Contract of employment

[Bingo99]

My wife is an dentist who has been working in a surgery for more than 12 months full-time, but has no written contract of employment.

I believe my wife is known as a dentist “performer” and has an accountant that deals and draws up her accounts for income tax payments and that payments for the forthcoming maternity leave are paid by NHS to the owner of the dentist who then pays my wife accordingly.

With this in mind, I wondered if you would be able to answer the questions posed below:


1) She is planning to return to from her maternity leave to work after 6 months to return to her current full time role. Does the current role have to be left open for her return?

2) She may decide to return part-time after her 6 months leave i.e. 3 days a week for 6 months; do we have any rights at all or does the owner every right to refuse this?

3) If she decides to take 12 months leave ( 6 months paid maternity leave & 6 months government payments) does the current role have to be left open for her return or does the owner have every right to refuse this?

4) The maternity leave will take place from the 15th June 2012 to 17th December (6 months) this will mean that the Christmas period will be upon us; would my wife have any right to book holidays for this holiday season and if so is there a maximum amount that she can have between the date of return 17th December up until the 31st December?

Thanks in advance....

[twix123]

Is your wife self employed or an employee? Does her employer deduct Income Tax from her salary at source?

Maternity Pay is paid by the employer and subsequently reclaimed from HMRC via deduction from payments to the Inland Revenue each month.

Assuming that your wife is an employee, although the lack of a signed contract is of no importance in this respect, to answer your questions:

1. Her employment has to be kept open, but not necessarily in the same role. Although she cannot be disadvantaged earnings wise by any change.

2. A change from full time to part time working would indicate a request for flexible working. The employer has every right to refuse this request if it means that they cannot employ someone for the remainder of the time when your wife wold not be working. There if an official way to make this request:

http://www.direct.gov...leworking/dg_10029491

Furthermore, should such a request be granted, she wouldn't have the right to request a return to full time working for a year, when the same procedure has to be followed.

Of course, if her employer is agreeable, she may be able to make such arrangements informally!

3. Statutory Maternity Pay is only payable for a total of 39 weeks, therefore the remaining 3 months will be unpaid, but the employee does have the right to take up to 52 weeks maternity leave. See no 1 above.

Your wife should have received a written acknowledgement from her employer when she officially informed them that she was pregnant and would be taking leave. This acknowledgement should indicate the various time scales that have to be met in respect of the decisions that she will be making about when to return to work.

4. Your wife will still be entitled to her holiday leave in addition to her maternity leave, but obviously a lot depends upon when her employers holiday year commences and ends, how much holiday leave she has taken and therefore how much will still be outstanding to her at the time of her return to work. Normal holiday leave rules apply, therefore her employer can refuse a request should it interfere with the working of the practise. Maternity is one of the few instances where an employees leave may legally be carried over to the following holiday year . As an employer, I would not be too happy, nor would my employees, if someone should return from maternity leave and then expect to immediately go on leave just before Christmas, especially if it means that others may miss taking leave during that period!

[Tom Braider]

Sounds like your wife is working as if self employed - why else would she be preparing accounts, etc? This may not be correct, but unless she is acknowledged as an employee she won't have any employment rights at all. It'll all be down to what she can negotiate with the practise - which is not her employer but her customer.

[cathfromsaron]

does she get a payslip OR does she invoice them for the money?

[bednobs]

if she pays her own income tax then isn't she SE?