Employment Act 1980

11Notices to employer

(1)In subsection (3) of section 33 of the 1978 Act (which specifies conditions to which the rights to maternity pay and to return to work are subject) for paragraph (c) (information to employer) there shall be substituted—

“(c)in the case of the right to maternity pay, she informs her employer, in writing if he so requests, at least twenty-one days before her absence begins or, if that is not reasonably practicable, as soon as reasonably practicable, that she will be (or is) absent from work wholly or partly because of pregnancy or confinement; and

(d)in the case of the right to return, she informs her employer in writing at least twenty-one days before her absence begins or, if that is not reasonably practicable, as soon as reasonably practicable,—

(i)that she will be (or is) absent from work wholly or partly because of pregnancy or confinement,

(ii)that she intends to return to work with her employer, and

(iii)of the expected week of confinement or, if the confinement has occurred, the date of confinement.”

(2)After that subsection there shall be inserted—

“(3A)Where not earlier than forty-nine days after the beginning of the expected week of confinement (or the date of confinement) notified under subsection (3)W) an employee is requested in accordance with subsection (3B) by her employer or a successor of his to give him written confirmation that she intends to return to work, she shall not be entitled to the right to return unless she gives that confirmation within fourteen days of receiving the request or, if that is not reasonably practicable, as soon as reasonably practicable.

(3B)A request under subsection (3A) shall be made in writing and shall be accompanied by a written statement of the effect of that subsection.”.

(3)In section 47 of the 1978 Act, in subsection (1) (employee to exercise her right to return to work by notifying the employer at least seven days in advance)—

(a)for the word " notifying " there shall be substituted the words " giving written notice to " , and

(b)for the word " seven" there shall be substituted the word " twenty-one ";

and in subsections (6) and (7) for the word " fourteen " there shall be substituted the word " twenty-eight ".