Real Life MMD: Should I tell other workers they didn't get full maternity pay?

emuratty

I encountered a similar situation in reverse - an employee who took maternity leave just after me continued to receive her childcare vouchers whilst on maternity leave (after she challenged it) and I hadn't.

The company only rectified it and back-paid me after I found out and asked them about it, even though they clearly knew I was entitled.

TBagpuss

It isn't your responsibility to tell others. And it may be that they weren't short-changed - both rules, and how they are interpreted, do change over time. As presvious posters have said, they sorted it quickly and without any fuss for you, so they may well now review to see whether anyone else was affected as well.

I don't think it is unreasonable to flag up with the company that there are other people who may be affected, and this can be done very casually - "I bet it'll come as a nice surprise for [name of most recent other person who has been on maternity leave] when she finds out she's due for some back pay" if you're concerned about raising it directly.

Equally, if anyone asks you you are free to explain what you discussed and why the manual has changed, but I think that going out of your way to ell other staff-members that they may be due extra money may end badly - if it was a genuine error and the company was already working on sorting it out, you just look like a busy-body, if they were not, and hoped no-one would notice, they may see you as a trouble maker. either way, you risk making yourself look difficult.

happyinflorida

I would definitely let every one know as this company has been acting illegally. I bet the owners haven't gone without!

serious_saver

I genuinely don't know if I would tell the people who have already been on maternity leave but I would tell anyone about to take maternity leave. I think it is possible that the company has made a mistake. If they are prepared to rectify it in the future then you can be safe in the knowledge that you have sorted out a better deal for any of your colleagues who plan on having children.

As much as I would like to take the moral high ground, in this situation, I would probably be thinking about myself and my family first.

chrisdy34

SMP rates increase every year, and minimum holiday entitlement has increased to 28 days incl bank hols (from 20 days) over the past few years. The number of weeks paid maternity leave a woman can take has also gone up, so it may be that you are entitled to more simply because you are having your baby in 2011/12 rather than earlier.

A small employer can claim back ALL SMP paid out PLUS 3% extra as 'compensation'. A small employer is one who's total National Insurance bill for the previous year was less than £45K (employee and employers total NI contributions).

mummyroysof3

are you saying that your the first person who bothered to check what the government says you are entitiled to at the company? within a week of knowing i was pregnant i googled what SMP and SML i would get..would have assumed everyone would tbh

personally i wouldnt be saying anything about it to anyone..your employer knows now so let them deal with it

sallymcp

I very much doubt a small company such as this would have a HR department, therefore it would be easy to miss out on legislation changes.
It was clearly a error on their part, but when pointed out they out it right, they could have a potential employment tribunal on their hands for the non payment of maternity pay, however if three months have passed since the error occured any claims would be out of time.
As its a small business I would just suggest to the owners that they should come clean, that way you have done your bit and the onus is on them.

Marco12452

You dont have any responsibility to others, so why would you want to cause any friction. It could also place you in a bad light with both the company and the other employees.

Robisere

Spellin has the truth of the matter. The company accountant should know his or her job well enough to guide the company through this.

Having said that, no one here has asked the important question: do you have a good relationship with the head of the company? Can you ask for an interview and expect it to be as confidential as you wish? If yes, then do so, and put the case for repayment to others, whilst insisting that you have no intention of informing the rest of the workforce.

If no, then you will have learned that you cannot help others without possible harm to yourself. It's awkward, but ask yourself this: how did you discover the facts? The legislation has been public for a long time now. What you have found out for yourself, is equally available to your workmates. I feel that you are a caring person who is between a rock and a hard place in this case, but you need to focus upon yourself, your family and the possible repercussions involved to all of those.

milvusvestal

I'm sure your employer will be delighted to know that it could be financially crippled by retrospective claims for pension contributions and heaven knows what else.

Small businesses - which have insufficient resources to keep abreast of pensions/maternity leave rights - are struggling in the present economic climate, without somebody sparking a revolt by other women who've taken time out to have a baby. Your action might result in your employer having to cut staff costs through redundancies, merely to keep going. Even worse, the business may have no money to finance your perfect world, and cease to trade.

Be practical - look at it from your employer's point of view.