Can I be disciplined during maternity leave?

You are recovering from birth and a disciplinary letter arrives. Before you scramble to arrange childcare or answer questions about your last shift, ask what you are actually accused of. An employer can investigate misconduct during maternity leave. It cannot dress up pregnancy sickness or your protected absence as misconduct. Check your pregnancy and maternity discrimination rights.

Can they discipline you on leave?

Being on leave does not end the employment relationship. Most contractual terms continue, apart from normal remuneration, and holiday builds up. Your employer can investigate an allegation about a shift before leave started, or genuine misconduct discovered while you are away. Leave is not immunity from disciplinary action.

But the real reason matters. Section 18 of the Equality Act 2010 protects you against pregnancy and maternity discrimination. For employees, section 99 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 protects against automatically unfair maternity-related dismissal. Neither protection requires two years’ service. A warning or other disadvantage short of dismissal can also be unlawful maternity-related detriment. Our pregnancy discrimination guide explains the separate claims.

When discipline is unlawful

Ask one question first: what is the real reason? Tribunals look past the label the employer puts on it.

You do not need to identify a non-pregnant colleague who was treated better to prove section 18 discrimination. The question is whether you were treated unfavourably for a protected reason.

The protected period starts when pregnancy begins. If you have statutory maternity leave, it ends at the end of Additional Maternity Leave or when you return to work earlier. Equivalent maternity leave under a statutory or contractual scheme can also count. Without either right, it ends two weeks after the pregnancy ends. Since 1 January 2024, section 18 expressly covers treatment in or after the protected period because of pregnancy or pregnancy-related illness suffered during that period. Protection for taking or seeking maternity leave also covers past leave.

If you are dismissed while pregnant or on statutory maternity leave, you are entitled to written reasons automatically, without asking and regardless of service. That applies even if the employer says the dismissal is unrelated to maternity. It does not prove the dismissal was unlawful. For an ordinary unfair dismissal claim, the usual two-year service requirement still applies as at 1 October 2026. For maternity-related automatically unfair dismissal, it does not.

What a fair procedure looks like on leave

The Acas Code sets the basic standard for disciplinary fairness. It calls for an investigation, written allegations, reasonable preparation time, a chance to answer and an appeal. An unreasonable breach can increase a relevant tribunal award by up to 25%. It is not an automatic bonus for any mistake, and unreasonable non-compliance by you can reduce an award. The Code does not apply to redundancy dismissals.

You can make a reasonable request for a colleague, union official or certified union representative to accompany you to a hearing that could result in a warning or other disciplinary action, and to an appeal. This right covers workers as well as employees. An investigation-only meeting has no general statutory accompaniment right, though your employer’s policy may allow one. See our guide to fair disciplinary procedures.

1. Get the case in writing. Ask for the allegation, evidence, possible consequences and disciplinary policy. The Code requires reasonable time to prepare. There is no general statutory minimum of five days to answer.
2. Explain what leave makes difficult. Ask for postponement, breaks, written questions or a remote hearing if those would let you take part. Describe recovery, feeding or other practical difficulties rather than simply saying you are on leave. Offer workable dates.
3. Arrange your companion. If your chosen companion is unavailable, propose a reasonable alternative within five working days of the original hearing date. The employer must postpone to that time. A longer delay may still be needed for fairness, but that is a separate question.
4. Put your evidence on record. Send a statement and relevant absence records, pregnancy-related medical evidence or rota messages. Identify witnesses. Keep copies of what you send and ask how the employer will consider it.
5. Appeal the outcome. Use the deadline in your employer’s policy. Explain any pregnancy-related reason, disputed evidence or procedural unfairness. Ask for someone not previously involved to hear the appeal where possible.

You cannot assume the hearing must wait until your entire leave ends. Nor should the employer insist on a date without considering your circumstances. If it threatens to proceed without you, explain your good reason for being unable to attend, send your evidence and seek advice promptly.

Acas advises agreeing contact during leave. Reasonable contact does not itself end leave or SMP. Ask for one channel and suitable times, but you do not have a blanket legal right to reject every message outside that channel. Your employer should keep you informed about important changes, including redundancy proposals.

Keeping in Touch days are optional work agreed by both sides, with a maximum of 10 during maternity leave without ending leave or losing SMP on that basis. Agree the work and pay in advance; minimum wage rules apply. Do not assume a disciplinary hearing is automatically a KIT day or agree to use one without advice if its status is disputed.

What happens to pay if you are dismissed

Dismissal alone does not cancel Statutory Maternity Pay you have qualified for. The qualifying week is the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth. You normally need at least 26 weeks’ continuous employment up to a day in that week, qualifying average earnings, notice and proof of pregnancy. The earnings threshold for a qualifying week in the 2026 to 2027 tax year is £129 a week. Do not apply that threshold retrospectively to a qualifying week in an earlier tax year.

If you qualify and leave the job after the start of the qualifying week, including through dismissal, the employer still has to pay SMP. Other events can affect payment, such as working for a new employer after the birth. HMRC’s guidance explains the exceptions. Enhanced contractual maternity pay is separate; check your contract and scheme rules.

SMP is payable for up to 39 weeks. The first six weeks are at 90% of average weekly earnings. For the remaining 33 weeks, the rate from 5 April 2026 is £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. These are gross amounts. If you take the full 52 weeks’ leave, the final 13 weeks have no SMP.

If you do not qualify for SMP, check Maternity Allowance. For eligible employed or recently employed claimants, it is up to £194.32 a week or 90% of average earnings, whichever is lower, for up to 39 weeks. Eligible self-employed claimants can get between £27 and £194.32 a week for up to 39 weeks, depending on contributions. The separate £27 payment for up to 14 weeks is for qualifying unpaid work in a spouse’s or civil partner’s business.

A maternity-related dismissal may support both an automatically unfair dismissal claim and a discrimination claim. Discrimination compensation is uncapped and can include injury to feelings. Written reasons and a possible Acas Code uplift are separate issues, not four guaranteed payments. Ask an adviser which claims fit your evidence.

Redundancy, contact and the first two weeks

You can be made redundant during maternity leave if there is a genuine redundancy and a lawful process. But since 6 April 2024, protection against redundancy has extended into pregnancy and after return. It starts when you tell the employer you are pregnant. For someone taking maternity leave, it normally continues until 18 months after birth, using the expected birth date if the actual date has not been notified.

If a suitable alternative vacancy exists with the employer or an associated employer, you must be offered it as a priority. Making you compete for it as if you had no protection is not enough. This is not a ban on all redundancy, and overlapping priority rights can need advice. Acas explains the protected period and vacancy rules. Our redundancy guide covers the wider process.

Compulsory maternity leave prohibits work during the first two weeks after birth, or four weeks for factory workers. It does not prohibit every necessary message. If a hearing is proposed in that period, ask to postpone it and explain your recovery needs. Do not let the employer turn reasonable contact into pressure to work. Whether participation in a particular hearing amounts to work needs advice on the circumstances.

What to do today

1. Reply to the invite. Confirm your leave dates, request the allegation pack and explain any obstacle to attending. Ask for a workable date and your companion.
2. Challenge the pregnancy absence record. Ask the employer to confirm that pregnancy-related sickness and antenatal time off have not been counted against you. Request a corrected record if they have.
3. Contact your union or free advice service. Speak to Acas, Citizens Advice or a law centre. Usdaw organises retail workers; UNISON and GMB cover care and NHS support; Unite organises in hospitality and logistics. If you are not a member, ask a relevant union about joining and what help it can offer for an existing dispute.
4. Separate the pay dispute. If dismissal is proposed, request written reasons and a breakdown of SMP, notice pay and accrued holiday. SMP should not stop just because the job ends. If it is withheld, raise it with payroll and ask HMRC’s Statutory Payment Dispute Team for help. Notice pay has separate rules; do not assume it is always normal salary during maternity leave.
5. Protect the claim deadline. Start the appropriate conciliation process promptly. An internal appeal or grievance does not stop the tribunal clock. Do not wait for HR to finish before getting deadline advice.

Acas gives free advice and handles early conciliation in Great Britain; it does not decide whether your employer broke the law. An employment tribunal can do that. If you believe the disciplinary case is discriminatory, explain why in writing and consider a formal grievance as well as an appeal. You do not need to resign to challenge discrimination. Get advice before resigning or signing a settlement.

What is the deadline to claim?

For Great Britain, the basic unfair dismissal and employment discrimination claim periods increased to six months on 1 October 2026. The deadline is normally six months less a day from the effective date of termination for unfair dismissal, or the discriminatory act for discrimination, before the early conciliation adjustment.

The change is not retrospective for every live dispute. The transitional rules keep the old limits where the relevant date is before 1 October 2026. An earlier dismissal or discriminatory act will normally still have a three-month-less-a-day basic limit. Continuing discrimination and different relevant dates can complicate this. Get the deadline calculated for your claim.

Notify Acas in time for early conciliation. Timely notification pauses the clock and the statutory rules adjust the filing deadline. It is not simply six months after conciliation ends. Northern Ireland has a different system and normally a three-month-less-a-day basic limit.

Law changes to know

1. 6 Apr 2024Redundancy priority extended

   Protection now reaches into pregnancy and normally to 18 months after birth for someone taking maternity leave. It concerns suitable alternative vacancies, not immunity from redundancy.

2. 1 Oct 2026Longer Great Britain claim periods in force

   Unfair dismissal and employment discrimination basic limits rise to six months, subject to transition rules and early conciliation. The government timetable places the Scottish employment-contract claim change on 9 November 2026.

3. 1 Jan 2027Ordinary unfair dismissal change scheduled

   The qualifying period is scheduled to fall from two years to six months for dismissals from this date. Maternity-related automatically unfair dismissal already has no minimum service requirement.

If you work in Northern Ireland

The main legal sections above cover England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland uses the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, the Sex Discrimination (Northern Ireland) Order 1976 and its own maternity regulations, rather than the Equality Act framework. Ordinary unfair dismissal normally requires one year’s service; maternity-related automatically unfair dismissal does not require that qualifying service.

The Great Britain six-month tribunal change does not apply. Northern Ireland claims go through the Industrial Tribunals system, with Labour Relations Agency early conciliation and normally a three-month-less-a-day basic limit. Contact the LRA promptly. SMP rates are UK-wide. See how Northern Ireland employment law differs.

Agency, zero-hours and self-employed contracts

Employees have statutory maternity leave and, if eligible, SMP. They also have maternity-related dismissal and detriment protection. A zero-hours contract can still be an employment contract. Do not assume the label removes your rights.

If you are legally a worker but not an employee, you do not normally have statutory maternity leave or ordinary unfair dismissal rights. Pregnancy discrimination protection can still apply to a contract to do work personally, and workers have the hearing accompaniment right. SMP uses its own eligibility rules; some agency workers qualify even without statutory leave. Otherwise, check Maternity Allowance.

Agency workers do not get maternity leave from the hirer simply by being assigned there. If you are an employee of the agency, leave rights may exist against the agency. Pregnancy discrimination can involve the agency, hirer or both. After 12 weeks in the same role, agency-worker rules can give paid time off for antenatal appointments and rights to suitable alternative work or paid suspension where pregnancy health and safety prevents the assignment continuing. These are not disciplinary sanctions.

Genuinely self-employed people do not get statutory maternity leave or SMP through a client, but may qualify for Maternity Allowance. A delivery contract calling you self-employed does not settle your legal status. Get advice about how the work actually operates. Our guides to discipline during sick leave and unfair dismissal explain related procedure and eligibility issues.

Questions people ask

Can you be sacked while on maternity leave?

Yes, for a genuine reason unrelated to pregnancy or leave. Maternity-related dismissal can be automatically unfair and discriminatory without minimum service. A dismissal during leave also triggers automatic written reasons. SMP you qualify for does not stop just because you were dismissed.

Do you have to attend a disciplinary hearing while on leave?

Leave is not a blanket exemption. Ask for reasonable preparation time and explain why you cannot attend the proposed meeting. Suggest a postponement or another way to take part. If the date is during compulsory maternity leave, ask to move it and seek advice. Do not simply ignore the invite.

Can pregnancy sickness count towards an absence warning?

No. Pregnancy-related sickness should be recorded separately and excluded from absence triggers. Ask for the record and challenge the warning. Section 18 also protects against later unfavourable treatment because of pregnancy-related illness suffered in the protected period.

Can your employer contact you at all on maternity leave?

Yes. Reasonable contact is allowed and important workplace changes should not be hidden from you. Agree a channel and suitable times. Contact is different from requiring work, which is prohibited during compulsory maternity leave.

What if the allegation concerns something before leave began?

The employer can investigate it. Ask for the evidence and a proper opportunity to answer. Save anything showing that the allegation is a pretext for punishing pregnancy or leave. The timing can be evidence, but it does not prove discrimination by itself.

Does appealing give you more time to claim?

No. An internal appeal or grievance does not stop the tribunal clock. Great Britain has a six-month basic period for the relevant new claims from 1 October 2026, but earlier relevant dates retain the old limit. Notify Acas in time and get the filing date calculated. In Northern Ireland, use the LRA process and the local time limit.

Sources

1. Maternity pay and leave, GOV.UK.
2. Statutory Maternity Pay and Leave: employer guide, GOV.UK. The 2026 to 2027 earnings threshold is taken from HMRC’s rates page below.
3. Statutory Maternity Pay: employee circumstances that affect payment, HMRC.
4. Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027, HMRC. Source for the SMP rate, lower earnings limit and minimum wage arithmetic.
5. Maternity Allowance: what you will get, GOV.UK.
6. Employment Rights Act 1996, section 99, legislation.gov.uk. Maternity-related automatically unfair dismissal.
7. Employment Rights Act 1996, section 92, legislation.gov.uk. Written dismissal reasons.
8. Equality Act 2010, section 18, legislation.gov.uk. Includes amendments effective from 1 January 2024.
9. Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999, legislation.gov.uk.
10. During maternity leave, Acas.
11. Sickness and difficult pregnancies, Acas.
12. Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures, Acas. Hearing, accompaniment, postponement and award adjustment rules.
13. Redundancy protection for pregnancy and new parents, Acas.
14. Employment Rights Act 1996, section 111, legislation.gov.uk. Unfair dismissal claim period.
15. Equality Act 2010, section 123, legislation.gov.uk. Employment discrimination claim period.
16. Employment Rights Act 2025 commencement amendment regulations, regulation 4, legislation.gov.uk. October 2026 transition rules.
17. Plan to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Act: timeline update, GOV.UK, updated 25 September 2026.
18. Pregnancy and maternity-related discrimination and disadvantage: experiences of mothers, EHRC and Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, 2016. Historical evidence for the first reality check.
19. Unfair dismissal, nidirect. Northern Ireland framework.