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This is the minimum that a pregnant employee
is entitled to by law; some employees have
employment contracts that are more generous.
All female employees whose expected week of
childbirth is before 30.4.2000 are entitled
to a minimum of 14 weeks Maternity Leave
regardless of how long they have worked for
an employer. The 1 years' continuous
employment period is not needed.
If the expected week of childbirth is
after 30.4.2000 the employee is entitled to
18 weeks Maternity leave, even if the baby
is actually born early. (Please note however
that employees with 1 years' continuous
employment or more are also entitled to an
additional period of Maternity Absence. This
starts at the end of the Maternity Leave
period and lasts for 29 weeks from the date
of birth.
To qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
the employee must meet the following
conditions:
1. You have worked continuously for 26 weeks
or more. The 26 weeks is counted from 14 or
18 weeks before the week the baby is due. So
take the week that the baby is due and count
back 14 or 18 weeks. If you have worked for
26 weeks at that stage you can claim
Maternity Pay.
However, if you do go into labour early and
at that stage you had worked not less than 8
weeks you may still qualify for SMP if you
went into labour more than 14 or 18 weeks
before the date the baby was due. This is to
protect women who might have qualified, but
for a premature birth.
2. You have stopped work due to the
pregnancy.
3. Your weekly earnings are not below the
current rate at which National Insurance
Contributions must be paid. You do not earn
less than £61 per week. You must have been
earning more than £61 per week at least 8
weeks before the 14 weeks you need to count
to when your baby is due to be born.
4. It is 11 weeks before the expected week
of the birth or you give birth before the
start of the 11-week period.
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is paid for 18
weeks from when the employee goes on
Maternity Leave, but this must not be
earlier than the 11th week before the baby
is due and must not be later than 1 week
before the baby is due.
The employee must give her employer 21 days
notice of when they intend to go on leave.
Or if they cannot give 21 days notice, the
employee should give notice as soon as
possible. The employer is entitled to ask
for written notice, including a medical
certificate to say that you are pregnant and
the date you are due to give birth.
The employee should also give the employer
written notice of her intention to return to
work after Maternity Leave. See Right to
Return to Work - although this is not
required where an employee's expected week
of childbirth be after 30.4.2000.
The employee will be paid 2 different rates
of SMP during the Maternity Leave.
1. For the first 6 weeks of leave the
employee is entitled to 9/10ths (90%) of
their normal weekly pay. The normal weekly
pay is worked out from what the employee
received before Maternity Leave, (up to 12
weeks).
2. After the first 6 weeks the employee is
entitled to a minimum of £54.55 per week for
the rest of the Maternity Leave.
3. If the £54.55 payment is in fact more
than the employee normal weekly pay, then
the employee is entitled to the £54.55 for
the whole 18 weeks.
SMP should be paid at the same time as the
employee is normally paid, for example,
weekly or monthly. The employer must also
take off the normal deductions for tax and
National Insurance.
If an employee is not entitled to SMP, but
has a National Insurance record they will
qualify for 18 weeks Maternity Allowance at
£54.55 per week as an employee or £47.35 per
week for the self-employed.
If the employee also has a contractual right
to maternity pay, the employer does not have
to pay both the contractual amount and SMP.
However, the employer must pay the one that
pays the most.
The employee is also entitled to any of the
perks that she normally receives when at
work. If you have private health care you
should check to see if pregnancy is covered
by it.
Changes to Statutory Maternity Pay are
expected to be made to benefit women
expecting children on or after 20.8.2000.
This will include changes whereby an
employee who is not entitled to Statutory
Maternity Pay may get Maternity Allowance
from the DSS if she earns at least an
average of £30 per week.
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The Interactive
Law Group