Maternity Leave

These pages reproduce internal policy documents, which may change from time to time and which apply to UK employees only.

Where there is a difference between these pages and the policy documents on Confluence, the policy documents shall prevail.

The Basics

You are entitled to take up to 52 weeks’ maternity leave (irrespective of length of service).

Most employees qualify for 39 weeks of statutory pay during maternity leave (depending on their length of service). There are two rates:

For the first six weeks of absence you will be paid 90% of your average earnings.

After this, you will be paid at a lower, fixed weekly rate, stipulated by the Government.

iwoca Enhanced Maternity Pay

iwoca also offers enhanced paid maternity leave, which consists of:

the first 8 weeks of maternity leave at 100% of pay, regardless of length of service

an additional week, 100% of your usual pay, for every Quarter you have been employed at iwoca for up to 5 years (inclusive of the statutory pay outlined above)

Statutory maternity pay

You will be entitled to receive statutory maternity pay (SMP) whilst on maternity leave, provided that:

you have at least 26 weeks’ continuous service as of the start of the 15th week before the week your child is due

your average weekly earnings are equivalent to or greater than the lower earnings limit for National Insurance contributions for a period of eight weeks ending with the fifteenth week before the date of the birth

have given written notice no later than the end of the 15th week before the due date of your intention to go on maternity leave because of your pregnancy; and

have produced a medical certificate (MAT B1 form) showing your estimated due date.

Statutory maternity pay is paid irrespective of whether you intend to return to work after maternity leave.

Statutory maternity pay will be paid on your normal pay days and will be subject to the usual deductions for tax, National Insurance and pension contributions.

Health and safety

As soon as iwoca is made aware that you are pregnant, we will offer to carry out a risk assessment.

Should any risks to your health or to that of your unborn child be identified, we will take appropriate steps to eliminate or reduce those risks. This may involve altering your working conditions or transferring you to different job duties for the remainder of your pregnancy. If this happens, your normal pay and terms of employment will remain in place until you start your maternity leave.

If you can’t continue in your current role and there is no suitable alternative work to which we can transfer you, iwoca may place you on paid suspension until the start of your maternity leave.

Keep in Touch days

You are able to make use of 10 ‘Keep in Touch’ (KIT) days whilst on maternity leave. This allows you, should you wish, to do a limited amount of work for iwoca during the maternity pay period and still retain the maternity pay for that time.

Any work done on any day, for example, attending a one hour training session, will count as one whole KIT day. Outside of a period of two weeks after childbirth, which are limited by maternity leave regulations, there are no restrictions on when KIT days can be used.

Other things to note:

When you become pregnant we ask you to let us know in writing, no later than the end of the 15th week before your baby is due.

You will retain all your normal terms and conditions of employment throughout maternity leave (except pay) and you continue to accrue holiday entitlement throughout maternity leave.

You have the right to request to return to work on a part-time basis before returning from your maternity leave.

Within the first 26 weeks of your maternity leave (ordinary maternity leave / OML) you are entitled to return to the same job.

Between weeks 27-52 (additional maternity leave / AML) you are entitled to return to a similar job.

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