Statutory Maternity Pay 2013 - 2014

To help you take time off work with your baby, if you are an employee, you may be entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) which is a payment from the government and is paid to you via your employer. 

(You may also be lucky enough to have this enhanced by a Company maternity scheme).

Do I qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)?

To qualify for SMP you must meet the following criteria:

Have been in your current employment continuously for at least 26 weeks prior to the 15th week before the week your baby is due (the qualifying week). In plain terms, you should have started the job before you fell pregnant and still be in the same employment at approximately week 26 of your pregnancy. 
If you are made redundant or resign from your job after the qualifying week but before your maternity leave was due to start, your employer will still be obliged to pay your maternity pay if you are eligible.

You must be earning on average an amount which at least equals the lower earnings limit (LEL). The LEL for 2013/2014 is £109 per week or £473 per month.
This must be the case on the Saturday at the end of your qualifying week.

You must give your employer evidence that you are pregnant. This is the form MATB1 that you will receive from your midwife around week 21 of your pregnancy.

You must give your employer notice of your intention to take maternity leave in writing on or before the qualifying week (ie by week 26 of your pregnancy.) 

For help working out your qualifying dates and weeks, visit:    
www.gov.uk/calculate-your-maternity-pay

How is SMP calculated?

SMP is calculated over an average of 8 week’s (if you are paid weekly) or 2 month’s (if you are paid monthly) worth of gross earnings before the Saturday at the end of your qualifying week. 

The more eligible pay you receive during these periods, the more SMP you will receive for the first 6 weeks of your payments. 

The payments used must be eligible for national insurance deductions.

Examples of these are:

Salary or basic pay/hours

Overtime

Bonus payments

Sick pay

Holiday pay

Commission

The qualifying payments are added together and multiplied by 6 to get an annual average. 

This is then divided by 52 to find an average weekly amount.

How much SMP will I get?

SMP is paid as follows:

EITHER:

6 weeks at 90% of the average weekly amount

followed by 33 weeks at the statutory amount

(for the 2012/2013 tax year this is £136.78 per week)

OR:

39 weeks at 90% of your average weekly amount if your average weekly amount is less than £136.78

Some companies offer additional occupational maternity pay, so please check your contract.

(SMP is subject to tax and national insurance.)

NB    If you are due a pay rise while you are on your maternity leave, your average weekly amount will need to be re-calculated to include it.

Keeping in Touch (K.I.T.) Days

You are allowed 10 K.I.T. Days during you maternity pay period (while you receive your SMP).  These are days when you can go into work to stay in touch with what’s going on or for training.  It could just be for half an hour or a full day.

You are not usually paid extra for these days, but you do not lose any of your SMP for that week.  (Some employers may offer additional payment on top of the week’s SMP so please check your contract.)

Don’t exceed the 10 days though as you will lose the whole week’s worth of SMP, and don’t do a K.I.T. day in the same week (seven day period) as you go back to work as you will also lose the SMP for that week.

I don’t qualify for SMP – what can I do?

If you do not qualify for SMP from your employer or you are self employed, you may be entitled to Maternity Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance which is paid to you directly by the government. 

For more information visit: www.gov.uk/maternity-allowance

For further help and information, I recommend the following websites:

www.workingfamilies.org.uk

www.maternityaction.org.uk/index.html
www.acas.org.uk

If you have a question, please do leave a comment or contact me via email if it is of a more personal nature.

Contact Pennies 4 Parents

Maternity Leave

If you are an employee, you qualify for 52 weeks of statutory maternity leave no matter how long you have worked for your employer, how many hours you work or how much you are paid. 

(However, not all employees qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay.)

At least 15 weeks before your baby is due, you must tell your employer (preferably in writing) that:

•           You are pregnant

•           When the baby is due

•           When you want to start your maternity leave                                            

            (you can change the date later, if you give at least 28 days' notice.)

You should also pass on your MATB1 form that your midwife gives you around week 21 of your pregnancy.

Your employer should then write to you confirming your maternity leave dates and they may also give you an idea of your maternity pay if applicable.

You can start your maternity leave from 11 weeks before your baby is due (unless your baby is very premature in which case it will start the day after the birth).

If you are off work with a pregnancy related illness in the last 4 weeks before your baby is due, your employer can make you start your leave then.

The 52 weeks are divided into 26 weeks of Ordinary Maternity Leave and 26 weeks of Additional Maternity Leave. 

After your Ordinary Maternity Leave, you have the right to return to the same job.

After Additional Maternity Leave you have the right to return to the same job, or to another suitable job if that is not reasonably practicable.

While you are on maternity leave, you continue to accrue holiday as if you were at work.  If your employer allows, it’s a great idea to tag a week or two to the beginning and end of your maternity leave. 

A fantastic tool for working out maternity leave dates (and for getting an estimate of your SMP) can be found at:

www.direct.gov.uk/maternity.dsb

If you have a question, please do leave a comment!

www.zestpayroll.co.uk