THE MATERNITY GAME Humberside Police Federation

THE MATERNITY GAME Humberside Police Federation

INSTRUCTIONS • There are 10 questions • You answer right you go on, you answer wrong you LOOSE! and start again • When you want to select an answer make sure the hand appears. START

QUESTION 1 I have found I am 8 weeks pregnant I no longer have to work shifts. My GP needs to say that working any particular shift will damage the health of either myself or my baby I MUST go into a job where there is no shifts involved I have to do as I am told so will have to work shifts if told to do so I am pregnant so I can work what shifts I want to.

QUESTION 2 Do I have to notify a supervisor that I am pregnant? No it’s nothing to do with my supervision Only if I want to get my shifts changed As soon as I have conceived To qualify for maternity leave you must notify the force as soon as practical

QUESTION 3 Does my Annual Leave entitlement stop accumulating when on paid or unpaid maternity leave? It depends on how long I have on Maternity leave Yes, if I am not at work then I can not reasonably ask for my leave to carry on. All maternity leave is now classed as reckonable Service and therefore my leave still accumulates. Only when on unpaid leave

QUESTION 4 Antenatal care appointments have to be planned and taken in my own time. Regulations allow all Policewoman to take time off for antenatal appointments. The time is treated as duty time Yes, they should be taken on your Rest days where possible Only emergency appointments are allowed In duty time Time due should be taken to cater for these appointments.

QUESTION 5 I want to take all my paid maternity leave and then some unpaid leave what happens to my pension? Everything stays the same , there is no effect on your pension. My pension contributions are paid by the Dept of Work and Pensions You do not pay pension contributions on maternity leave Contributions will be paid whilst on paid maternity leave but not on unpaid maternity leave those contributions need to be bought back later

QUESTION 6 You have been requested to attend court to give evidence whilst pregnant, do you have to attend? I have to have special measures and do not have to go in the courtroom itself Unless a Doctor certifies that you are unfit you must attend No my statement has to be accepted under Court rules Yes pregnancy does not over rule The Courts

QUESTION 7 Your are in receipt of housing allowance and take unpaid Maternity Leave will you still receive this allowance? Yes, it is my entitlement If my partner is in receipt of housing allowance theirs is adjusted to compensate as I lose mine when I go on maternity leave If I change my circumstances I will lose my housing allowance You only receive your allowance on paid maternity leave not unpaid although on your return you will retain the allowance

QUESTION 8 Regulations require how many days notice be given of your return to work? If I return prior to the end of my Maternity leave I have to give 7 days notice 21 days notice in writing unless you are returning on the last day of your maternity leave None, I can come back to work when I wish. All I have to do is decide what I want to work then return as long as I tell duties

QUESTION 9 What happens if you become sick before your maternity leave starts? It doesn’t matter I can be on sick all the way up to when I give birth, this saves my leave. If it is within 4 weeks of the Expected birth then Statutory Maternity will commence If my sickness is pregnancy related and if within 4wks of the start of the week I am due to give birth Statutory pay will be enforced Maternity Leave starts as soon as I am sick no matter what the illness

QUESTION 10 You cannot afford to stay on Maternity Leave but want to breast feed your baby for at least six months, what happens when you return to work? That is impossible and impractical, I cannot come back to work I must take un paid leave until breast Feeding has finished The employer must make a risk Assessment and take special Measures to assist me that is law. The Force should have a policy on Officers returning to work wanting to breast feed which should consider all current legislation

YOU WON CONGRAGULATIONS TRY THE FLEXIBLE WORKING GAME END SHOW see answers in full

The Question 1 I have found I am 8 weeks pregnant I no longer have to work shifts;- The Management of Health and Safety at Work regulations 1999 provide that pregnant woman should be withdrawn from nights or rotating shifts if the GP certifies that it would damage your health or that of your baby. You should discuss your risk assessment and any other worries with your GP midwife or health visitor and should there be concerns your risk assessment should be reviewed. Next answer Continue Q 2

Question 2 Do I have to notify a supervisor that I am pregnant;- To qualify for antenatal leave you must notify the Force as soon as reasonably practicable. To qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) you must notify the Force within 28 days before you intend to go on Maternity Leave. You must advise the expected date of birth and the date you wish to commence maternity leave. You can change this date either forward or backward with 21days notice. Continuous risk assessments must be done to protect your health and that of your baby it is best to advise the Force as soon as possible. You will need to be assessed for any risk your current role poses. Next answer Continue Q 3

Question 3 Does my Annual Leave entitlement stop accumulating when on paid or unpaid maternity leave? Following the Sex Discrimination Act Amendment Regulations 2008 all maternity leave taken in respect of babies due on or after 5 October 2008, whether paid or unpaid is reckonable for service Next answer Continue Q 4

Question 4 Antenatal care appointments have to be planned and taken in my own time? Regulations allow al Policewoman time off to attend antenatal appointments when advised to attend by a GP, midwife or health visitor. The time is treated as duty time After the first appointment you may be asked to provide evidence of pregnancy and future appointments. Antenatal classes are not strictly defined it may include relaxation classes if advised by your GP. Applications for time off should not be refused unreasonably, this may be a matter of interpretation. Time off should be granted unless it is clear that an officer is abusing her right. She may be asked to rearrange her appointment if there are exigencies of duty Next answer Continue Q 5

Question 5 I want to take all my paid Maternity Leave and some unpaid maternity leave, what happens to my pension? You will continue to pay your pension contributions whilst on paid Maternity Leave which includes SMP. If you take unpaid leave you will either have to extend your service or buy back the pension contributions for the unpaid leave if you want to enjoy a full pension. Regulations will allow you to re-pay your unpaid contributions on your return provided that you pay them back within 6 months of your return or that you elect to do so and re-pay them within 6 months of leaving service (unless the Inland Revenue restrictions prevent you from doing this in which case you will be allowed 30 months) Any unpaid leaved you wish to buy back, your contribution will be assessed at 11% of the pay you were on immediately before you went onto no pay. For most women this will be at the SMP lower rate (£123.06 per week from April 2009). You should contact your Pension dept if you wish to avail yourself of this facility. Next answer Continue Q 6

Question 6 You have been requested to attend Court to give evidence whilst pregnant , do you have to attend Unless a doctor certifies that you are not fit enough to attend you must attend. If you are required to attend when on Police paid maternity leave, your Police paid maternity leave will be extended by the period that you were required to attend, but this will not extend your 39 weeks SMP period. However, if you are in receipt of SMP you will lose the SMP for the day you work and your statutory maternity leave period will not be extended. You will be paid for any days you are required to attend court and of course a risk assessment has to be completed and any special measures incorporated. You should not be expected to attend court in Uniform. Next answer Continue Q 7

Question 7 You are in receipt of housing allowance and take unpaid maternity leave, will I still receive this allowance When you are on paid maternity leave you will retain your housing/rent allowance. When you continue onto UNPAID maternity leave you will lose the allowance for that period. Your allowance will be returned however, when you return to work. Should your partner be in receipt of housing/rent allowance their allowance will be adjusted from the time you lose the allowance until the time you return and then should you return working part time your allowances will be adjusted to accordingly. Next answer Continue Q 8

Question 8 Regulations require how many days notice be given of your return to work ? You are required to give 21 days notice in writing of your return to work unless you are returning on the last day of the maternity period. The Force should undertake a risk assessment of the role they are expecting you to undertake when you return to work much the same as when you first inform them you are pregnant. Next answer Continue Q 9

Question 9 What happens if you become sick before your maternity leave starts? You are entitled to take sick leave before the maternity leave starts. This will not affect your entitlement to maternity leave unless your sickness is pregnancy related, in which case your Statutory Maternity Pay (paid at the higher rate – 90% of your full pay will automatically start if you are absent through sickness at any stage during the 4 weeks before the estimated week of confinement (EWC). Your maternity leave and Police maternity pay will continue to commence on the day you have notified that you wish to start, Next answer Continue Q 10

Answer 10 You cannot afford to stay on unpaid maternity leave, but want to breast feed your baby for at least 6 months, what happens when you return to work? In 1990 the UK government signed a World Health Organisation declaration entitled the “Inocenti Declaration” on the protection, promotion and support of breast feeding. This declares that “as a global goal for optimal maternal and child health and nutrition, all woman should be enabled to practice exclusive breast feeding and all infants should be fed exclusively on breast milk from birth to 4-6 months of age”. In addition the declaration states that by 1995 all governments should have" enacted imaginative legislation protecting the breast feeding rights for working woman and established means for its enforcement”. The UK is some way from enacting the declaration however the principles are contained within the H&S requirements and should be considered when preparing policy on maternity arrangements before and after birth. Regulation 16 of the Management of Health and safety work Regulations 1999 is the main source of protection for officers returning to work while they are still breast feeding. It requires a risk assessment to be carried out of the risks associated with breast-feeding as well as to the breast-feeding worker. Forces must take steps to reduce fatigue or stress which threatens to prevent a woman from continuing breast-feeding. End Game

YOU LOSE TOO BAD Answer to Question 1 TRY AGAIN

YOU LOSE TOO BAD TRY AGAIN Answer to Question 9

THE MATERNITY GAME Humberside Police Federation