anything over SMP.

Where I work both men and women get 6 months of parental leave at full pay. If you leave within the year after you have to pay the enhanced amount back proportionally.

Before I went on maternity leave I had to sign a piece of paper stating. I would be returning and working a minimum amount of 12 weeks at work. I would not be returning after maternity leave and I would not be returning after maternity leave this is my resignation (I didn't see much difference between the last two as surely it would have meant not getting enhanced but I never asked) Every company is different

you could ask to not have the enhanced pay, and just have statutory maternity pay. it’ll be significantly less, but if you’re not planning on going back and it means that much to you then you can take statutory maternity pay and not have to pay that back. they might refuse tho idk if you have to take the maternity package the company gives you, i feel like you could refuse that sort of thing so you’re not trapped but idk. my workplace had the options of “statutory maternity pay” or “occupational maternity pay” which was the enhanced pay. i chose SMP as i’m hoping to find a new job at the end of maternity xx

Eeesh no I don’t want to not take the enhanced…. Ahh such an annoying thing, might look for something else.

@Sarah i think considering you've just started working there, you're quite lucky to be being offered anything other than statutory tbh. Perhaps that's why the return period is so long. Not sure you'll find a better deal than that. For some context, my company offered me 3 months full pay and I had to return for 6 months. I'd worked there for about 3 years. This time around they are giving me 3 months full pay and I don't have to go back at all but I've worked for them for 6 years

I think you only have to pay back what your company has directly paid you. So if they top up your maternity pay for example that’s the amount you’d have to pay back. But I might be wrong x

@Sarah it’s quite a normal request although a year is a long time. It stops people getting a new job for the Mat pay then leaving (which sounds like what you are planning on doing!) you can’t blame a business for writing it in a contract. If you plan on having more kids I would take the job - by the time you have worked your notice you could be pregnant again and so your mat pay starts again. What is your mat pay package? Assuming it’s 6mths full pay of more for them to want a return to work clause?

Im getting enhanced and have to go back for 6 months, I am part time but its the same amount of time at my company irrespective of hours

Yeaah I'm getting enhanced. So full pay for 5 months then half for 2. I had to tick a box lettering them know whether I had no intention of returning, was returning on a Flexi working pattern or returning to my normal hours and normal role. I have to be working again for a certain amount of time (I think it's at least 3 months) to be entitled to maternity pay again if I fell pregnant again. If I resigned while on maternity now and didn't go back, I'll have to pay it back.

I get enhanced for 3 months and I have to return for 3 months x

Are you planning on not going back to work after your maternity leave ? If not, then it doesn’t really matter

I’m a teacher and mine is 13 weeks or 26 weeks if I did part time

mines the same as @Aimee, i got 4 months enhanced so i have to return the minimum of 4 months if not pay back the enhanced. like many of the comments say, pretty sure they can set their own timeframe of what they are wanting, but yeah a year does seem like a long time.

@Robyn I have to have worked there for a year before I can claim it

@Aimee yes that’s what I thought was the norm but obviously not 🥲

Thanks guys - didn’t expect so many responses. For context, I only get 3 months full pay as well - so not the most generous when you have to return for a year! Also, they don’t offer it until you’ve been there a year so again, it’s not the most and not the least generous. I’m not pregnant and didn’t start pregnant but we are planning this year. I was just curious as to what the ‘norm’ was.

@Francesca 3 months full pay! Then statutory. So not exactly generous for them to insist I return for a year. I’m not sure what future plans will be or whether I want to return.

Ah ok 3mths isn’t that generous these days to warrant a return for 12mths so I see your point.If you don’t know your plans I would take the pay but save it so that you can pay it back if you decide to leave. Gives you options then. If you are already pregnant and they are offering you mat pay however that’s good as normally you have to have been an employee for a period of time prior to receiving the benefit You never know you might actually like returning to work - I did for my sanity 😂😂

That's a bit mean of them tbh! I got full pay for 9 months and only had to be back for 3 months and then I could leave if I wanted. If it helps, I've been back to work for a year now after my second and I'm only just feeling like myself again and like I know what I'm doing 😆 so it sounds like a long time but it doesn't always feel that way!

@Sarah right, that makes more sense. I think most of us were assuming you were pregnant now. I think the norm in most companies is no enhanced maternity pay so depends if you can find a better maternity policy somewhere else

@Helen the difference between the last 2 would be that one means you don't expect to return but don't want the finality of officially handing in a resignation until later, therefore if you do return you get the enhanced pay as a lump sum after completing 12 weeks, and the other is definitely won't return and last day of employment is the last day of mat leave, no ifs or buts. @Sarah I had to be employed a year to qualify for enhanced (4 weeks full pay, 2 weeks 90% and 12 weeks 50%+smp) then had to return a minimum of 13 weeks to not pay back the 12 weeks of 50%. It's quite normal to require a period of return, but 12mo for 3mo full pay seems excessive.