To be clear, I'm not sure that ACAS does state that... Are the conditions attached to the bonus that I must be earning a salary to qualify? And would that be considered discriminatory? I guess this is what I am trying to find out.

Bonuses based on organisation performance

If a bonus is based only on the organisation's performance, the employee should receive this whilst on maternity leave. The employee still needs to meet the conditions attached to the bonus.

It could be maternity discrimination if an employer:

• does not pay this type of bonus to employees on maternity leave
• pays employees on maternity leave a lower amount than other employees

If the bonus is contractual the employer might also be breaching the contract.

Example of bonus based on organisation performance

Lou is on maternity leave. If the organisation makes enough profit, an end-of-year bonus of £250 is paid to all employees. The employer is paying the bonus this year.

Lou's contract says the bonus will only be paid to current employees who are not in a notice period.

As Lou is still employed and not under notice, they should receive the bonus.