Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999 (SI 1999/3312) — maternity-leave conditions, periods and return (regs 4–18A), redundancy protection (reg 10), parental leave (regs 13–14) and unfair dismissal (reg 20)

In brief

The regulations that give the ERA 1996 maternity-leave sections (ss.71–75) their working detail and create ordinary parental leave. Regulation 2 defines the terms a handbook reproduces — childbirth means the birth of a living child or the birth of a child whether living or dead after 24 weeks of pregnancy; the expected week of childbirth; and employee by contract of employment. Regulation 4 sets the conditions for ordinary and additional maternity leave: notice of the pregnancy, the expected week of childbirth and the intended start date no later than the end of the fifteenth week before the expected week of childbirth, and a medical certificate if requested. Regulation 7 fixes the ordinary maternity leave period at 26 weeks; reg 8 the compulsory two weeks from childbirth. Regulation 10 requires an employer, where redundancy makes it not practicable to continue employing an employee during the protected period of pregnancy, the maternity leave period or the additional protected period, to offer any suitable available vacancy. Regulation 13 entitles an employee who has, or expects to have, responsibility for a child to parental leave to care for that child (responsibility meaning parental responsibility, or registration as the child's father); reg 14 gives eighteen weeks per child. Regulations 18–18A secure the right to return to the same job with seniority, pension and similar rights intact; reg 20 makes dismissal for a pregnancy, childbirth, maternity, parental-leave or related reason automatically unfair. The drafting is gendered where it names a role (she, her) and functional where it defines entitlement — pregnancy, childbirth, responsibility for a child — which is the point R (McConnell) v Registrar General settles for mother and the reason an inclusive handbook can re-word its own prose without changing who is eligible. Decision-support, not legal advice.

Key provisions

• reg 2(1) — Definitions — childbirth, expected week of childbirth, employee: childbirth "means the birth of a living child or the birth of a child whether living or dead after 24 weeks of pregnancy"; expected week of childbirth means the week, beginning with midnight between Saturday and Sunday, in which it is expected that childbirth will occur; employee means an individual who has entered into or works under (or, where the employment has ceased, worked under) a contract of employment.
• reg 4(1) — Conditions for ordinary and additional maternity leave — notice and evidence: "An employee is entitled to ordinary maternity leave and to additional maternity leave provided that she satisfies the following conditions": (a) no later than the end of the fifteenth week before her expected week of childbirth, or as soon as reasonably practicable, she notifies her employer of her pregnancy, the expected week of childbirth and the intended start date; (b) a certificate from a registered medical practitioner or midwife if requested.
• reg 7(1), reg 8 — Ordinary maternity leave period (26 weeks) and compulsory maternity leave (two weeks): [reg 7(1)] an employee's "ordinary maternity leave period continues for the period of 26 weeks from its commencement" (or until the end of the compulsory period if later); [reg 8] the s.72 prohibition applies in respect of the period of two weeks which commences with the day on which childbirth occurs.
• reg 10 — Redundancy during the protected period of pregnancy, maternity leave or the additional protected period — suitable alternative vacancy: "This regulation applies where it is not practicable by reason of redundancy for an employer to continue to employ an employee under her existing contract of employment during" (a) the protected period of pregnancy; (b) the statutory maternity leave period; or (c) the additional protected period — the employee is entitled to be offered any suitable available vacancy before the existing contract ends.
• reg 13(1)–(2) — Parental leave — an employee who has, or expects to have, responsibility for a child: [reg 13(1)] an employee who "has, or expects to have, responsibility for a child, is entitled, in accordance with these Regulations, to be absent from work on parental leave for the purpose of caring for that child"; [reg 13(2)] responsibility means (a) he has parental responsibility or, in Scotland, parental responsibilities for the child, or (b) registration as the child's father under the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 or the Scottish equivalent. The former qualifying-service condition is shown as omitted.
• reg 14(1) — Extent — eighteen weeks per child: "An employee is entitled to eighteen weeks' leave in respect of any individual child".
• reg 18A(1) — Right to return — seniority, pension and terms preserved: The right to return under reg 18 is a right to return "with her seniority, pension rights and similar rights as they would have been if she had not been absent" and on terms and conditions not less favourable.
• reg 20(1) — Automatically unfair dismissal for pregnancy, childbirth and family-leave reasons: "An employee who is dismissed is entitled under section 99 of the 1996 Act to be regarded for the purposes of Part X of that Act as unfairly dismissed if" the reason or principal reason is of a kind specified in reg 20(3) (pregnancy, childbirth, maternity or parental leave and related reasons), or the employee is redundant and reg 10 has not been complied with.

When relevant

Whenever a handbook's maternity chapter states the notice, evidence, period, return or redundancy rules (regs 4, 7, 8, 10, 18–18A), or a parental-leave provision states who qualifies (reg 13 — responsibility for a child). Cite reg 13 with ERA 1996 s.57ZE(7) and PALR 2002 reg 2 as the statutory models of functional, non-gendered eligibility. Population scope: employees only (reg 2 employee is contract-defined).