Letter to Confirm an Employee's Maternity Leave by Acas
This template is a formal letter from an employer to an employee, confirming the details of their maternity leave. It outlines the agreed-upon start and return dates, explains procedures for changing these dates, and clarifies policies regarding early leave triggers, antenatal appointments, holiday entitlement, and keeping in touch (KIT) days.
Letter to Confirm an Employee’s Maternity Leave (Template)
[Today's date]
Dear [name of your employee],
Thank you for telling us about your pregnancy in your [letter / email] dated [date].
Maternity leave start and return dates
You told us you want to start your maternity leave on [date].
You're entitled to 52 weeks' statutory maternity leave.
[Optional] Your contract also gives you enhanced maternity leave of [number of weeks].
If you take your full entitlement, your return to work date will be [date].
If you want to take less than your full maternity leave entitlement, please let us know. By law, you must take at least 2 weeks' off after your baby is born. [Note: if your employee works in a factory, they must take at least 4 weeks' off]
Changing your maternity leave start and return dates
If you want to change the date you start your maternity leave, you must give us at least 28 days' notice.
If you want to change the date you return from maternity leave, you must give us at least 8 weeks' notice.
If your maternity leave is triggered early
If your baby arrives early your maternity leave will automatically start the date after your baby is born. If this happens, please let us know as soon as possible.
If you're off work with pregnancy-related illness at any time in the 4 weeks before your baby is due, your maternity leave will automatically start after the first day of absence.
If your maternity leave is triggered early, we will tell you your new return to work date within 28 days.
Antenatal appointments
You have the right to a reasonable amount of paid time off for pregnancy-related appointments.
After your first appointment, you must provide an appointment card or other evidence of your appointments if we ask for it.
Holiday entitlement
You will still build up your usual holiday entitlement while you're on maternity leave.
You cannot use holiday entitlement while you're on maternity leave. But you can arrange to use your holiday before or after maternity leave.
You should speak to [name or job role of relevant person in your organisation] as early as possible about how to use your holiday entitlement, including any you build up while on maternity leave.
Keeping in touch days
You can work for up to 10 days during your maternity leave to help you stay in touch with [name of organisation]. These are called 'keeping touch (KIT) days'.
You should speak to [name or job role of relevant person in your organisation] to arrange any keeping in touch days.
If you have any questions about anything in this letter, please get in touch.
Yours sincerely,
[Your name]
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