Going back to work after maternity leave: your rights

The short answer: If you've taken 26 weeks or less, you can go back to the same job. After longer, it's the same job unless that's genuinely not possible, then a similar one on the same or better terms. You can ask to work part-time or flexibly, and your employer must decide within 2 months.

Do I get my old job back after maternity leave?

Yes, in most cases. How strong that right is depends on how much leave you took. Statutory Maternity Leave is 52 weeks, split into two halves of 26 weeks, and the rules change at the halfway point.

Based on government and Acas guidance for employees in Great Britain. Your contract may give you more.

According to GOV.UK's guide to your rights on leave, "similar" means a job with the same or better terms and conditions. Acas adds that a different role can't be worse than your old one on pay, benefits, holiday, location or seniority. And the right still applies even if the person covering you has done a brilliant job.

You also keep what happened while you were away. You're entitled to any pay rises and improved terms given during your leave. And your holiday keeps building up, including bank holidays, so you may come back with a healthy stack of days to use.

Can I return to work part-time after maternity leave?

You can ask, and your employer has to take the request seriously, but they don't have to say yes. Every employee has the legal right to request flexible working from their first day in a job. That covers your hours, your days, your start and finish times, and where you work.

Part-time is just one option. Others include:

• compressed hours, such as a 9-day fortnight

• job sharing, where two people split one role

• hybrid working, mixing home and the workplace

• flexitime, choosing your start and finish around core hours

Your employer must decide within 2 months, unless you agree to longer. They must talk to you before turning you down. They can only refuse for one of 8 business reasons, such as extra costs that would damage the business or not being able to reorganise the work.

You can't go to a tribunal just because your request was refused. But you can complain if your employer didn't deal with it in a reasonable manner, or treated you badly for asking. You'd need to do that within 6 months of their decision.

If you're weighing up how many days to go back, our guide to what changes financially at 3, 4 or 5 days walks through the numbers.

How do I ask for flexible working?

Put it in writing, and send it early. Because your employer has up to 2 months to decide, a request sent 3 months before you're due back gives you some breathing room. Here's how it works, from GOV.UK's step-by-step guide:

1. Write to your employer by email or letter. Acas has a free template you can use.

2. Include the essentials: the date, a line saying it's a statutory request for flexible working, the pattern you want and when you'd like to start.

3. Say whether you've asked before, and when.

4. Go to the meeting. Your employer must discuss it with you before saying no.

5. Get the outcome in writing. If they agree, your contract should be changed within 28 days.

You can make 2 requests in any 12 months, so it's worth thinking about what would really work before you send it. It also helps to explain how the work would still get done. That's the question your employer will be asking.

Can I go back earlier or later than planned?

Yes, as long as you give enough notice. To change your return date, you must tell your employer at least 8 weeks before. Acas says to do it in writing, counting back from:

• your new date, if you want to go back early

• your original date, if you want to stay off longer

A neat trick some people use is to take built-up holiday at the end of their leave. Just know that taking holiday ends your statutory maternity leave, so you can't go back to maternity leave afterwards.

Need a little more time later on, perhaps to settle your child into nursery? Unpaid parental leave gives each parent 18 weeks per child, up to their 18th birthday. You can usually take up to 4 weeks a year, in whole weeks, with 21 days' notice.

What are keeping in touch days?

They're optional working days during your leave, and you can do up to 10. You and your employer both have to agree to them. People often use them for training, team meetings or a gentle trial run before going back.

A few rules from Acas are worth knowing:

• Agree the work and the pay before the day. You must get at least the minimum wage.

• Even an hour counts as a full day, so a quick catch-up call could use one up.

• Go over 10 days and your statutory maternity leave and pay end automatically.

Can I be made redundant after maternity leave?

Redundancy can still happen, but you have extra protection. If your role is at risk, your employer must offer you a suitable alternative job if one exists, even if a colleague would be a better fit. That protection lasts until 18 months after your baby's birth, and it carries on after you go back.

So if you return 12 months after the birth, you keep that right for another 6 months at work. On top of that, Acas says:

• You can't be made redundant for taking maternity leave, or for asking for flexible working to care for your child.

• Being dismissed because you're on maternity leave is automatically unfair dismissal, and it could be discrimination too.

• While you're away, your employer must tell you about promotions, training, redundancies and reorganisations. Leaving you out could count as discrimination.

Example: planning a 4-day return

Made-up dates and details, for illustration only.

Priya works full-time in an office. Her baby is born in early January, and she plans 9 months' leave, back at the start of October. She'd like to work 4 days a week.

If Priya wanted an extra month at home, she'd need to tell her employer by early August, 8 weeks before her original date. To see how 4 days compares with 3 or 5 after childcare, she could try the return to work and childcare calculator.

What can I do if I'm struggling at work after maternity leave?

Going back can be harder than people expect, and you're far from alone if it feels like a lot. Some of it is adjustment. Some of it might be your health, or how you're being treated. Both are worth taking seriously.

If it's your mental health: postnatal depression affects more than 1 in every 10 women within a year of giving birth. The NHS says symptoms can start up to a year after your baby is born, and partners can be affected too. Speak to your GP, midwife or health visitor, or refer yourself to NHS talking therapies. Your workplace may also have an employee assistance programme (EAP) you can use.

If it's the job itself, these steps can help:

1. Talk to your manager about what's not working. Acas suggests changes such as different start and finish times.

2. Make a flexible working request if your current pattern isn't sustainable.

3. If you think you're being treated unfairly, raise a complaint with your employer as soon as you can.

4. If that doesn't fix it, contact Acas for free advice. Before any tribunal claim, you must go through Acas early conciliation.

5. Keep an eye on the clock. You usually have 6 months from the problem to make a tribunal claim, and the clock pauses during conciliation.

What are my rights if I'm breastfeeding?

Your employer must give you a suitable place to rest. Acas says good practice is somewhere private and clean to express milk, with a fridge to store it. Toilets aren't a suitable place.

Your employer must also do a health and safety risk assessment if you're breastfeeding or gave birth in the last 6 months. And once you're back, unfair treatment linked to breastfeeding could count as sex discrimination.

For a wider look at the money side of going back, from childcare to your budget, see returning to work after parental leave: what it means for your finances and how funded childcare works.

Still got questions?

Can my employer refuse my part-time request?
Yes, but only for one of the 8 business reasons, and only after discussing it with you. They must decide within 2 months unless you agree to longer.

Do I get paid for keeping in touch days?
You should agree the pay before the day. It must be at least the minimum wage, and Acas says paying less than normal for the same work could be discrimination.

Does my holiday build up while I'm on maternity leave?
Yes, including bank holidays. If you can't use it all in the holiday year, your employer must let you carry it over.

What if I don't want to go back?
Follow your employer's usual resignation process and give the notice in your contract. Some people use keeping in touch days to hand over.

I missed a promotion while I was on leave. Is that allowed?
Your employer must tell you about promotions and job opportunities while you're away. If they didn't, it could be pregnancy and maternity discrimination, so it's worth speaking to Acas.

Do these rules apply in Northern Ireland?
Flexible working rules are different in Northern Ireland, so check the Northern Ireland guidance before you apply.