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Maternity Leave: Taking Time From Work to Give Birth to, or Adopt a Child

The time spent by a pregnant woman away from the place of work before the child is born or adopted is known as maternity leave. Sometimes, pregnant women can get paid for the times that they are on maternity leave while other times they must forego their pay. It varies from country to country, and from company to company in different countries.

Protection Under Family and Medical Leave Act

In the United States, there is protection for pregnant women that avail of maternity leave in that the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows working moms and dads to take as many as twelve weeks off from their jobs for the purpose of newborn, or adopted children. This Act may not be applicable in the case of small companies that do not pay for maternity leave.

The law of the land protects the interests of pregnant women and they are allowed to take time off from work, be provided with safe environment as well as are allowed to claim dismissal as being unfair in case of services being terminated during pregnancy. Ordinary maternity leave extends up to twenty-two weeks and once the child has been born, the mother should be allowed to return to her work.

There is also additional maternity leave that extends up to fifty-two weeks that pregnant women in the United States are entitled to take, and they may also claim statutory maternity pay. There are exceptions to some pregnant mothers including those that are share fisherwomen, women that have normally been employed outside the US, self-employed women as well as women serving in the police, armed forces who may however, claim statutory maternity pay.

Pregnant women must also provide their employers with notice about their impending maternity leave requirement, and this notice should be given fifteen weeks prior to the baby becoming due, and is best given in writing. It is also necessary to provide an estimated due date as well as the expected date from when the maternity leave is to start.

If you are taking statutory maternity leave, and are availing of twenty-six weeks of ordinary maternity leave, you will get ninety percent of the salary you were drawing for the first six weeks. In addition, a pregnant woman need to start as well as end the maternity leave she is taking on any give date though she needs to take at least two weeks leave prior to ending of expected confinement as well as take four weeks after the expected week of confinement.