The NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Women’s Health and Maternity Programme have launched a dedicated Maternity Rights Advice Service for women and families across the Cheshire and Merseyside region.

Free and confidential advice

In partnership with Maternity Action, this service provides free and confidential advice on rights at work and maternity pay and benefits for pregnant women and new parents who are living, working, or booked for maternity care across the Cheshire and Merseyside region.

How to get help and advice

They can provide advice on a range of issues including maternity rights at work and maternity pay and benefits for pregnant women and new parents.

• Have you just found out that you are pregnant and want to know what your rights are at work?
  
  
• Wondering which benefits you could claim while you are pregnant or once your baby is born?
  
  
• Do you think that you are being discriminated against at work because of your pregnancy or because you have been on maternity leave?
  
  
• Not sure if you can get any maternity pay?
  
  

Call free on 0808 802 0062

10am – 1pm Monday – Friday

If you call the service outside of these hours, you can leave a message and an Adviser will get back to you.

Please note that the advice lines are closed on Bank Holidays.

Calls to our advice lines are free from UK landlines and mobile phones and do not appear on itemised bills.

Advice by email

The Email advice service is provided through the online contact form.

Please use the online contact form for any advice queries.

If you have a general question about the project or would like to find out more, you can email the team at: cheshiremerseyside@maternityaction.org.uk

Online advice – your rights

Key rights

• Maternity Action have a great deal of information about your rights on their  website 
• You can check your dates for maternity and parental leave and pay on the UK maternity and parental leave calculator.
  
  
• You can check your dates for maternity and parental leave and pay on the Gov.uk Maternity and Parental leave calculator.
  
  
• If your query is about NHS maternity care, please contact the Maternity Care Access Advice Service.

This has project is a continuation from the successful Wirral Health Justice Partnership pilot, in collaboration with Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.