Employment Law

If you run a tiny business or have a begin up organization the initial time you are notified that an employee is pregnant can open up a minefield of employment law problems. Pregnancy and maternity leave have stringent guidelines set out by employment law in the UK and it is wise to seek guidance from professional employer services when a notification is made to human resources.

As component of the employee manual your HR department or representative really should have included guidelines on pregnancy and maternity leave so that you are ready for the eventuality and your employees know how to notify you correctly.

1 region that employers are frequently unaware of is that pregnant employees are entitled to request paid time off work in order to attend antenatal care. As the employer you have the right to request proof that your employee is pregnant and to see any appointment cards excluding the 1st appointment. Antenatal care is not clearly defined but it ought to be assumed that parent craft and relaxation classes will fall under the umbrella of antenatal care.

In order to stay away from employment tribunal claims you really should not request that the employee make up the time at work. You can encourage people who work part-time to attend antenatal care outside of their working hours but you need to appreciate that employees do not constantly have control over when their appointments are issued.

If you had been to refuse a request then the case would be reviewed based on the employee’s health, the length of time requested off and whether or not appointments could be attended outside of working hours. Time off from work will also contain travelling time and waiting for the appointment. Any unreasonable refusals could be met by employment tribunal relating to sex discrimination, unfair dismissal and pay claims.

At Northgate Arinso we give a comprehensive employment law service and tribunal representation to our clients.