Record No. / Issue No. / Issue Date / Prepared By / Authorised By
HRMAT001 / 1 / 31/07/15 / Kerri Bradley / Sinead Sharpe
Company Information Pack –Maternity Leave & Pay
CONGRATULATIONS!
Firstly, congratulations on what we know will be an exciting time for you!
The aim of this pack is to guide you through the process of planning for your maternity leave. It has been laid out in a format which is intended to be easy to use. Should you have any other queries or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact your Line Manager.
MATERNITY LEAVE PLAN
You do not have to fill in the plan below to benefit from the right to maternity leave and statutory maternity pay (SMP), but you do have to give the Company most of the information it contains. You may therefore wish to use this plan as a straightforward way of making sure you give us all the necessary information we need so that you can take maternity leave and receive SMP if you qualify for it.
This plan covers your statutory rights to maternity leave and SMP. You may find it helpful to fill in the plan with the assistance of your Line Manager. You should keep a copy of the completed plan for your own reference and as a reminder of any important future dates.
- You will need to complete FORM A below and forward it to the Line Manager to notify us of when you wish to take your maternity leave and when you intend to return. This needs to be received by us during the 15th week before your Expected Week of Childbirth (EWC) at the latest.
- You will only need to complete FORM B if you wish to give the Company at least 8 weeks’ notice that you would like to return to work early (before the end of your Additional Maternity Leave).
Telling the Company that you are pregnant
You can tell us that you are pregnant as soon as you want to. This can be before you have decided when to take maternity leave. To enable us to give you the correct support, you will need to tell your Line Manager if you want to take paid time off for ante-natal appointments. The latest date you can inform us of your pregnancy is the 15th week before your expected week of childbirth (EWC).
Telling the Company when you want to take maternity leave
You must have told us by the 15th week before your EWC when you wish to start your maternity leave. If you later wish to bring forward the date on which you will start your maternity leave, you must give us at least 28 days’ notice of the new start date. You may also postpone your maternity leave start date, provided you notify us at least 28 days before the original proposed start date.
Statutory maternity pay
This plan will help you find out if you will get SMP from us. We will also work out if you qualify for SMP and how much you will receive. If you do not qualify for SMP, you may be able to claim maternity allowance (MA) from your local Social Security Agency.
How to use the plan...
The plan is in three parts. Notes to help you complete the plan are given in the right hand column.
You may also find it useful to have a diary or calendar to hand while completing the Forms!
PART A – PLANNING MATERNITY LEAVE
This part of the plan will help you to plan dates, identify when you want to start your maternity leave and begin receiving statutory maternity pay (SMP), if you are eligible for it.
1. My baby is due in the week beginning:Sunday …………………………………………
(date of expected week of childbirth) / 1. The expected week of childbirth is the week, beginning Sunday, in which it is expected you will have your baby.
2. A certificate confirming this:
Has been given to my employer already.
Will be enclosed with FORM A (below).
You have not requested a certificate. / 2. If you qualify for SMP, you must give us a certificate showing the EWC at least 28 days before you wish to start your maternity leave. The MAT B1 form which your doctor or midwife will give you can be used. We cannot accept this form if your midwife or doctor signs it more than 20 weeks before your baby is due. If you do not qualify for SMP, you do not have to give us a certificate unless we ask for one.
You do not have to fill in this section, but it will help you work out whether you qualify for SMP or not.
3. The 15th week before my expected week of childbirth is the week beginning:
Sunday ………………………………………….
(the qualifying week)
4. On this date I will have worked for the Company continuously for at least 26 weeks:
Yes
No - I therefore may not qualify for SMP, but you will confirm whether I qualify or not / This section will help you decide whether you qualify for SMP but we will tell you if you do actually qualify. If you do not qualify for SMP, you may be able to claim maternity allowance. In order to qualify for SMP you must have been continuously employed by us for 26 weeks by the 15th week before your EWC (known as the Qualifying Week), have worked in the Qualifying Week and earned at least as much as the lower earnings limit for paying National Insurance contributions (currently £112).
3. Qualifying week: count back 15 weeks from the beginning of your EWC.
4. Continuous employment: your length of employment usually runs from the first day you started work with us to the present day. Some weeks when you do not work may still count towards SMP, for example if you were absent due to sickness or injury.
5. In the eight weeks up to and including the qualifying week, my average earnings were at least as much as the lower earnings limit:
Yes - I therefore probably qualify for SMP but you will confirm whether I qualify or not
No - I therefore probably do not qualify for SMP but you will confirm whether I qualify or not / 5. Average earnings: the lower earnings limit is the point at which you start to be treated as if you have paid NI contributions. We will normally use the eight weeks ending with the qualifying week to work out your average earnings. If you do not qualify for SMP you may be able to claim maternity allowance.
PART B – ORDINARY AND ADDITIONAL MATERNITY LEAVE
All employees qualify for ordinary and additional maternity leave. Ordinary maternity leave lasts for 26 weeks. Additional maternity leave runs from the end of ordinary maternity leave for up to a further 26 weeks, making a total maternity leave entitlement of 52 weeks.
Starting maternity leave1. I intend to start my maternity leave on:
………………………………………………(date) / 1. Start date: it is your decision when you start your maternity leave, but you cannot start it earlier than the 11th week before your EWC. You must notify us of your intended start date in the 15th week before the EWC.
Effect on SMP: You can start your maternity leave on any day of the week. Your SMP can start on the same date.
Absence before start date: If you are absent from work for a pregnancy-related reason in the four weeks before your EWC, your maternity leave can be started automatically. If you give birth before the date you intended to start maternity leave, your leave will start automatically on the day after the date of the birth.
Receiving SMP
2. If I am entitled to SMP, my maternity pay period will start from:
……………………………………… (date) / 2. Maternity pay period: this is the 39 week period when you are entitled to receive SMP. It can start on the same day as your maternity leave.
Payment of SMP: the actual payment will be made in the same way as your wages are usually paid.
Returning after maternity leave
3. My additional maternity leave will finish on:
………………………………………………...(date)
4. I am due back to work on:
………………………………………………(date)
I understand that if I want to return to work before this date, I must give my employer eight weeks’ notice of the date on which I want to return. / Letting the Company know when you are coming back to work: you do not have to tell us when you are due back to work. You are automatically expected back at the end of your additional maternity leave (52 weeks).
3. End of additional maternity leave: this is the end of the 52nd week from when you start your ordinary maternity leave.
4. Date due back to work: you are expected back to work on the next working day after your additional maternity leave finishes.
Telling the Company you want to return early: if you want to return to work before the end of your additional maternity leave you must give us at least eight weeks’ notice before your intended return date. You can FORM B below to do this.Unable to return: if you cannot return, for example because you are sick, the Company’s normal sickness absence rules apply.
Deciding not to return: if you decide, whether now or later, that you do not intend to return to work with the Company you must give the notice period required by your contract of employment.
*You should now complete FORM A attached and send this to your Line Manager with your MAT B1 Form. *
PART C – RETURNING TO WORK EARLY
You will be expected back at the end of your full maternity leave entitlement of 52 weeks. You are due back on the date you put for question 4 of Part B.
If you want to return earlier, you must give the Company at least eight weeks’ notice. This does not have to be in writing, but you do need to let us know. If you do not give eight weeks’ notice, the Company is entitled to postpone your return until the eight weeks’ notice has been complied with.
Planning to return to work earlyI intend to return to work before the end of my maternity leave.
I intend to return to work on:
…………………………………………..……(date) / Complete this section only if you want to return to work early.
Effect on SMP: if you return to work before the end of your maternity pay period, you will not receive your full entitlement to SMP.
Compulsory maternity leave: the law requires that all women take compulsory maternity leave immediately after the birth of their baby. We cannot let you return before your compulsory maternity leave period is up. This is normally two weeks from the date of birth.
*You should now complete FORM B attached and send this to your Line Manager.*
MATERNITY LEGISLATION – The Facts!
This section summarises the main maternity rights for women.
The following abbreviations are used in this section:
EWCExpected Week of Childbirth - the week, starting on a Sunday, in which the employee’s doctor or midwife expects her to give birth.
SMPStatutory maternity pay.
QWQualifying Week – the 15th week before the EWC.
MAT B1A certificate issued by a doctor or midwife showing the expected date of the baby's birth.
Maternity rights
In general terms, pregnant women have the following statutory rights:
- Paid time off to receive ante-natal care.
- Maternity pay – linked to level of earnings and length of service.
- Maternity leave.
- Protection against unfair treatment or dismissal.
- To be offered suitable alternative work before being suspended on maternity grounds and remuneration when suspended on maternity grounds.
A further explanation of these rights is set out below.
Time off for ante-natal care
During pregnancy and once she has advised her employer that she is pregnant, an employee is entitled to take reasonable time off work with pay to attend ante-natal appointments made on the advice of her doctor, registered midwife or registered health visitor. Ante-natal care may include relaxation and parent craft classes that the employee’s doctor, midwife or health visitor has advised her to attend, as well as medical examinations.
Except in the case of the first appointment, employers can require the employee to produce a medical certificate from her doctor, midwife or health visitor stating that she is pregnant and an appointment card showing that the appointment has been made.
If an employer fails to comply with these rights, the employee may complain to an Employment Tribunal.
There is no minimum qualifying period of employment for the enjoyment of this right.
Statutory maternity pay (SMP)
To be eligible to receive SMP, an employee:
- must have been continuously employed by her employer for at least 26 weeks ending with the QW and still be employed during that week;
- must have average weekly earnings in the eight weeks up to and including the QW at least equal to the lower earnings limit for the payment of National Insurance contributions (£112.00 per week for tax year 2015/2016);
- must still be pregnant at the 11th week before the EWC (or have already given birth);
- must give the employer proper notification of her pregnancy (see further below); and
- must provide a MAT B1 form.
SMP is paid for up to 39 weeks after commencement of maternity leave. There are two rates of SMP, known as the higher rate and lower rate.
The higher rate of SMP is paid for the first six weeks. It is equivalent to 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings for the period of eight weeks up to and including the QW. For the purpose of calculating average weekly earnings, shift allowances, overtime payments and commission are all included.
The lower or standard rate of SMP is paid for the remaining 33 weeks (or less if the employee decides to return to work sooner). The rate is £139.58 per week for payment weeks commencing on or after 3 April 2015, or 90% of the woman’s average weekly earnings calculated over the period of eight weeks up to and including the QW if this is lower than the Government’s set weekly rate.
If the employee becomes eligible for a pay rise between the start of the original calculation period and the end of her maternity leave (whether ordinary or additional maternity leave), the higher or standard rate of SMP needs to be re-calculated to take account of the employee’s pay rise, even if SMP has already been paid and even though the pay rise is not retrospective. This therefore means the employee’s SMP must be re-calculated and increased retrospectively or that she may qualify for SMP if she did not previously. The employee should be paid a lump sum to make up any difference between SMP already paid and the amount payable as a result of the pay rise.
Payment of SMP cannot begin until after an employee leaves work to start her maternity leave. The maternity pay period can begin at any time from the start of the 11th week before the EWC. SMP can start from any day of the week to coincide with the date that the employee starts her maternity leave. If an employee decides to work up to when the baby is born, the maternity pay period will start from the day after the date of birth.
SMP is treated as earnings and is therefore subject to deductions of income tax and National Insurance contributions.
SMP is payable whether or not an employee intends to return to work for her employer after her maternity leave.
Should an employer fail to pay SMP, the employee may apply to HM Revenue & Customs for a formal decision. Where HM Revenue & Customs gives a formal decision that SMP is payable, a subsequent failure to pay SMP within the time allowed is an offence and the employer can be fined up to £1,000 per offence.
Subject to certain exceptions, employers may recover 92% of the amount of SMP paid to an employee by making one or more deductions from their Class 1 National Insurance contributions.
Commencing maternity leave – notice requirements
To take advantage of the right to maternity leave, a pregnant employee is required to notify her employer of her intention to take maternity leave by the end of the 15th week before the EWC (i.e. by the end of the QW), unless this is not reasonably practicable. She is required to provide the following details to her employer:
- That she is pregnant.
- When her EWC will be.
- When she intends her maternity leave to start, in writing if the employer so requests.
However, the employee is permitted to bring forward her maternity leave start date, provided she advises her employer at least 28 days before the new start date or, if that is not possible, as soon as reasonably practicable. She may also postpone her maternity leave start date, provided she advises her employer at least 28 days before the original proposed start date or, if that is not possible, as soon as reasonably practicable.
Employers will formally respond to a woman’s notification of her leave plans within 28 days. The employer will write to the employee, setting out the date on which her maternity leave will end and the date on which the Company expects her to return to work if she takes her full 52-week entitlement to maternity leave.