Maternity Leave and KIT Days

[Deleted User]

Hi,

The forum has proved invaluable to me over the past year of running a small business and I need some more advice please!

An employee works 5hrs (1 day) per week and earns £45 per week gross, paid weekly by BACS. She has had the odd shift overtime but her average weekly earnings were £56.25 in the qualifying weeks for SMP so I issued an SMP1 Form. She began her maternity leave 6 weeks before her due date but the baby was born 5 weeks early. She has requested to return to work in 3 weeks time, which is 2 weeks after her original due date - can I allow this?

Also, she works for another employer and I don't know what her earnings are with them or whether she receives SMP from them (I remember her saying a few months back that she received a £900 tax rebate from them). She has asked if she can work her normal shift plus a couple of extra shifts a week over the next 3 weeks before her official return and count them as KIT days. I've looked this up and read through the Employers Handbook but can't find whether she is allowed to do this.

Any advice is always greatly appreciated.

Thanks

natlie

Hi
does she work longer hours for the other employer? she shouldnt be able to get 2 lots of SMP? How long has she been off?

I am on mat leave now the terms with my employer are

if you have been working for at least 26 weeks before 11 week of pregnancy you are entitled to Occupational maternity pay (half pay) 3 months and SMP for 6 months then 6 months leave on Maternity Allowance £124 a week - a total of 1 year off I am returning at 6 months due to the pay.

you are allowed up to 10 KIT days without triggering end of mat leave however if she is due back she cant do kit days as her mat leave will already be up, mine finished on friday and I am on annual leave for 2 weeks.

Her maternity leave started from the day she finished work not from when the baby was born or her due date so if she has 6 months leave her baby will be 21 weeks when she returns to work.

My second job paid nothing while I was off.

Hope this helps a bit
Nat

[Deleted User]

Thanks for your reply.

Just to reiterate - the employee on maternity leave doesn't qualify for any SMP from my company. I don't know whether she gets SMP from her other employer.

I did read somewhere that you can only use KIT days from the employer paying SMP if you have two or more jobs but I can't find it now! I just need to know if this is correct.

Also, as she is contracted to work 5 hours per week, can she do extra shifts and count them as KIT days or can she only use the day she normally works as a KIT day?

JCS1

Link here, that states KIT days only apply to where the employer is paying you SMP:

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/specialist-guides/technical-guidance/ni17a-a-guide-to-maternity/statutory-maternity-pay-smp/working-in-your-maternity-pay/

It's 2 weeks after birth before someone can return to work (think it's 4 for factory work?).

[Deleted User]

Quoted from link above:-

"More than one payment of SMP

If you have more than one employer – Employer A and Employer B and you are entitled to SMP from each of your employers you can have 10 KIT days for any work you do for Employer A. You also have 10 KIT days for any work you do for Employer B.
If you have one employer and two contracts – contract A and contract B and you are entitled to SMP from both of your contracts, you have 10 KIT days for the work you do under Contract A. You also have 10 KIT days for the work you do under Contract B.
NOTE: You can only use Keeping in Touch days with the employer paying you SMP. You cannot use KIT days for any work you do for any employer other than the employer who is paying you SMP. If, after your baby is born, you do any work for an employer who did not employ you in the qualifying week, your SMP will stop."

Thanks - that is the page I had read before - unfortunately though if you read the last line it confuses things again as she was employed by us in the qualifying week, its just that she earned under the LEL for SMP.

Any other ideas?

nightingalesgarden

JCS1 wrote: »

Link here, that states KIT days only apply to where the employer is paying you SMP:


It's 2 weeks after birth before someone can return to work (think it's 4 for factory work?).

JCS1 - You are totally right

Just ignore all the KITS and payment bits - you only need to be concerned with the leave element of the legislation.

Basically you do not need to take all your Statutory Maternity Leave.

You can return 2 weeks "after the birth" (nothing to do with leave or notice) or 4 weeks if in factory conditions. So if she wants to return she can.

tizerbelle

You don't pay her SMP so she can't have KIT days with you - they only apply to the company/companies paying SMP.

New mothers are not allowed to work for 2 weeks after giving birth - statutory minimum (and may be 4 weeks for some jobs).

So she has passed the two weeks minimum for returning to work but you can't do KIT days however as she was employed by both companies in her qualifying week as far as I remember if she returns to work with you earlier than with the other employer, it makes no difference to her leave/pay entitlements with the other company

Googlewhacker

KIT days have to be agreed by the employer, the employee has no right to them if the employer says no thank you.

[Deleted User]

natlie wrote: »

Hi
does she work longer hours for the other employer? she shouldnt be able to get 2 lots


Nat

Actually that is incorrect. If you have 2 Employers, providing you meet the qualifying conditions there is no reason that you cannot receive SMP from both.

[Deleted User]

Thanks for all your time and advice.

I think I'm pretty clear now. She can come back in 3 weeks as planned but she can't have any KIT days with us as she doesn't receive any SMP from us but does with the other company she works for.

I'd read so many conflicting articles I'd got myself well and truly confused!

Thanks again.