Understanding Maternity RIGHTS

Dealing with pregnant employees can be a complicated issue for employers trying to maintain services in their salon. The maternity regulations are well established and the implications of getting it wrong can be expensive. One of the most common failings is to get into a battle of wills with the employee over issues such as time off for antenatal appointments.

Salon owners often tell me that back when they were pregnant, they worked full time, with three children, and went to antenatal appointments on their day off. But, it’s not legal to insist staff do the same. It’s important to remain professional and not get into a dispute with your employee.

Case in point

A case involving a therapist just went to tribunal. It was ruled that the therapist was unfairly dismissed by a salon owner, who also lost the case for sex discrimination based on how she treated the therapist prior to her dismissal.

The spa owner asked the pregnant employee to rearrange an antenatal appointment for her day off. The employee was then the subject of unfavourable treatment linked to her pregnancy when she was off sick with a pregnancy-related illness and was put under pressure to return to work early to meet client demand.

On another occasion, after an antenatal appointment, her column was absolutely crammed with clients to make up for the time off, meaning she had to work an hour after her finish time.

The owner encouraged a client to make a complaint about the therapist. She was then told she wouldn’t receive statutory maternity pay. Despite having no disciplinary history, she was dismissed for a variety of performance issues. In this particular case, the employee wasn’t blameless as there was evidence she had closed the spa early without permission and refused to treat certain clients who she didn’t “connect” with. Her award will be reduced to reflect the degree to which she contributed towards her dismissal.

Know your facts

The lesson here is that the employer gains little from being difficult or putting barriers in front of an employee claiming their rights.

A basic understanding of maternity regulations is an important requirement. Some of the most important aspects are:

• Make sure you are familiar with maternity rules and ideally have a maternity policy

• Carry out a risk assessment and revisit it with the employee monthly

• Be aware that staff are entitled to paid leave for antenatal appointments but there are ceilings. Employees don’t have to attend on their day off

• You might discuss additional breaks and other operational issues but it isn’t for the therapist to unilaterally determine which treatments they will continue to provide. If this is an issue, seek professional advice

• Don’t forget to factor in holidays – the employee continues to accrue holidays during their maternity leave

• Be aware that the employee can be off for 12 months or return earlier subject to eight weeks’ notice. They can request, but not demand, revised working hours.

David Wright is a consultant in all aspects of employment practice and law. He is the main employment law consultant for Habia and provides a personalised support service for UK salons. Tel: 01302 563691 davidwrightpersonnel.co.uk