Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust, Finalist 2012, Best for Mothers Award

Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust employs over 3,000 people, of whom 85 percent are women. They were keen to maximise their maternity returner rate, especially for hard-to-fill clinical posts. To do this they developed a holistic approach to managing maternity which starts when a woman informs her manager that she is pregnant. After this, women can attend one of twice monthly held maternity meetings in which they are given information and also the opportunity to meet and talk with other pregnant women.

The Trust uses these sessions to talk to women about their maternity leave and pay, about ‘Keeping in Touch’ days, and also about their policies on breastfeeding at work (which is encouraged). The sessions allow for detailed discussion on issues like childcare vouchers, breakdowns of maternity pay and pension entitlements which the Trust knows many women appreciate as it removes anxiety about income after childbirth.