§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will make a statement on the changes in the rights of women to maternity pay and to return to work after giving birth since 1980.
§ Mr. McLoughlinChanges to the right to return to work after having a baby have been made since the Employment Act 1980 as follows: the initial notification of832W the woman's intentions must be in writing, rather than in writing only if requested; an additional power has been introduced for an employer to seek confirmation, after a woman has given birth, of her intention to return; the woman's notification of her intended date of return must be written and provided at least 21, rather than seven, days in advance, and her ability to postpone that date for a period in specified circumstances has been increased accordingly from 14 to 28 days; where it is not reasonably possible for an employer to take the woman back in her original job, he may now offer a suitable alternative or, if he has no suitable work and has only five or fewer employees, he may be relieved of the duty to reinstate her.
In April 1987, maternity pay, administered by employers under employment legislation, was replaced by statutory maternity pay—SMP. Employers pay a statutory minimum amount of maternity pay for a maximum of 18 weeks to employees whose average earnings are above the lower earnings limit for national insurance contributions and who at the qualifying week —the 15th week before the baby is due—have worked for them for at least six months. The statutory minimum rate of SMP has increased by 3.4 per cent. in real terms since 1987 from £32.85 to £46.30 per week.