Maternity policy template – how to create one for your small business

Small businesses with employees will need to meet legal obligations when it comes to having a maternity leave policy.

This guide explains the benefits of using a maternity policy template and what the law says when it comes to supporting your staff.

Why should small businesses use a maternity policy template?

Maternity and paternity leave are important legal obligations.

When it comes to maternity leave, through a combination of employer and the state, employees get:

• statutory maternity leave
• statutory maternity pay
• time off for antenatal care
• extra government help (dependent on the circumstances)

As maternity leave is a legal obligation, small businesses that have employees should have a maternity leave policy.

But drawing up a maternity leave policy can be challenging, especially if you don’t have in-house legal expertise. First, you need to make sure that your policy meets your statutory requirements. As well as that, you might want to offer extra perks.

That’s because small businesses that have more generous maternity and paternity leave terms can help them attract and retain talent – useful when competing against larger businesses.

Statutory maternity policies

Employers have legal requirements when it comes to maternity policies.

First, your maternity leave policy should be easily available to all employees. For example, you could have printed copies available in the office, or a digital copy on your company intranet.

The key responsibilities can be split into leave and pay.

For statutory maternity leave:

• employees who have an employment contract and who give the correct notice are entitled to up to 52 weeks of leave
• they can start their leave as early as 11 weeks before the week the baby is due (unless they’re born early)
• they’re obliged to take at least two weeks after the birth, or four if they’re a factory worker

For statutory maternity pay:

• employees may be eligible to be paid for up to 39 weeks
• for the first six weeks, they must be paid at least 90 per cent of their average pre-tax earnings
• for the following weeks, they’re entitled to £172.48, or, again, 90 per cent of their average pre-tax earnings, whichever is lower

Extended maternity leave policies

As long as you’re meeting your statutory requirements, you could also go beyond the legal minimum with your maternity policy. For example, you might want to make your maternity leave policy more generous, or increase maternity pay. Remember that you’ll still have to deduct income tax and National Insurance contributions from pay during leave.

Shared parental leave

You should also bear in mind that you may need to give paternity leave or shared parental leave (SPL). Employees who are eligible for SPL or shared parental pay may be able to take their leave in blocks, with periods of work in the middle.

It’s important to remember that you can’t discriminate on the basis of gender with parental leave or pay. For example, offering larger sums in maternity pay than in shared parental pay is likely to be unlawful.

Maternity policy template

A customisable maternity leave policy template for small business can help you get started, and you can edit it to find what’s right for you and your employees.

When communicating maternity leave policies to your employees, remember that all employment rights are protected during the period. These include pay rises, holiday, and return to work practices.

Small employers’ relief

Most employers can reclaim 92 per cent of an employee’s statutory parental pay. But if you’re classed as a small employer, then you may be able to reclaim 103 per cent.

In this case, the government defines a small employer as a business that paid less than £45,000 in Class 1 National Insurance in the last complete tax year. Reductions like Employment Allowance don’t apply to this total.

To claim your small employers’ relief, you’ll need to use your payroll software to send an Employer Payment Summary (EPS) that includes your payments. If you send the EPS by the 19th of the following tax month, you should receive a reduction in your next Full Payment Statement.

Have you got a maternity leave policy for your small business? Let us know in the comments below.

More small business guides

• HR toolkit – what HR tools do growing businesses need?
• The Bradford Factor – how to keep your business moving
• How to write a staff handbook
• How much employers’ liability insurance do I need?

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