Your maternity leave does not break your continuity of employment, so you have the same right to take maternity leave and receive maternity pay as with your first pregnancy.
However, if you do not return to work (or do not return for very long) you may not earn enough to qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) for your second period of maternity leave. This is because your SMP entitlement is based on your average earnings over the 8-week period before the 15th week before the baby is due (about weeks 17 to 25 of pregnancy). However, if you don’t qualify, you are likely to qualify for Maternity Allowance instead.
Returning to work before or during the 8 week qualifying period for SMP will boost the pay you receive for your second maternity leave period. This is because the first 6 weeks of SMP are paid at 90% of the average earnings you received during the 8 week qualifying period. By contrast, MA is paid at a flat-rate (£124.88 a week in 2010/11) throughout.
For your second period of leave you must give the same notice as you did the first time. Remember that leave cannot begin more than 11 weeks before your expected week of confinement.
If you do not return to work between your two periods of maternity leave this may have implications for your eventual return as, regardless of how much leave you take second time around, you will only have the right to return to the same job if it is reasonably practicable to do so. If it is not reasonably practicable, your employer may offer you a suitable alternative job on similar terms and conditions. If you return to work between the two periods of leave – even if it is just for a day – and then only take Ordinary Maternity Leave after the birth of your second child, you will have the right to return to the same job.
