All women handle starting a family and juggling a career in different ways. Some women are fortunate enough to be able to give up work, while others may wish to continue on their career path as soon as possible after the birth.
Some may take an extended amount of time away from work, while others will turn to childcare. All are perfectly acceptable options and will depend on personal preference. But who is to say what is right and wrong?
You may have seen the public row on Twitter between West End star Denise Van Outen and fellow actress Natalie Cassidy over the right time to return to work after having children.
Denise and her husband Lee Mead welcomed their baby girl into the world six months ago, and both are currently appearing in different shows in London’s theatreland.
Natalie Cassidy, who starred in a documentary about being pregnant, went back to work promoting the show just two weeks after having baby Eliza and was branded a hypocrite by Van Outen.
Working women cannot return to work until two weeks after the birth – or four weeks if you work in a factory. This is called compulsory maternity leave and the legislation is enacted for health and safety reasons. After this time, mothers are permitted to go back to work. However, employed women are legally entitled to take up to 52 weeks’ maternity leave, which can start up to 11 weeks before the baby is due, and some women are entitled to maternity pay. All women must be offered the right to return to work after they have had a baby, as a refusal to do this would be classed as sex discrimination and unfair dismissal because of pregnancy.
The right to return to work varies depending on whether you are returning after Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML) or Additional Maternity Leave (AML). If you return after OML you are entitled to return to the same job in which you were employed before your absence with the same seniority.
By Sarah Calderwood, employment specialist at law firm Slater Heelis, www.slaterheelis.co.uk/employment
