Returning to Work After Maternity, Shared Parental or Adoption Leave: A Guide for Employers

Returning to work after maternity leave or other types of parental leave can be a difficult time for employees. They’ve spent time caring for and bonding with their new family, and it can feel like a big adjustment when they return. It’s also normal for parents to worry that they’ve become disconnected from their work and feel unsure about fitting back in.

A recent study found that 51% of working mothers have had a negative experience returning to work after maternity leave, indicating that employers need to offer better support. Additionally, just 5% of eligible fathers and 1% of mothers had used shared parental leave according to the government’s 2023 evaluation report, citing reasons such as lack of awareness among parents and employers and barriers to parents using it flexibly.

So it’s clear that employees need to be supported to return to work after parental leave, and the assistance employers offer should be well-advertised to encourage new parents to take advantage of the leave available to them. 

In this guide, we’ll go through the different types of long-term parental leave in the UK, what employees’ rights are and how you can support parents as they transition back to work after a period of parental leave.

Parental leave in the UK: A quick recap 

In the UK, there are three types of longer-term parental leave: maternity leave, adoption leave and shared parental leave. Let’s go through what these are and what employees are entitled to when they take this leave:

Maternity leave

Maternity leave is available as a day-one right to all pregnant employees. Working mothers can take up to 52 weeks’ statutory maternity leave, which is made up of:

• Ordinary maternity leave – the first 26 weeks
• Additional maternity leave – the last 26 weeks

Employees don’t have to take 52 weeks, but they must take 2 weeks’ maternity leave after the baby is born, or 4 weeks if they work in a factory.

Birth parents are also entitled to statutory maternity pay for up to 39 weeks. This is made up of 90% of average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks, then £187.18 or 90% of average weekly earnings for the next 33 weeks – whichever is lower.

To be eligible for statutory maternity pay, employees need to have been working continuously for 26 weeks for the same employer, and have earned an average of at least £125 per week for 8 weeks before their ‘qualifying week’.

Many employers offer some length of full maternity pay as a contractual benefit.

Adoption leave

Adoption leave is when an employee takes time off to adopt a child or have a child through surrogacy. In the same way as maternity leave, statutory adoption leave is made up of 26 weeks of ordinary adoption leave and 26 weeks of additional adoption leave. 

Only one person can take adoption leave, but the other partner may be eligible for paternity leave instead. Alternatively, both parents can choose to take shared parental leave.

Statutory adoption pay and eligibility is the same as statutory maternity pay. Again, many employers offer a company adoption pay scheme as a benefit. 

Shared parental leave

Shared parental leave is where an employee and their partner decide to share the pay and leave available to new parents. People who are having a baby, using a surrogate, adopting a child or fostering a child they plan to adopt are all eligible.

Parents can share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay between them. They need to share the pay and leave in the first year after the child is born or placed with their family. 

Unlike maternity leave, shared parental leave can be taken in blocks separated by periods of work, as well as taken in one go. The birthing partner will need to give up some of their maternity or adoption leave and pay to get shared parental leave and statutory shared parental pay.

Employee rights when returning to work

Employees retain their employment rights when they’re on parental leave, such as their holiday entitlement and their right to any pay rises or improvements in terms and conditions that happen during their leave.  

The right of returning to work

When returning to work, employees have the right to return to the same job as before they went on leave if they only took 26 weeks of maternity or adoption leave, or 26 weeks shared between both parents if they took shared parental leave. 

If your employee takes more than 26 weeks’ leave, they have the right to return to their job or a similar job, if it’s not possible for them to go back to their old job. This means that the job must have the same or better terms and conditions. 

If you have given company-wide pay rises or improved terms and conditions for all employees since your employee has been on parental leave, they also have the right to these improvements.

Holiday entitlement

During maternity, adoption or shared parental leave, employees still accrue their holiday entitlement. You should discuss when your employee will take their built-up holiday before they go on leave. 

They might not have an answer for you straight away, but they should arrange another meeting with you to determine what they will do before they return to work. Many people decide to take their accrued holiday at the end of their maternity leave, giving them a few extra days or weeks before they have to return to the workplace. 

Breastfeeding

If your employee is still breastfeeding when they return to work, you must provide them with an appropriate place to rest. It’s not legally required for you to provide them with somewhere to express or store milk, but it’s a good idea to offer a private room and a fridge to store the milk.

Offering these facilities, even when it’s not the law, helps show that you’re a supportive employer who is trying to reduce the barriers to work that many mothers often face. When 70% of employees say they experience stress, anxiety and dread about returning to work after maternity or adoption leave, it only makes sense for you to try to reduce these feelings to get the best out of your team.

Common challenges of returning to work after parental leave 

Many employees will face challenges when they return to work after a period of parental leave. Their time has been entirely focused on their new child or children, and it can feel overwhelming to come back to a job that they took when their life was very different.

It’s important to understand some of the challenges your employees may face when they return to work. The most common can be grouped into emotional, social and technical challenges:

Emotional

• Postnatal depression: More than 1 in 10 women get it within a year of giving birth, and it can affect fathers and partners too.
• Anxiety: Many employees worry about leaving their child, along with their pay, the financial and logistical aspects of childcare, and their career goals being affected after a break from work.

Social

• Maintaining relationships: After a long period of caring for their children, employees may struggle with forming and maintaining relationships with their colleagues.
• Breastfeeding: Working mothers may be concerned about having privacy to express milk or worry about what their colleagues may think if they need to take breaks to rest or express. 

Technical

• Time management: Some employees may find it difficult to manage their time or meet deadlines when they first return to work.
• Confidence: Many parents lose their confidence when they’ve been off work for an extended period. They may feel like they have a lot to catch up on and worry that they’ve missed out on important training.

It’s important to recognise that these challenges are very common amongst parents who return to work after an extended period of leave. Supporting your employees as they transition back to the workplace is crucial to getting the most out of your team. 

Why employers should help with the transition of returning to work

It’s the right thing to do to support your employees as they transition back to work, but there are also plenty of business benefits, including:

• Reduces turnover: 86% of mothers who have access to family-friendly options from their employer return to work after having a baby, compared with just 42% who have no options. So, offering support to allow your employees to return to work can help you save money and time on recruitment. 
• Improves productivity: When you support your employees, they will be happier – and the University of Oxford found that happy workers are 13% more productive.
• Boosts morale and loyalty: When you show that you value your employees’ wellbeing, it can improve morale and loyalty among all staff, not just those who are returning to work from parental leave.
• Promotes diversity and inclusion: When you support your employees returning from parental leave, you’re demonstrating that your organisation values having a diverse workforce. And since 76% of job seekers consider workplace diversity an important factor when they’re job hunting, it makes sense to focus on equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI).

It’s clear that there are plenty of benefits to supporting your employees as they return to work after parental leave. So what practical things can you put in place to help make the transition easier?

Practical tips for supporting parents returning to work

Keep in touch and make a plan

Before your employee starts their parental leave, work together to agree on a communication plan. This sets expectations on how and when you’ll stay in touch, and helps them feel reassured they won’t be forgotten about during their time away.

Make use of keeping in touch (KIT) days. These are up to ten optional workdays that allow an employee on maternity, adoption or shared parental leave to return temporarily without ending their leave. KIT days can be used for meetings, training or reintroductions and help smooth the transition back into the workplace. For parents using shared parental leave, they can work up to 20 days during their leave.

That said, it’s important not to overdo it. Avoid frequent or unexpected contact that may feel intrusive, especially early in their leave. Stick to the agreed plan and only check in when it’s appropriate.

Offer flexible working

One of the most effective ways to support returning parents is to offer flexible working arrangements. This could include part-time hours, hybrid working or a phased return.

Flexible work helps prevent new parents, especially women, from missing out on opportunities for promotion or higher pay. It’s also good for business: flexible workers have a higher level of job satisfaction, commitment, and are more likely to increase discretionary effort compared to those who don’t work flexibly.

Where possible, take a proactive approach to discussing flexible options before your employee returns from leave.

Review reasonable adjustments

If your employee had reasonable adjustments in place before going on leave, for example for a disability or long-term health condition, it’s important to review these when they return. Their needs may have changed, or adjustments may need to be reapplied.

New adjustments might also be appropriate. For instance, a disabled employee may now face additional challenges managing childcare, such as needing extra time to travel to a nursery. Adjusting start and finish times or offering more home working could be a simple solution that minimises a barrier to work.

Offer training

Returning to work after months away can impact a person’s confidence, especially if there have been changes to systems or processes. Providing refresher training or upskilling opportunities can help rebuild that confidence and support a successful return.

Training also benefits your organisation. A Deloitte report found that organisations with a robust learning culture are 92% more likely to develop innovative products and processes. Whether it’s a formal course or on-the-job coaching, development opportunities help returning parents re-engage quickly.

Create a supportive culture

Culture matters just as much as policy. It’s essential that your workplace visibly supports parents, not just on paper, but through day-to-day actions and attitudes.

Avoid throwaway comments like ‘leaving early again?’ or calling parents leaving to pick up their children ‘part-timers’. These may seem minor, but they can undermine confidence and foster resentment. Instead, be mindful of when meetings are held and whether they clash with childcare responsibilities. If possible, avoid scheduling key sessions late in the day or at very short notice.

As we said earlier, though not legally required, providing a clean, private space to express and store milk is a sensible thing to do. These small actions show that your organisation genuinely values inclusion and care.

Common pitfalls to avoid

It can be tricky to get it right when you’re supporting your employee back into work – it’s easy to worry that you’re doing the wrong thing. Here are a few of the most common pitfalls to avoid:

• Contacting too much: While you want to keep in touch with your employee and remind them that you are there to support their transition back to work, it’s important to remember that while they are still on leave, their main responsibility is caring for their family.
• Not managing workload: On your employee’s return to work, they’ll need some time to get back into the swing of things. Be mindful that it may take them a few weeks to get back to the same level of productivity. And if they’ve come back to work part time, don’t give them a full-time employee’s workload.
• Benevolence bias: Benevolence bias is when you make assumptions about how much your employee wants to work or what kind of work they want to do. Try to reframe these potential biases. For example, don’t assume that your employee won’t want to work on a big project because it would mean working away from home once a week – let them know that you would love to give them the opportunity, but you want to give them the choice to decide if they want to do it. 

Supporting employees as they return to work after parental leave isn’t just a legal responsibility; it’s a vital part of building an inclusive, engaged and productive workplace. By planning ahead, offering flexibility, reviewing any existing support needs and fostering a respectful and understanding culture, you can help new parents transition back into work with confidence.

A thoughtful return-to-work process benefits everyone: the employee feels valued and supported, teams experience smoother handovers and continuity, and the business retains skilled, committed people. Small adjustments and open conversations go a long way – so it’s worth investing the time and care to get it right.

How we can help

Our team of experienced HR and OD professionals can help you with all things maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave. Whether it’s putting together a process from scratch, or guiding you through a sensitive case with empathy.

Call us on 0330 223 5253 or drop us an email on office@fitzgeraldhr.co.uk