Maternity policy

1. Purpose and Scope

1.1 Registers of Scotland (RoS) is committed to helping its employees to balance their family and work commitments.

1.2 This policy applies to all pregnant employees of RoS, during your pregnancy and the first year following the birth of your child.

1.3 This policy sets out your statutory and contractual maternity rights. It will enable you to understand the leave and pay available to you and support you in planning for your maternity leave and returning to work after leave.

1.4 RoS will not only meet legal requirements but will enhance certain provisions in particular circumstances.

1.5 This policy should be read in conjunction with the Maternity Leave Procedure.

1.6 If you are co-parenting, your co-parent could be entitled to paternity leave. If your co-parent is a RoS employee, you should both read our Paternity Leave Policy and Paternity Leave Procedures.

1.7 We would advise that you read this policy in conjunction with the shared parental leave policy. Some rights contained in this policy will be rescinded should you opt into (and are eligible for) the shared parental leave scheme.

2. Guiding Principles

This section outlines the principles of the Maternity Leave policy.

2.1 Maternity leave will not impact your terms and conditions of employment.

2.2 You are entitled to take up to 26 weeks' ordinary maternity leave followed immediately by up to 26 weeks' additional maternity leave. Your maximum entitlement is therefore to take up to 52 weeks' maternity leave.

2.3 You will have scheduled medical appointments throughout your pregnancy as advised by your GP or midwife. You are entitled to paid time off work so that you can attend these.

2.4 If your co-parent, is a RoS employee, they are eligible to take unpaid time off to accompany you to up to three appointments.

2.5 Whilst on maternity leave, you should continue to adhere to the Civil Service Code.

2.6 During your maternity leave, you can apply at any time for suitable vacancies advertised within RoS and the wider Civil Service.

2.7 During your maternity leave, you can work or attend training for up to 10 days (keeping in touch days) without that work bringing your maternity leave to an end and without loss of a week's statutory maternity pay.

3. Eligibility for occupational or statutory maternity pay

3.1 All employees at RoS who meet the qualification criteria can apply for paid maternity leave.

3.2 You may be entitled to maternity pay under RoS’s occupational maternity arrangements (full pay for 52 weeks) if you have:

• one years’ continuous service with RoS and/or the Civil Service
• earned, on average, at least as much as the lower earnings limit for National Insurance in the 8-week period ending at the end of the 15th week before your Expected Week of Childbirth.

3.3 If you have been employed for less than one year you may be eligible for statutory maternity pay.

4. Further information

4.1 Further information can be found regarding effect on conditions of service and procedures can be found on RoSnet.

5. Roles and responsibilities

5.1 Strategic Workforce Planning Group is responsible for the content of this policy, its approval and review. They are responsible for ensuring its implementation in practice and for monitoring this over time. They are responsible for ensuring that appropriate procedures, guidelines or standards as are required to support this are maintained and ownership for these assigned appropriately.

6. Approval and review

This policy will be reviewed by Strategic Workforce Planning Group and approved by the Policy and Practice Group annually, unless earlier review is appropriate.