One of our employees has applied for maternity leave in October 2010. However, in her letter of notification, she also advises us that she wishes to continue teaching one module during her statutory maternity leave and that she would like to travel with her department on its annual school trip in February 2011. Apart from insurance issues, are we prohibited from permitting an employee to work during statutory maternity leave?

Under the Maternity Protection Acts, 1994 and 2004 (the “Maternity Acts”), an employee must, at a minimum, take two weeks’ maternity leave before and four weeks’ maternity leave after the birth of the child. As such, if you were to allow the employee to teach during the statutory minimum period, this would be in breach of the Maternity Acts, albeit that it would be unlikely that the employee would bring a claim. However, if the employee engages in insurable employment during her maternity leave whilst she is in receipt of maternity benefit from the State, then she will disentitle herself to such maternity benefit.