The Maternity and Parental Leave etc. (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006

Amendments to the principal Regulations

9.  In regulation 11 (requirement to notify intention to return during a maternity leave period)—

(1) for paragraph (1) substitute—

“(1) An employee who intends to return to work earlier than the end of her additional maternity leave period, shall give to her employer not less than 8 weeks’ notice of the date on which she intends to return.”;

(2) in paragraph (2)—

(a) for “a maternity leave period” substitute “her additional maternity leave period”;

(b) for “28 days’” substitute “8 weeks’;

(3) after paragraph (2) insert—

“(2A) An employee who complies with her obligations in paragraph (1) or whose employer has postponed her return in the circumstances described in paragraph (2), and who then decides to return to work—

(a) earlier than the original return date, must give her employer not less than 8 weeks’ notice of the date on which she now intends to return;

(b) later than the original return date, must give her employer not less than 8 weeks’ notice ending with the original return date.

(2B) In paragraph (2A) the “original return date” means the date which the employee notified to her employer as the date of her return to work under paragraph (1), or the date to which her return was postponed by her employer under paragraph (2).”;

(4) in paragraphs (3) and (5), for “the relevant maternity leave period” substitute “her additional maternity leave period”.