Am I entitled to maternity leave?

For babies due before 1 April 2007

You are entitled to 26 weeks of Ordinary Maternity leave if you are an employee, regardless of length of service or number of hours you work, providing you give the correct notice.

There are two lengths of maternity leave depending on how long you have been working for your employer:
Ordinary Maternity Leave and
Additional Maternity Leave.

How much maternity leave can I take?

Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML) Lasts for 26 weeks. It doesn't matter how many hours you work or how long you have worked for your employer, all employees are entitled to ordinary maternity leave from day one.

Additional Maternity Leave (AML) lasts for 26 weeks and starts at the end of ordinary maternity leave. You are entitled to take additional maternity leave if you have worked for your employer for 26 weeks by the 15th week before your baby is due.

The New Maternity Rights from 1 April 2007

Am I entitled to maternity leave?

For babies due on or after 1 April 2007

If you are an employee you are now entitled to 52 weeks maternity leave, regardless of length of service or the number of hours you work, providing you give the correct notice. Your maternity leave will be divided into 26 weeks OML and 26 weeks AML and your rights will still be different during each period of leave. You may have different rights to return to work depending on whether you return after OML or AML.