This short guide talks about being pregnant at work and your rights, including maternity leave and pay, and paternity leave. It also covers shared parental leave which is different to parental leave. It is important to know your pregnancy rights at work and your partner's rights so you can plan well for your new family.

The information in this guide applies to England and Wales.

You have a right to be paid for a certain number of holidays whether you work full time, part time or under a zero-hours contract. This is sometimes known as ‘annual leave entitlement’, or ‘statutory annual leave’.

Landlords want to know that you will pay the rent on time and look after their property carefully. Here are some ideas on how to re-assure them you are just the person to do this.

It is now much harder to find advice and help with your children’s benefits than it used to be. You should expect that you will have to do most of the work yourself (or with help from your friends – don’t worry, this site will show you what to do, and how to do it). 

But if you can get a bit of advice to make sure you know what rate you should be getting, it will be really helpful. 

This information applies to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Problems often happen when you take time off work because you are sick, particularly if you are off for a long time or if you have to call in sick a number of times in a short period. Taking leave for your mental health counts as sickness, just like a physical health illness does. An employer is not required to wait indefinitely for you to return to work from sick leave. But dismissing you because you have taken time off because you are ill may not be fair if they have not given you a reasonable period of time to recover. It is important to know what sick pay you are entitled to and if you can get statutory sick pay.

The conditions we work in can have a big impact on our health. Your employer has a duty to keep you safe and protect you from things that could damage your health. At one extreme, lax health and safety procedures at work can kill or seriously injure people. At the other, things like uncomfortable seating and computer screens can cause aches and pains, which make life miserable. You could be at risk from psychological illness as well as physical injury. For example, being over-stretched or bullied at work can lead to stress and depression. To avoid these things, both you and your employer should take action to make sure your workplace is a safe and comfortable place for you to be.

 If you are just beginning to think about divorce there are a few things about the process that are really useful to understand at the outset. 

This information applies to England and Wales only. 

There may be times when you need to negotiate with your employer – perhaps because you want to change your working hours, pay, or where you work from. Maybe you need to negotiate when you take your holiday or extra leave? Or perhaps you want them to deal with an issue in a different way. Check out our tips for how to make sure it goes well.

We asked parents who had sorted out arrangements for their children what worked for them and what advice they would give to other people in the same situation.