Pregnancy maternity and adoption leave (LBG)

We’ve negotiated family friendly policies with Lloyds Banking Group and while we can't provide every answer here, let's take a look at some of the frequently asked questions about pregnancy, maternity, and shared parental leave - and don't forget you may be eligible to get a subscription free period from the union too.

Maternity leave

At Lloyds Banking Group in the UK, Occupational Maternity Pay (OMP) and Occupational Adoption Pay (OAP) is available from your first day at work, so there isn’t a minimum period you need to have worked, or a minimum period between being back at work before you can go off on a subsequent period of leave. You just need to give the right notice and provide your MatB1.

You’ll get 20 weeks pay based on 100% of your relevant weekly earnings. After that you're entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) for 19 weeks (if you're eligible). 

If you're not entitled to SMP, you may need to claim Maternity Allowance (MA). If this affects you, your payroll team should write and tell you once you’ve submitted your MatB1. Let the bank how much MA you can get and the bank will pay the difference so that you also get 100% of your relevant weekly earnings for the first 20 weeks.

You're entitled to take up to 52 weeks of leave, and must take a minimum of 2 weeks immediately after the birth of your baby. You may also take off up to an additional 11 weeks before your baby is born.

No matter how much time you take off, the business provides 20 weeks of full pay and a further 19 weeks at the statutory rate (if you qualify for it).

Adoption leave

If you're the main carer of your adoptive child you can take adoption leave.You'll be entitled to take up to 52 weeks of leave. You may also take off up to an additional 2 weeks before your child starts living with you. You can't access adoption leave if you are arranging a private adoption, becoming a special guardian or kinship carer or adopting a stepchild.

You’ll get 20 weeks pay based on 100% of your relevant weekly earnings. After that you're entitled to Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) for 19 weeks (if you're eligible).

No matter how much time you take off, the business provides 20 weeks of full pay and a further 19 weeks at the statutory rate (if you qualify for it).

Notifying your manager

To ensure you remain eligible for your maternity pay and leave, you must notify your manager by the end of the 25th week of pregnancy, although it’s best to do so sooner. The same notification is required if you’re a surrogate mother. For adoption, you should notify your manager no later than 7 days after being matched with a child.

Pregnancy related absences

During your pregnancy if you’re ill and can’t work either as a direct result of pregnancy or indirectly (such as being unable to take medication you would normally take) this should be recorded as a 'pregnancy related absence'. You’ll be paid at the sick pay rate available to you, but the absence will not be used for the purposes of the bank's wellbeing prompts in the health wellbeing and attendance policy.

In summary, you shouldn’t be penalised for your absence. You should still follow the normal absence reporting procedures for your part of the business, and the absence should be recorded on Workday.

If you’re unable to work due to a pregnancy related illness during the last 4 weeks before your baby is due, this normally triggers the start of your maternity leave.

Annual leave

Any holiday you've accrued before your leave starts can either be paid to you, or you can take that time off. Holiday continues to accrue while on leave, and you can decide how to use it closer to the time of your return. Options can include extending your leave or using it to go back to work on a phased basis.

Extending leave

You may decide you want to extend your maternity leave to give you as much time with your new baby as possible before returning to work. Here are some options:

• Taking holiday accrued during your maternity leave - you'll need to agree with your manager how much you wish to take.
• Parental leave - you can take up to 18 weeks (26 weeks for a child with a disability) of unpaid leave up until the child's 18th birthday.
• Sabbatical - this is a 1-12 months long period of unpaid leave from the business. This option secures your role with a guaranteed right to return.
  
• Career break - this is a 6 months to 6 years long period away from the business. You’re required to resign, and re-employment isn’t guaranteed. But should you find another role your periods of service will be linked.

Each option requires sufficient notice, and there are eligibility terms you may need to meet. You’ll find these in the specific policies on the banks intranet. Got questions? Chat to us and we’ll help you work through your options.

Redundancy

We often get asked what rights you have if you're pregnant or on maternity leave, so this section is dedicated to answering some of those frequently asked questions.

There is a ‘protected period’ from the start of pregnancy to the end of maternity leave. This doesn't mean that an employer can't make you redundant, but it means they must follow strict rules.

• You can't be made redundant because you're pregnant or on maternity leave.
• You can still be made redundant if there is a genuine redundancy, and the reason you've been selected is for another reason not linked to your pregnancy or maternity leave.
• If you're on maternity leave, you have extra protection should a genuine redundancy arise. An employer must provide you with suitable alternative work, if there is some, and give you priority for placement ahead of other employees. This protection ends when maternity leave ends, meaning you're not protected during extended leave periods after your maternity leave has ended (for example taking your accrued holidays or other periods of leave).

Find out more in our interactive eBite guidance.

Sharing your leave

You can share your entitlement to maternity or adoption leave and pay with your partner. You decide how much of your leave you want to take and notify the business that you're ending your leave early so you can share the remainder with your partner.

Sharing your leave can look quite complicated, but here are a couple of things to note:

• You may share as much or as little of your maternity or adoption leave and pay with your partner. For maternity leave, this is subject to you taking the minimum of 2 weeks paid leave immediately after the birth of your baby.
  
• Where both you and your partner work for the bank, there is a maximum of 20 weeks of full pay available to each of you. This includes your partner’s right to 6 weeks paid leave (so, for example, you could share up to 14 weeks of your paid leave with your partner).
  
• If your partner works for another organisation, then the rate of pay they’ll be entitled to is whatever their employer offers and not what you're entitled to.
  
• If the partner works for the bank, and the mother does not, 20 weeks of full pay are available inclusive of the entitlement to 6 weeks paternity leave.
• Adoption leave applies to the main carer only, but leave can still be shared with a partner.

The government has launched online tools to help expectant parents and their employers to navigate Shared Parental Leave & Pay statutory entitlements. Check out our article on shared parental leave and pay for further information and support.

Keeping in touch (KIT) days

You are entitled to 10 keeping in touch days without ending your maternity, adoption or shared leave. These are paid days and could be used for attending team meetings, completing training or even as part of your transition back into work. You should confirm with your manager how and when you want to use these days, but you don't have to planned them out in advance. You'll be paid a full day, regardless of how many hours you attend work for on a given day.

Planning a return to work

We recommend speaking to your manager around 8 weeks before your agreed return to work date to discuss your plans, and if you're wanting to return earlier you should also give your manager 8 weeks notice. You may also want to discuss a phased return to work which would involve using some of your accrued holidays, or you might want to consider a change to your working pattern.

If you fall ill at the point of your return, you'll receive sick pay once your period of leave has ended.

Leaving your employer

If you decide not to return to work at the end of your maternity, adoption or shared leave, you will not be required to pay back any of the occupational pay you may have received. You need to resign from your employment in the normal way, giving the correct period of notice - that's it.

Need support?

If you need further support or guidance, contact your local Accord officer to discuss further, feel free to chat to us through our online chat (available Monday-Thursday 8:30-17:30 & Friday 08:30-17:00), or drop us an email to [email protected].

SMP, statutory maternity, maternity advice, SPL, SPP