Statutory maternity pay FAQ

 

« Entitlement to return to old job »

What are the entitlements regarding the return to work after maternity leave?

An employee is entitled to return to the same job with the same hours and rate of pay at the end of ordinary maternity leave. It is automatically classed as an unfair dismissal if the job is not offered back. On return to work after taking additional leave the employee is entitled to the same job or a suitable alternative if the original job is not available. If the employee require less hours on return the employer must make every effort to accommodate the request and have a sound business reason for rejecting it. It is acceptable to hire a new employee on a short or fixed term contract to cover the period of ordinary leave and then terminate due to the return of the employee from leave.

« Holiday accrual during additional maternity leave »

During additional maternity leave, i.e. the 26 weeks leave allowed after OML, does the employee still accrue holiday entitlement as normal?

Holiday accrual continues in the normal way throughout both ordinary and additional maternity leave. How it would be taken within the holiday year is a different matter as it could be classed as a return to work which has it's own consequences. If there was a clause in the contract of employment that allowed untaken holiday entitlement to be carried over to the following holiday year, which is not a statutory right, it would then be possible to take it, with suitable notice, upon return to work.

« Further 'benefits' »

Is an employee entitled to claim any benefits whilst receiving SMP?

Statutory Maternity Pay is paid by an employer on behalf of HMRC and is a statutory entitlement funded by NI contributions made by the employee. Benefits are paid by the Benefits Agency and have nothing to do with an employer. I'm sure that your local BA office or your midwife would be happy to go through what is available and how SMP may affect any existing benefits you receive.

« Paternity pay calculation »

Is Statutory Paternity Pay calculated in the same way as SMP, i.e. eight weeks average earnings?

Paternity pay is totally different from SMP or SAP. It is paid in a lump sum for either a one or two week period. The only similarity is the method by which the level of payment is calculated. Use the same method as SMP to calculate the eight week average pay; the amount due per week is the lesser of either 90% of the average wage or the SPP rate. Paternity pay is set to change and these changes could reult in paternity pay being made available for up to the same period as maternity pay

« SMP payments and redundancy »

Does SMP have to be paid once an employee is made redundant?

Once SMP has started the employer must continue to pay it until the employee ceases to qualify to receive it as it is part or fully funded by HMRC and is a statutory right. If an employee is made redundant whilst on SMP the SMP must be paid in full as well as the redundancy pay she is entitled to, the SMP payment is then reclaimed in the normal manner from HMRC.

« Keeping In Touch days payment »

What payment can be made for a KIT day?

A KIT (Keeping In Touch) day is treated the same as any other working day in terms of payment so the employee would receive the same as they would for a working days prior to starting SMP. As SMP will also be paid for the day an adjustment is made to the regular wages to take account of it. The special thing about a KIT day, of which there are up to ten, is that working one of them does not affect the entitlement to SMP for the week; prior to their introduction if a day was worked the entitlement to SMP for the whole week was lost.

« Claiming compensation on Maternity Allowance »

Can the 4.5% compensation on SMP also be claimed for Maternity Allowance?

No! Maternity allowance is paid by the Benefits Agency to the employee as they don't qualify for SMP from the employer. The 4.5% compensation payment is intended to compensate the employer national insurance contribution made by the employer on the SMP, in reality most employers pay more Er NI than the compensation paid to them.