Can I contact my employee during maternity leave?

19 August 2026

Maternity leave is an exciting time in an employee’s life. They have just had a baby and would like to spend some much-needed time with their newborn.

However, for employers, this can be a tricky time to know how and when they can get in contact with their employee without breaching the law.

Employers need to understand what contact is reasonable and what contact is a no-go so that their employees can recover and get to spend some quality time with their new baby.

What is the law surrounding contacting employees during maternity leave?

Section 12 of the Maternity and Parental Leave Regulations 1999 outlines that employers must keep contact with an employee ‘reasonable’ during their maternity leave.

While the word ‘reasonable’ leaves some room for interpretation, employers should generally keep their employees informed on things such as training requirements, promotions, redundancies and any company reorganisation.

If these things are not communicated properly, employers could be at risk of breaching discrimination laws.

The Equality Act 2010 protects people who are pregnant if any discrimination happens because they are pregnant, because they are on maternity leave, because they have the right to take maternity leave and because they are suffering from pregnancy-related illnesses.

This especially applies if an employee is passed over for a promotion that they would have been entitled to just because they are on maternity leave.

Additionally, if an employer makes redundancies and doesn’t contact the person on maternity leave, this could be classed as discrimination.

Keeping in touch days

During maternity leave, an employee can take up to 10 keeping in touch (KIT) days. These are days when an employee can agree to do some work without ending their maternity leave.

Any KIT days need arrangement from the employer and employee, which includes:

• If they want to work KIT days.
• How many KIT days they want.
• What work they will do on the day.
• How much they will be paid for the work.

KIT days allow employees to stay in contact with the organisation by joining in on training sessions or sitting in on meetings.

It is important to remember that even if an employee works part of a KIT day, it still counts as a full day.

This is important as an employee can work no more than 10 KIT days. If they do their statutory maternity leave, pay will automatically end.

What is best practice when contacting employees during maternity leave?

The best approach is to agree on how you will keep in touch before the employee starts their maternity leave.

This can help both the employer and employee understand what contact is expected and avoid unnecessary communication.

Employers should consider:

• How often they will contact the employee.
• Whether they would prefer contact by email, phone or another method.
• Who the employee should contact within the organisation.
• What information the employee would like to receive while they are away.

Employers should also remember that maternity leave is not a period where an employee is expected to continue working. Regular emails, calls or requests for work could quickly go beyond what would be considered reasonable contact.

The employee should be kept informed about important changes that could affect them, while less important updates such as social events or general company news can be agreed between both parties.

It is also a good idea to keep the employee’s preferences under review. What feels like reasonable contact before the baby arrives may feel very different once the employee is at home with a newborn.

Employers should not cut employees off from the workplace, especially if important opportunities or changes are in discussion, but they should also respect that the employee is on maternity leave and is not expected to work.

How can we help?

Managing maternity leave correctly can be difficult, particularly when employers are trying to balance the needs of the business with their legal responsibilities towards employees.

At Mander Hadley, we can provide advice on maternity leave, KIT days, keeping in touch and pregnancy and maternity discrimination to help employers manage the process correctly.

Get in touch with our employment law team for advice on maternity leave.