How long teacher maternity leave

This post should help in answering that question for you. Teachers in the United States qualify for FMLA, 12 weeks of unpaid leave over 12 months to care for a newborn or newly adopted child. With no federal paid family medical leave laws in place, Paid maternal leave varies on a state by state basis, and leave for teachers is often not included in those laws.

Many cities and school districts have their own separate programs that fund maternity leave for teachers. Still, those laws do not always fully apply to teachers. California has a very generous pregnancy disability and paid family leave law that applies to most large employers. However, California teachers are exempt from paying into state disability insurance and cannot benefit from the program. New Jersey teachers ARE included in this law as long as their school has more than 49 employees.

Rhode Island offers up to 13 weeks of paid time off for childbirth and bonding but has special rules for teachers in public schools. These rules typically apply to cases where a teacher requests leave during an already established break, such as summer and winter sessions.

Teachers in Washington can take 12 weeks of paid maternity leave as long as the school employs at least 50 people, and their district does not already have a separate paid maternity leave program. Some school districts and cities have their own agenda that provides maternity leave specific for teachers. New York City recently passed a law allowing teachers to take 6 weeks at full salary to teachers after the birth of a child in addition to any sick time up to 12 weeks.

Massachusetts will be offering paid maternity leave for up to 8 weeks for teachers and other employees starting in January of In Connecticut, teachers do not fall within the requirements for paid family medical leave newly adopted by the state. Late applications may result in a delay with the payment of maternity benefit.

If you are ineligible for maternity benefit. This may be the case for teachers returning from career break, or those who are just at the start of their career. The Department of Education and Skills have made provision for these circumstances see part In these circumstances, the teacher should notify Department payroll of their ineligibility, providing written confirmation from the Department of Social Protection, to ensure that their salary deductions are correct while on maternity leave.

The arrangements can be summarised as follows:. In practical terms, the Department has stated that leave in lieu is the absolute minimum in line with the requirements of the Organisation of Working Time Act. The small number of days in lieu if any that may accrue to a teacher under these revised arrangements must be taken immediately prior to the commencement of maternity leave, as they are effectively lost if carried forward to the next leave year.

If a pregnant teacher does have an entitlement to additional annual leave, this is separate to her maternity leave, and will not affect the dates submitted to the DEASP or recorded on the OLCS.

This leave is substitutable, but the school will have to make contact with payroll to arrange payment of the substitute. Pregnant teachers are entitled to paid leave with substitute cover to attend any medical appointments related to their pregnancy. Pregnant teachers are entitled to paid leave with substitute cover to attend one full set of antenatal classes in a working career, and the final three classes in a set for any subsequent pregnancies.

However, there is a provision in place whereby when sick leave is later exhausted, by reaching the day threshold, a teacher may extend her sick leave by the number of pregnancy related days recorded, at half pay.

As such, it is important that schools correctly record pregnancy related sick leave on the OLCS. For example, if a teacher had 50 days of pregnancy related sick leave, these days will be part of her normal sick leave record. But, within the same four year period, if she subsequently fell ill with an unrelated condition, and reached the day limit, rather than moving onto Temporary Rehabilitation Remuneration TRR , she would have access to an additional 50 days at half pay, in light of the earlier pregnancy related condition.

There is also a protection in place where a woman will not drop below half-pay if a condition is pregnancy related, regardless of the number of days taken. If a teacher has a stillbirth or miscarriage any time after the twenty-fourth week of her pregnancy, or where her child has a birth weight of at least grammes, she will still be entitled to 26 weeks of paid maternity leave followed by up to sixteen weeks of unpaid maternity leave. She will still apply to the Department of Social Protection for her Maternity Benefit following a stillbirth.

Health and safety leave may be granted if the conditions in a workplace present a risk to a pregnant teacher or her developing baby. This may include contagious illnesses to which the employee is not immune. If this does not remove the risk. Applications for health and safety leave are generally made as soon as the risk is identified, but may necessitate a period of sick leave while the health and safety leave application is assessed.

If a teacher is absent for more than twenty-one days on health and safety leave, she must claim Health and Safety Benefit from the Department of Social Protection. This benefit is paid directly to the teacher, with the value of it deducted from her fortnightly salary. It is also at the authority's discretion for community and voluntary controlled schools; the governance board in a foundation or VA school, whether they reclaim some or all of these payments. A1: A teacher must return to work as a teacher within the maintained school she worked at prior to the maternity leave and is entitled to return on the same terms and conditions.

A2: A teacher has the right to return to her job in the school on the same terms and conditions. This is a right to return to a full time contract if the teacher was originally employed on a full time contract. A3: If a teacher returns to work as a teacher in a different school, even if this is the same employer, e. Payments made by way of SMP are not refundable. More detailed guidance for employers on handling a request to work flexibly can be found on the ACAS website.

A2: A teacher returning on reduced hours, must work the equivalent of 13 weeks at their previous hours to be eligible to retain the 12 weeks half OMP, i. A1: Supply teachers, engaged via an external recruitment agency, are not entitled to OMP as they are not employees. A2: The Maternity Scheme for Teachers is at section 5 of the Burgundy Book and therefore, teachers falling within category a of paragraph 1.

A4: All employed teachers that meet the qualifying criteria for maternity leave and pay as set out by legislation and in the Burgundy Book will be entitled to OMP. If a teacher returns from maternity leave early, the teacher covering her post will be entitled to the notice period specified in their contract.

This may be the notice provisions contained within the Burgundy Book or a different notice period specifically provided for in that contract. Schools should take advice from their HR providers on suitable wording for such contracts. As a result of case law in Gomez, a teacher must be able to take her annual leave at a time separate to her maternity leave. Very often the 28 days entitlement will have been met during school closure periods either before or after her period of maternity leave.

A2: The appropriate LGA contact for queries is schoolteachers local. There will therefore be a period of service during the first appraisal year before maternity leave starts.

This period can be used to assess performance for that appraisal year, taking into account any issues which may have arisen due to the pregnancy. A2: The appraisal can be conducted before maternity leave commences to ensure that all issues are fresh in the minds of the parties involved and the pay review can be implemented, if appropriate, at the usual time.

A3: Equally, on return from maternity leave, there would usually be sufficient time left in the appraisal year for an assessment to be carried out for that appraisal year. Targets, where appropriate, would need to be adjusted to take account of the shorter time frame involved. A4: In some circumstances, the maternity leave may overlap an appraisal year to a significant extent meaning that there is a very limited period, if any to assess performance for that year.

However, if that previous performance review had highlighted areas that needed improvement, with the result that the teacher would not receive a pay increase, it may be fairer to give the teacher a period of time on return from maternity leave to demonstrate that she has improved her performance since the last review before determining her entitlement to a pay rise. If a pay rise is awarded this would then be backdated.

A1: Assessing performance in the context of absence may create some difficulties for the appraisal process. All decisions on pay progression for all staff must be evidence based.