Pregnancy Info HOME

Yes I'm a teacher and maternity leave and pay is something I have looked into in great depth on the internet. Do you work in the UK? If so materernity pay is statutory and you are LEGALLY ent_tled to it. Here is how it currently stands : Improvements to statutory maternity pay and leave apply to women whose expected week of childbirth (EWC) is 1 April 2007or later. The actual date of childbirth will not change the ent_tlement. There are currently no changes to occupational maternity pay and leave but a woman is legally ent_tled to use whichever provision is the most advantageous. This means that there will still be a mixture of rights depending on her conditions of service and statute. All pregnant employees regardless of length of service will be ent_tled to 52 weeks ordinary maternity leave. Employees with 26 weeks' continuous employment with their current employer by the 15th week before the EWC will be ent_tled to 39 weeks' statutory maternity pay (SMP) and a further 13 weeks' unpaid maternity leave. SMP is £112.75 per week from April 2007. Maternity pay will depend on length of continuous service and conditions of service, for example: a) A teacher under Burgundy Book (local authority employment) conditions of service with one year or more continuous service by 11th week before the EWC will receive: four weeks' full pay; two weeks' 90% pay; 12 weeks' half pay plus SMP; 21 weeks' SMP; 13 weeks' unpaid leave. b) A teacher with 26 weeks but less than one year's continuous service by 15th week before the EWC will receive only the statutory ent_tlement: six weeks' 90% pay; 33 weeks' SMP; 13 weeks' unpaid leave. c) A teacher with less than 26 weeks' continuous service by 15th week before the EWC will receive: 52 weeks' maternity leave; Statutory maternity allowance (SMA) will be payable if the teacher has been in employment for at least 26 of the 66 weeks ending with the week before her EWC. SMA is £112.75 per week from April 2007. This will have to be claimed from the local Jobcentre Plus office. Contact during maternity leave Keeping in touch days Women will be able to have up to ten days during their maternity leave when they can go into work without ending their maternity leave or losing maternity pay. These days are intended to be used for "keeping in touch" and could be for training or work. The employer does not have to offer these days and the employee is not obliged to accept them. Women are legally protected against any detrimental action for refusing the days. A keeping in touch day const_tutes a day's work and the teacher should receive full pay for these days. Hope this helps. If you do not live in the UK then i'm afraid I dont know but i guess it would be quite easy to find out in the interent!!!!

Thanks for the info, but I work in the US - Should have specified that in my post. I know companies here have to give 12 weeks, but UNPAID! I can't afford to go that long without pay. Sounds like you all in the UK have a better deal than we do! Anyone else know anything about teachers in the US? I think it varies state to state, but I just wanted a basic idea.

Does the school offer short term disability? Where I work (and I'm not a teacher so I don't know if it applies) but we don't have a formal maternity leave plan...we put our maternity claim on Short Term Disability. So I get 6 weeks paid at 60% salary for v____al delivery, and 8 weeks for c-section.

I am on teacher in the US and have to go back to work tomorrow. :( My district does not offer a paid maternity leave plan. I had to take the sick days that I had built up, which was only 1 month. After using up my sick leave days, I have the remainder of my maternity leave unpaid. I did take 12 weeks under the FMLA and according to my district ran concurrently with my sick days I acc_mulated. That sucks ~ I think I should have been able to take my sick days and only after that should my 12 weeks of FMLA had started. But that is not what my district says.

I just want to say I feel sorry for the teachers in the US you guys get really hosed when it comes to pay and maternity leave. I really hope the governemment changes its policies so teachers can get the treatment they deserve.

Ca8 - I hear ya! Hope back to work went well for you! I will have only three weeks of sick leave built up by the time my baby comes (I just started working in this district last year so haven't had the time to build up lots of sick leave). Then i can take disability at a portion of my pay for as long as my Dr says I will need it but only up to 6 weeks. Then the FMLA unpaid leave is possible, but I think they combine that with disability here too, so I'll probably end up only getting about 12 weeks total and some of that without pay! :( It sucks to have to leave my three month old at home, but that's life i guess!

I'm also a teacher in the US, & I think that their version of maternity leave is terrible! Technically we get 6 weeks (8 for C-section), but we have to use sick days as well. Well this was only my 2nd year teaching, so I had very few sick days...maybe 13, plus my 3 personal days. I ended up taking 9 weeks total (under FMLA). My super. still wanted a note from the dr. as to why I needed to take 9 weeks as opposed to 6!!! That made me really angry! First of all, I can't believe that we are expected to go back to work when we have a 6 wk. old infant, & 2ndly, my leave was unpaid! The school was saving money by having me gone! Anyway, leagally they have to give you the 12 weeks unpaid & at least 6 paid...but I'm fairly certain you'll have to use sick days. Good luck!

Hey there. I had my baby in March. There were 6 of us pregnant at school at the same time. What we all got as maternity leave was our sick days. I had luckily acc_mulated 68 days and only had to take 62 for maternity, so I had the whole thing paid. The other teachers had all different scenarios. Some took only the sick days and came back as soon as they ran out. Two teachers decided to take the 12 weeeks and only got paid for the amount of sick days that they had. The bad thing is that they divide our salary up into days and any day that we take after our sick days is deducted. This is a lot of money. I am planning on having baby #2 if I can in May so I don't have to take that many days off. This time it worked out perfectly because i have been off since March 9th and will not go back until the end of August. You are so right, we deserve to have better rights as far as maternity leave goes. I know that NY has a better plan. They actually hold your job for 2 years after you have the baby if you are tenured. I am in VA we do not have that here. I am also in a private school so the policy is different.

From what I understand most public schools do not want you taking all the sick days at once. I lucked out that they allowed me to take all 62 days. I also asked for the 12 weeks that they have to grant you by writing a letter. I have to say our boss was great with allowing us to take the time off. They just had to be so consistent since there were 6 of us doing the same thing. I wonder if it would have been only one of us if they woul have been able to be more flexible. They are also great with doctor;'s appt. We covered each other's cla__s and did not have to take time off.

I am a teacher in Texas, and our maternity leave is not great, but better than others. I have to take my state and local sick leave days first (of which I have very few due to bed rest w/ pg wihch m/c last year) then my disablity isurance kicks in for 12 weeks at 80% of my salary. Any more than that and they charge me my "daily salary" ($135, which is crazy b/c they'll only pay a sub $75 to take my cla__s-I guess they pocket the $60 difference). If I didn't have disability insurance my leave would be the same days except unpaid under FMLA. Basically it pays to get disability insurance.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!! Bush spends billions, yes BILLIONS on a war against muslims and yet teachers who mold our future teacher do not get ONE SINGLE day paid maternity leave. Imagine, we do not believe in mothers bonding with children, b___stfeeding and giving our future babies the best start in life. Thousands of Americans die each year due to not having health insurance. I ask you who is the real terrorist...? I used to teach in California, but live in Europe where 4 months paid maternity leave is minimum in the vast majority of the countries here. You can also take up to 2 months before delivery paid as well. In Scandanavia you get a year paid maternity leave and the father can split the time with you as well. You can keep this year of paid days for up to 8 years. Good luck, I am sorry that our country does not invest in its future.

16% of Americans can not afford health insurance. That is 47 million! An estimated 18,000 die per year due to lack proper health care. BOY DONT WE LIVE IN A DEMOCRACY.

Yeah, but in Scandanavia and other countries with socialized healthcare, you have much higher taxes, Americans are just not willing to pay higher taxes. Plus our actual care is better than in many countries, not the health care system, but the type of care and technology we have here available to everyone. I agree that there is a problem with the American health care system, but I do not envy people who are in countries that offer socialized health care.

I'd pay the higher taxes gladly to ensure the social welfare of our SCREWED up country. Skyblue is right.