A pregnant employee is entitled to 52 weeks maternity leave. There is no requirement for the employee to have served a specific amount of time to qualify for maternity leave.

Unlike before 1^st April 2007, there is no requirement for pregnant women to qualify for the last 26 weeks of maternity leave.

Ordinary maternity leave can be taken at any time from the 11th week before the expected birth date, although the employee is free to work until the day before the babies expected birth if they wish.


Employee Maternity Leave Notice

An employee must give their employer at least 15 weeks notice before the date of the expected birth and the date that she intends to start maternity leave.

The employer must notify the employee within 28 days to confirm her right to maternity leave and confirm her return date. On return, the employer must give the employee the same benefits as they had before taking maternity leave.
 

Statutory Maternity Pay

For a pregnant employee to qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) they must:

• Have worked at least 26 consecutive weeks for the employer

• Have left work due to pregnancy

• Have not been earning less than the National Insurance Contributions lower earnings limit (£87 gross per week until 19^th July 2008)

• Prove that it is 11 weeks before the expected birth date

SMP will be paid for a period of 39 weeks starting from the first day of the employee's 'ordinary' maternity leave. SMP will be paid at the same time (weekly or monthly) as the employee's wage would normally be paid.
For the first 6 weeks of ordinary leave the employee will be paid 9/10ths of their normal wage (calculated as an average over the last 12 weeks). The average wage will also include any bonuses - if any - and not just the basic wage.

For the remaining 33 weeks, the employee will be paid £112.75 per week (changing to £117.18 in April 2008) unless this figure exceeds their weekly wage. In which case, the employee will be paid 9/10ths of their regular wage.

However, if an employee fails to qualify for SMP but do have a national insurance record, they are liable to £112.75 per week (this rule does not apply to self employed).


Re-Claiming SMP Payments

Employers can reclaim 92% of SMP payments from the Government and if your National Insurance Contributions are less than £45,000 per year, you can re-claim 100% of the payments with additional compensation (4.5% for 2007-08).


Paternity Leave

Fathers are entitled to two weeks paternity leave at the lower of 9/10ths of their average weekly earnings, or £112.75 per week (changing to £117.18 in April 2008). The leave must be taken in weekly periods - not necessarily consecutive.

Mothers/Fathers that adopt a child are also entitled to adoption leave. Ordinary adoption leave can be taken up to 39 weeks with payments of the lower of 9/10ths of their average weekly earnings, or £112.75 per week (changing to £117.18 in April 2008). Additional adoption leave can also be taken for a further 26 weeks.
 

Forms

There are several forms that you may need to use to deal with maternity and paternity pay.

MAT B1 – A certificate of maternity, you need to be given this by the expectant mother. You must not pay SMP without it (or equivalent evidence).

SMP1 – A form you complete when the employee is not entitled to SMP.

SMP2 – A record sheet for SMP, to keep track of payments and any date changes.

SC3 – A form to tell a parent about Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP), it includes a declaration that the employee must give to you before you can make SPP payments.

SPP1 - A form you complete when the employee is not entitled to SPP.

SPP2 - A record sheet for SPP; to keep track of payments and any date changes.
 

Employers - Remember!

It is discrimination to dismiss an employee for reason of pregnancy. This also extends to failing to employ a person due to pregnancy.

The rules for maternity pay can be quite complex depending on the circumstances of the pregnant/paternity entitled employee and their status within your business. It is advisable to get professional advice (or at the very least consult HMRC) to make sure you deal with the situation in the correct way.
 

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