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      "© Crown and database right. Derived from content available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 from legislation.gov.uk.",
      "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0."
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  "figure_id": "employment.leave.compulsory_maternity_weeks",
  "name": "Compulsory maternity leave: weeks",
  "unit": "weeks",
  "value_type": "count",
  "source_type": "si",
  "jurisdiction": "GB",
  "scope_note": "Two weeks, and it binds the EMPLOYER: section 72 makes permitting the work an offence, so this is the one part of maternity leave that cannot be waived. Four weeks applies instead to a woman who works in a factory, under the Public Health Act 1936 s.205 and the factories legislation GOV.UK's guide mentions — a different enactment and a separate figure, not authored. This is the stated limb GOV.UK's familiar 50 weeks of shared parental leave is computed from: 52 less these two, published as the derived maximum `employment.leave.spl.max_weeks` (D-D14-5), never as a figure any document states. Regulation 12A(5) also excludes these two weeks from the keeping-in-touch days.",
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        "role": "legislation",
        "citation": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/3312/made (SI 1999/3312 reg 8 as made: \"The prohibition in section 72 of the 1996 Act, against permitting an employee who satisfies prescribed conditions to work during a particular period (referred to as a 'compulsory maternity leave period'), applies- (a) in relation to an employee who is entitled to ordinary maternity leave, and (b) in respect of the period of two weeks which commences with the day on which childbirth occurs\"; in force 15 December 1999, reg 1, Part II having effect only for employees whose expected week of childbirth begins on or after 30 April 2000, reg 3(1))",
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        "role": "guidance",
        "citation": "https://www.gov.uk/maternity-pay-leave (under \"Leave\": \"You do not have to take 52 weeks but you must take 2 weeks' leave after your baby is born (or 4 weeks if you work in a factory)\")",
        "uri": "https://www.gov.uk/maternity-pay-leave",
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        "role": "legislation",
        "citation": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/3312/made (SI 1999/3312 reg 8 as made: \"The prohibition in section 72 of the 1996 Act, against permitting an employee who satisfies prescribed conditions to work during a particular period (referred to as a 'compulsory maternity leave period'), applies- (a) in relation to an employee who is entitled to ordinary maternity leave, and (b) in respect of the period of two weeks which commences with the day on which childbirth occurs\"; in force 15 December 1999, reg 1, Part II having effect only for employees whose expected week of childbirth begins on or after 30 April 2000, reg 3(1))",
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      },
      {
        "role": "guidance",
        "citation": "https://www.gov.uk/maternity-pay-leave (under \"Leave\": \"You do not have to take 52 weeks but you must take 2 weeks' leave after your baby is born (or 4 weeks if you work in a factory)\")",
        "uri": "https://www.gov.uk/maternity-pay-leave",
        "retrieved": "2026-07-29T15:05:08Z",
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