Maternity leave

Let your manager know about your pregnancy as soon as you're comfortable, even if you're not sure of the exact dates. As this will help with planning and putting support in place while they are at work.

Tell your manager you’re pregnant 

The earlier you tell your manager the better, but the latest date that you can request maternity leave is 28 days before you intend to start your maternity leave. Where this isn’t possible, such as where you didn’t know that you were pregnant, you must tell them as soon as possible. 
 
Telling them early will help them to make sure your working conditions are safe and allow them to plan cover while you’re on leave. It also gives you time to check how much maternity leave you’re entitled to before confirming your start date.  

Managers should refer to the Pregnant and Recently Pregnant Employees Policy (HSP 9.10) (DOCX, 87KB) to check if you need any workplace adjustments.

Tell Payroll you’re pregnant 

You need to tell Payroll you’re pregnant so they can make sure your pay is correct when you go on leave. 

Complete a Maternity leave notification form

After your 20-week scan, you should receive a maternity certificate (MAT B1) from your midwife or GP. 

Once you have been given a maternity certificate (MAT B1) from your doctor or midwife confirming the due date, you should complete a maternity leave notification form (DOC, 108.88 KB). 

You must and complete and send the form no later than 28 days before you intend to start your maternity leave.

You’ll need to include:  

• the date your baby is due 
• a copy of your maternity certificate (MAT B1) 

Upload the completed maternity leave notification form to the Assyst portal.  

Payroll will send you a letter with the maternity pay you’re entitled to and the latest date you can return to work.  

Tell your manager your maternity leave start date 

Tell your manager the date that you intend to start your maternity leave as soon as you can.  

Managers complete a maternity leave start date form  

Your manager must complete Part A of the ML1 form (DOCX, 69KB). They should upload the ML1 form to the Assyst portal at least 28 days before you go on leave, so you get paid the right amount. 

If you need to change your maternity leave start date, ask your manager to complete and upload a new Maternity leave start date form to the Assyst portal.  

Preparing to go on maternity leave 

Handover before maternity leave

Meet with your manager to plan the handover of your work before your maternity leave begins. This ensures your responsibilities are covered and helps your team prepare for your absence.

You may find our guidance on taking long-term leave useful when planning your handover. It includes tips on creating a handover plan and managing your leave effectively.

For guidance on how to stay connected while you're away, see the section below on maintaining contact during maternity leave.

Make a record of your outstanding holiday balance 

While you are on maternity leave you will continue to accrue both annual leave and bank holiday entitlement. My Oracle will only automatically transfer up to 1 week’s outstanding leave (pro rata for part time employees) from one holiday year to the next. 

If your maternity leave extends into the next holiday year, refer to Carrying over annual leave to make sure that your unused and accrued annual leave is carried over for when you return to work. Read our Holiday Policy on the annual leave allowance page for more details.

Access to IT    

You may keep your IT equipment while on maternity leave to stay in touch and carry out work or go to online meetings during keeping in touch (KIT) days.  
 
Turn on your out of office reply and include an alternative contact on your email account before your leave starts. Save any work files and folders to your team’s shared drive.  

To keep your IT account active during your maternity leave, raise an Extended Leave Notification request on the Assyst portal by selecting 'IT services', 'people services' and then 'log an extended leave notification'.

Log in to your laptop every couple of months to avoid being locked out. If you get locked out of your laptop, you will need to return to IT and request a new laptop.  

Benefits and loans during maternity leave

You have access to all your usual employee benefits when you’re on maternity leave. All terms and conditions of employment stay the same during maternity leave, except for terms relating to pay.

Bicycle loan or public transport season ticket loan 

You can choose to vary or suspend the repayments that are taken directly from your maternity pay.

You'll need to make alternative arrangements to pay back the amount you owe by the agreed repayment deadline.

Contact People Support to make changes to your loan repayments on the Assyst portal.

Lease cars during leave

You can keep your lease car during your leave as long as you continue to make the lease car payments. These payments will be deducted from any pay you receive during your maternity leave.

The Car Provision Scheme (CPS) Administration team will contact you once your paid leave ends and provide invoices for you to pay them directly.

To avoid falling into arrears with your payments, it is advisable to contact the Car Provision Scheme (CPS) Administration team before starting leave to make arrangements.

Maintaining contact during maternity leave

While you're on maternity leave, it's important to stay connected. Not to discuss day-to-day work, but to keep informed about things that may affect you or help you feel supported.

You and your manager should agree how you’ll stay in touch before your leave begins.  This could be by email, phone, text, or another method that works for you both.

Your manager will keep you updated about:

• changes to your role or team, for example restructures, new responsibilities, or team members
• organisational updates, for example service changes, new policies, or wider Essex County Council developments
• potential KIT days (Keeping in Touch days), if you choose to use them
• return-to-work planning, for example flexible working, using annual leave for a phased return, or changes to your return date
• any other relevant updates, for example wellbeing support, training opportunities, or baby news you’d like to share

This contact is not about your regular workload, it’s about making sure you feel informed, included, and supported while you're away.