Expecting your rights

A guide to maternity, paternity and adoption leave and your rights when you go back to work

Download this guide as an easy-to-print leaflet - Expecting your rights (696 KB)

This guide is for anyone who is about to have a baby or adopt a child and has a job. It explains what your rights at work are if you are pregnant, if your partner is, or if you are adopting.

If you are about to become a parent you are probably really excited. But when you are not hopping from foot to foot with pure joy, you might also be a little bit worried about how it will go down at work, how you'll survive financially, and how you can juggle being a top-quality parent and a treasured employee at the same time.

This guide explains what you need to know at every step and legal agony aunt, Beverly Reid, advises you how to handle the trickier situations.

Does this apply to me?

You have all the rights in this guide if you are an 'employee'. Most people who have a job are employees. If you are not sure whether this includes you, see How do I know if I am an employee? for more details. If you are not an employee, we explain which of these rights you do and don't have.