This blog offers guidance on what you should do if you employer refuses to pay your maternity pay.
What Maternity Pay Am I Entitled To?
The starting point for any pregnant employee is to establish what payments they should receive during their Maternity Leave. This will depend on whether you are entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay or Company Maternity Pay.
- Statutory Maternity Pay
To receive Statutory Maternity Pay you must meet certain criteria as follows: –
- You must be either an employee or worker.
- You must give at least 28 days’ notice of the day you want your Statutory Maternity Pay to start.
- You must provide proof of your pregnancy – this is usually provided by the MATB1 certificate given by your midwife or doctor.
- You must have been employed for at least 26 weeks at the start of your qualifying week. The qualifying week is the 15th week prior to your Due Date. Understandable this definition can cause confusion among expectant mothers. As such, I find it useful to provide my clients with a worked example: –
Ms X has an Expected Due Date of 04 November 2026. Her qualifying week will be 22 July 2026 (15 weeks before her Due Date). To qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay, Ms X needs to have worked for her employer for a minimum of 26 weeks by 22 July 2026.
You can received Statutory Maternity Pay for 39 weeks. For the first 6 weeks you are entitled to 90% of your average weekly wage. Thereafter, you are entitled to £194.32 or 90% of your weekly wage (whichever is the lowest) for the remaining 33 weeks.
- Company Maternity Pay
Some Company’s offer pregnant employees an enhanced Company Maternity Pay. The eligibility criteria and amount of pay will be set by the Company’s Maternity Pay Policy. Any Company Maternity Pay is at the sole discretion of each individual employer.
My Employer is Refusing to Pay My Maternity Pay: What Should I Do?
If you are entitled to receive either Statutory or Company Maternity Pay, but your employer has refused to pay this correctly, then you may need to consider further steps. These are set out below.
- Informal Discussion
The first stage to consider would be to raise the issue by way of informal discussion with your manager or HR department to try and resolve the matter. The issue may have come about due to a misunderstanding or mistake. Accordingly, it may be able to be quickly resolved by way of an informal discussion. It is important that you keep a written record / notes of any informal discussion you have and what is agreed.
- Formal Grievance
If the pay issue cannot be resolved by an informal discussion, the next stage would be to raise a Formal Grievance. It is important that you check your company’s Grievance Policy and raise any Formal Grievance in line with that policy. If you Company does not have a Grievance Policy, or if you cannot access it, you should follow the ACAS Code of Practice on Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures.
Your Grievance should be in writing and should clearly explain your concerns in respect of the maternity pay and your employer’s refusal to pay it. Once you have submitted your Formal Grievance, your employer will need to arrange a Formal Grievance meeting with you to go through your concerns. Following this meeting, they will need to prepare a written outcome report. Hopefully, you matter can be satisfactorily resolved by way of the Formal Grievance. If this occurs, you should not need to take any further action. If, however, the matter cannot be resolved then you may want to consider Employment Tribunal claims.
- ACAS Early Conciliation
If you are unable to resolve matter by way of the above internal processes, then you can consider ACAS Early Conciliation. This is a mandatory process that all potential claimants must go through before they can submit a claim to the Employment Tribunal.
There are strict time limits to bring a claim at the Employment Tribunal. For more information, please see our blog: https://lincslaw.co.uk/blog/what-are-the-time-limits-for-employment-tribunal-claims-2/
Pregnancy and Maternity Discrimination
It is unlawful for your employer to treat you less favourably because you are pregnant or are on maternity leave. Likewise, it is unlawful for your employer to refuse eligible mothers Statutory Maternity Pay.
If you have been discriminated against based on pregnancy or maternity, you may have claims at the Employment Tribunal. It is important you take specialist employment advice as soon as possible.
How Can Lincs Law Help You
If you would like further help and advice in respect of employment issues, please call us on 01522 440512 for a free, no obligation, initial phone enquiry. For more information on the assistance we can provide, please visit our website at https://lincslaw.co.uk/services/employees/
Jasmine Stewart
Specialist Employment Solicitor
Tags: employment solicitors jasmine stewart lincs law employment solicitors maternity discrimination maternity leave Maternity Pay Issues