What about life insurance, PHI and medical cover?

There are special rules requiring employers to maintain benefits provided under occupational social security schemes during any period of paid maternity leave - see What do we do about pension contributions? .

Our current advice is to treat life insurance, PHI and medical cover in the same way as pension rights, and maintain them throughout any period of paid maternity leave. This is because the definition of ‘pension scheme’ in the relevant UK social security legislation is very wide and covers a scheme providing protection against sickness, invalidity and death as well as one providing for retirement. It is unclear if this definition captures life insurance, PHI and medical cover schemes but there is clearly a strong risk that it might do so.

In practice, many employers make a single lump sum payment to the insurers at the beginning of the policy year to cover all employees throughout the year. In those circumstances, it is often harder to remove cover from an employee than to retain it for her.

Once the law has changed, you should maintain PHI, life insurance and medical cover throughout the entire period of maternity leave.