Section 9 — Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987: Duration of maternity leave

9 Duration of maternity leave (1) Maternity leave must be taken in 1 continuous period not exceeding 14 weeks, subject to subsection (2) . (2) If a female employee begins her maternity leave— (a) On a date specified, pursuant to section 13(1) of this Act, in a certificate; or (b) On a date appointed, pursuant to section 14 of this Act, by her employer,— the female employee shall be entitled to take at least 8 weeks of her maternity leave after the expected date of delivery and, if necessary for that purpose, to extend the duration of her maternity leave. (3) A period of maternity leave in excess of 14 weeks taken by a female employee under subsection (2) is to be treated as maternity leave for the purposes of this Act, but must not be taken into account in assessing under section 26 any period of extended leave to which the female employee or her spouse or partner may be entitled under this Act. Compare: 1980 No 162 s 8 Subsection (1) was substituted, as from 1 December 2004, by section 11(1) Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Act 2004 (2004 No 89). See section 4 of that Act for the application of this amendment. See section 23 of that Act for the transitional provision relating to the giving of notice. Subsection (1) was substituted, as from 1 December 2005, by section 28(1) Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Act 2004 (2004 No 89). See section 26 of that Act for the application of this amendment. Subsection (2)(a) was amended, as from 1 July 2002, by section 10 Parental Leave And Employment Protection (Paid Parental Leave) Amendment Act 2002 (2002 No 7) by omitting the words “ medical practitioner's ” . Subsection (3) was substituted, as from 1 December 2004, by section 11(2) Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Act 2004 (2004 No 89). See section 4 of that Act for the application of this amendment. See section 23 of that Act for the transitional provision relating to the giving of notice. Subsection (3) was amended, as from 26 April 2005, by section 8 Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Act 2005 (2005 No 18) by inserting the words “ or partner ” after the word “ spouse ” . Subsection (3) was amended, as from 1 December 2005, by section 28(2) Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Act 2004 (2004 No 89) by substituting the expression “ 14 weeks ” for the words “ 13 or 14 weeks (as the case may be) ” . See section 26 of that Act for the application of this amendment.