Maternity pay

Q: I have worked on successive fixed-term contracts for the past four years. Am I entitled to statutory maternity pay?

A: To qualify for statutory maternity pay, a woman must:

* be an employee;

* have been continuously employed for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the expected date of childbirth; and

* be earning at least £87 per week.

If there was no break between your contracts, you will have the necessary qualifying service.

Under the Statutory Maternity Pay (General) Regulations 1986, there are also certain absences from work that are not regarded as breaking continuity of service - these include absences in situations where there is a "temporary cessation of work" and the employer has no work to offer, or where there is an "arrangement or custom" that the employment continues despite an absence from work.

One example of such a situation is an annual shutdown; if the employee worked before and after the shutdown, her employment can still be treated as continuous.