Maternity, family and work
Here you'll find a range of information and advice to help you understand your rights during pregnancy and maternity leave
Are you pregnant and working and need help understanding your rights?
Do you have questions about risk assessments, changing your shifts, or maternity pay and leave? If so, our having a family toolkit below can help along with our Pregnancy timeline.
Having a family toolkit
Pregnancy and maternity timeline
When you need time off work
All pregnant women are entitled to a reasonable amount of paid time off for antenatal care appointments (including parent-craft and relaxation classes). Partners also have rights. Read more about time off for appointments in our pregnancy and maternity toolkit.
If you're an employee you have the right to take time off to deal with any unexpected or sudden problem involving a dependent. You are entitled to as much time off as you need, provided it is a real emergency. Find out more about taking time off work for emergencies in our pregnancy and maternity toolkit.
Parental leave allows you to take time off work to care for your child, or to spend more time with them. There are certain criteria you need to meet to qualify for parental leave. If eligible, you would be entitled to take a specified amount of time as unpaid leave. Read more about parental leave in our pregnancy and maternity toolkit.
Maternity resources
Search our advice guides
See our A-Z of advice. These guides will help you answer many of your questions about work.
Fair Pay for Nursing
Find out more about the Fair Pay for Nursing campaign and how you can get involved.
