Maternity and Paternity Leave Policy
Maternity and paternity leave is one of the most significant policies in any employee handbook. It involves extended absences, sensitive conversations, and a process that managers need to handle consistently every time. A short video that explains your policy — how much leave is available, how to notify you, and what happens when they return — gives your team confidence at an important moment.
This guide helps you create that video. It covers what to include, how to structure your recording, and the questions your team will ask after watching it.
Key Takeaways
- Explain the leave available: Open your video by setting out how much maternity and paternity leave your organisation offers, whether it is paid, and how it compares to the statutory minimum for your location
- Walk through the notification process: Cover when employees should tell you, what information you need, and what happens after notification — so there are no surprises on either side
- Cover pay and benefits during leave: Explain how pay works during the leave period, whether benefits continue, and what happens to things like pension contributions and annual leave accrual
- Address the return to work: Set out what the return process looks like, including the right to come back to the same or equivalent role, flexible working conversations, and phased returns
- Link to official sources: Direct your team to the government guidance for your location so they can check the statutory entitlements themselves
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Why your team needs this policy
How you handle parental leave sends a strong signal to your workforce about your values and culture. Organisations that support new parents tend to see better retention and engagement. A well-communicated policy, available in your employee handbook, means managers handle every case consistently and employees know what to expect before they need to use it.
Beyond culture, there is a practical argument. Parental leave involves extended absences, cover planning, and return-to-work arrangements. Without a clear, documented policy, managers make it up as they go, leading to inconsistent treatment and avoidable mistakes. A recorded video that every team member can access ensures the process is the same for everyone, every time.
What to cover in your policy video
State the leave entitlement clearly. Open your video by explaining exactly how much maternity and paternity leave your organisation provides. Cover the statutory minimum for your location, any additional leave you offer above that minimum, and how the entitlement works for different situations such as adoption or surrogacy. Saying it clearly in a video removes the ambiguity that written policies sometimes leave behind.
Walk through the notification process. Explain when employees should tell you about a pregnancy or planned adoption, what information you need from them, and what happens next. Cover the timeline clearly so both the employee and their manager know the steps. Starting these conversations early allows the business to plan cover and the employee to feel supported.
Explain pay during leave. Cover how pay works throughout the leave period. Explain whether you offer enhanced pay above the statutory minimum, how long pay continues, and when it drops or stops. Be specific about the numbers rather than referring people to a separate document — the video is the place to make this simple.
Cover benefits and accrual. Explain what happens to pension contributions, annual leave accrual, and other contractual benefits while someone is on leave. These details are often overlooked and cause confusion when the employee returns to find their leave balance or pension is not what they expected.
Plan cover properly. Explain how the business handles cover during extended absences. Encourage your team to start planning as soon as they know the dates. In hospitality, where staffing is already tight, rushed arrangements lead to burnout for remaining staff and poor service delivery.
Address keeping in touch. Explain your approach to contact during leave. Cover what kind of updates you will send, how often, and make clear that contact should be welcome, not intrusive. If your jurisdiction has formal mechanisms for keeping-in-touch days, explain how they work and that they are optional.
Manage the return carefully. Cover the return-to-work process in your video. Explain the right to return to the same or an equivalent role, the option of a phased return, and how to raise a flexible working request. Returning from parental leave is a significant transition, and setting expectations in advance makes it smoother for everyone.
Keep records. Emphasise that every notification, conversation, decision, and payment is documented. Good records protect both the employer and the employee, and they are essential if a question arises later.
How to structure your video
Keep it under six minutes. Parental leave has more moving parts than most handbook topics, so you may need a little more time. Aim for four to six minutes — long enough to cover notification, pay, and return, short enough that people watch it to the end.
Have the right person present. This should come from the general manager or the person who will actually manage the process day-to-day. Parental leave is personal and sensitive, so hearing the policy from someone your team knows and trusts carries more weight than a generic script.
Use a chronological structure. Walk through the process in the order it happens: notification, planning the absence, pay during leave, keeping in touch, and returning to work. This mirrors the employee\u2019s experience and makes the video easy to follow.
Be warm but factual. The tone matters here more than in most policy videos. Acknowledge that this is an important life event. Avoid making it feel like a list of rules. At the same time, be precise about the practical details — when to notify, how pay works, what happens on return.
Record a separate manager briefing. Consider recording a second, shorter video aimed at managers. Cover how to handle the initial conversation, what not to say, how to plan cover, and how to manage the return. This avoids overloading the main video while ensuring managers are properly prepared.
Common questions your team will ask
After watching your video, these are the questions that will come up. Anticipate them in your recording or be ready to answer them via messaging:
- \u201cHow much leave do I get?\u201d — State the exact entitlement in your video, broken down by maternity and paternity leave. Include any enhanced offer above the statutory minimum.
- \u201cWhen do I need to tell you?\u201d — Explain the notification timeline clearly. Most locations have formal deadlines, but encouraging early conversations benefits everyone.
- \u201cWill I be paid during my leave?\u201d — Cover the pay structure in detail: how much, for how long, and when it changes. This is the question people care about most.
- \u201cWhat happens to my annual leave while I\u2019m off?\u201d — Confirm that leave continues to accrue during the absence and explain how unused days are handled on return.
- \u201cCan I come back part-time or request flexible working?\u201d — Explain your approach to flexible working requests from returning parents and how to raise them.
- \u201cWhat if my role changes while I\u2019m on leave?\u201d — Address job protection clearly. Explain the right to return to the same or an equivalent role and what happens if restructuring occurs during leave.
- \u201cCan my partner and I share the leave?\u201d — If shared parental leave is available in your jurisdiction, explain how it works and how to apply. If not, say so.
- \u201cWhat support is available when I come back?\u201d — Cover the return-to-work process, phased returns, and any check-ins or support you offer.
Official guidance
The rules on maternity and paternity leave vary by location. Before recording your video, check the official guidance for your jurisdiction:
| Location | Source |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Maternity pay and leave \u2014 GOV.UK |
| European Union | Work-Life Balance Directive 2019/1158 \u2014 EUR-Lex |
| United States | Family and Medical Leave Act \u2014 U.S. Department of Labor |
| Canada | EI maternity and parental benefits \u2014 Canada.ca |
| Australia | Maternity and parental leave \u2014 Fair Work Ombudsman |
How Pilla helps
Pilla turns your maternity and paternity leave policy into a living part of your employee handbook:
- Record your policy video — Film a short video explaining your maternity and paternity leave policy, what employees need to know, and how it works in your organisation. Staff watch on their phone, and you track who has seen it.
- Onboarding integration — Include the maternity and paternity leave policy as part of your onboarding checklist, so every new starter acknowledges it during induction.
- Policy updates — When your policy changes, push the updated video to all staff and track who has watched the new version.
- Audit trail — Every video view, policy acknowledgement, and onboarding completion is recorded with timestamps, ready for any compliance review.
- Messaging — Use in-app messaging to answer questions about maternity and paternity leave directly, keeping sensitive conversations out of group chats.