4.1. Prerequisites

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Staff Members are required to submit their request for leave through the Employee Self-Service (ESS) portal.

The following documents and data are required to submit a maternity leave request on behalf of a staff member.

• Validate Appointment Status: The HR Partner should review the expiration date of the staff member’s appointment and process an Appointment Extension PA, if required.
  
  
  
  

  In the case of a staff member whose fixed-term appointment is set to expire during their period of maternity leave, and a decision is made not to extend the staff member’s appointment (based on factors unrelated to the staff member’s pregnancy) the current appointment will be extended to cover the full duration of the maternity leave. However, this provision shall not apply in cases where the fixed-term appointment expires more than six weeks before the anticipated date of delivery. Temporary appointees can only be extended for the duration of the maternity leave if the maternity leave started prior to the end of the appointment but was not completed.

  
  
• Maternity Request: The Staff Member should submit, at least six weeks prior to the expected delivery date, a completed request for maternity leave in ESS indicating the date that the staff member requests the pre-delivery leave to commence. The ESS request must include a licensed medical practitioner or midwife statement clearly indicating the expected date of delivery.
• Official Documentation: Documentation from the treating physician of the staff member regarding the maternity leave approval dates. This documentation must be attached to the ESS request and, in cases in which ESS is not accessible by the staff member or Time Administrator and an HR Partner action is required directly in ECC, originals must be provided to the HR Partner. If the staff member is requesting to work up to two weeks prior to delivery, the documentation must also certify that the staff member is fit to continue to work until such date.
• Check for Exceptions/Special Cases: The HR Partner should check for any exceptional requests or cases, which may involve the consultation of the Medical Services Division (consultation with MSD should be done offline) or further approval requirements (i.e. travel evacuation for delivery purposes).
  

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