WOMEN , WORK AND BABIES.1

Hello Sophia!

I have a client who needs to prove that she is indeed pregnant, for her employer, how does she go about it?

What is acceptable evidence of pregnancy?

The employee must produce medical evidence of the date the baby/babies is due.

Twin and triplet mothers are unfortunately discriminated against as their pregnancies hardly ever proceed to the 40 weeks and 37 weeks is the normal gestation for twins, 35 for triplets. I am afraid you have to settle for a singleton EWC (see below) or if you book an elective caesarian this could stand as a EWC.

This will normally be on a Maternity Certificate MAT B1, which shows the date the baby is due.

The MAT B1 is given to the employee by the doctor or midwife. The date given on the MAT B1 can not be changed. Only in exceptional cases, a doctor or midwife who has given a fresh examination would issue a new MATB1. Also insure that your doctor knows, what you work as and what your work environment is, as a risk assessment has to be carried out in light of what is upon your certificate.

In cases where a MATB1 is lost or mislaid a replacement can be issued and clearly marked “duplicate”.

It cannot be issued before the start of the 20th week before the EWC, (that is the expected week of confinement for the Victorians amongst us) (before September 2001, this was the 14th week). (So please IGNORE any health professional that issues you later than twenty weeks citing the fact that you can legally still have an abortion.)

The date of issue is the date it was signed by the doctor or midwife.

The employer may be able to calculate what SMP is due before they receive medical evidence but they must not pay SMP until acceptable medical evidence is received. Although a birth certificate is acceptable as proof that a baby has been born, the employer still needs evidence of the date the baby was due, in order to check that the employee satisfies the continuous employment rule and to calculate the AWE.