Maternity Pay - confused?

[Deleted User]

Wife works for NHS and has done for about 12 years.

I understand she gets more than SMP but that you don't get SMP as well as salary (i.e. employer takes this). But here is the policy (probably same for everyone in NHS).

OK. Assuming for the sake of argument she gets £1000/month. Works part-time. Does this matter?

8 weeks full pay inclusive of Statutory Maternity/Adoption Pay (SMP/SAP), plus
18 weeks half pay plus SMP/SAP
13 weeks SMP/SAP
13 weeks AML/AAL at nil pay

Does this mean?

8 weeks at normal pay (i.e. £1000)

18 weeks at 1/2 pay (i.e. £500) plus the SMP at £135/wk (£540/month)? Surely not? That would make it more than full pay all together? £1040.

13 weeks at SMP - £135/week. £540/month?

13 weeks at Nil.

But since leave is accrued throughout the year anway, she gets 6 weeks leave. So couldnt she end maternity at 10 1/2 months and use leave for last 6 week? So only 6 weeks on zero pay? Is that right?

swampduck

If my memory serves me correctly if you are being paid a salary whether full or half pay then that is what you get. But you dont get that as well as SMP but ..... the period of SMP is included in the time you are paid your salary.
So you get 8 weeks full/half pay (no money for SMP but these count as your 1st eight weeks of SMP!!) then when the SMP kicks in you may only have 10 weeks or whatever.
If I've got it wrong then I'm sure someone will put me right!


Swampy

[Deleted User]

Yeh. But thats the exact text.

Seems to imply that for the half pay period you get half pay plus SMP.

gizmodo_2

It does seem to imply half pay plus SMP.

At the council I work for it specifies that you get half pay + SMP, but if it exceeds your normal wage, then you just get your normal wage.

Yes you can use leave in the way you've said but depending on how the timing is you could end up with no holiday left for the rest of the year if you do that.

I used it at my last job to return on a 3 day week on a full time wage for 11 weeks which was quite nice. But my timing was that I returned to work in January and my holiday had to be used by end of March. So using it up like that didn't matter to me. But had I gone back in April then I wouldn't have done it. And the holiday I was entitled to would have needed to be used at the start, before Mat leave officially starts. Hope that makes sense.

retepetsir

[quote=[Deleted User];60554397]Yeh. But thats the exact text.

Seems to imply that for the half pay period you get half pay plus SMP.[/QUOTE]

It sounds strange but I believe this is correct. My OH is pregnant and works for the NHS so I've been doing similar sums! A friend of hers at work went on maternity leave and has confirmed that this is the case, full pay to begin with, then half play plus SMP, then just SMP.

[Deleted User]

Thanks both. So it looks like it might be 1/2 pay plus SMP.

Good news because this works out more than full pay so I guess it'll be full pay?

[Deleted User]

gizmodo wrote: »

Yes you can use leave in the way you've said but depending on how the timing is you could end up with no holiday left for the rest of the year if you do that.

Leave year runs from April to April. Shes due in July 2013 so will be going back in June 2014.

Shes off ill at the moment so probably won't use any leave before going off on maternity (June 2013). This leaves the whole years leave to use (2013-2014). Pretty sure shes allowed to carry over (theres no other way if you take 12 months maternity).

So she could do maternity till end march 2014, then take leave accrued for April/May (or most of it).

Then because it'd be a new leave year shes got 2014 leave to use from June onwards.

Tenyearstogo

My trust does not allow half pay + SMP to exceed full pay. It can equal it but not exceed it.

Why doesn't your wife just ask her department?

Tenyearstogo

How long has you wife been off sick?

Full pay isn't calculated by annual salary but by wages received between two points in the pregnancy (I not sure which points though).

If your wife is receiving reduced wages due to sickness then her Maternity pay will be based on that.

[Deleted User]

Tenyearstogo wrote: »

How long has you wife been off sick?

Full pay isn't calculated by annual salary but by wages received between two points in the pregnancy (I not sure which points though).

If your wife is receiving reduced wages due to sickness then her Maternity pay will be based on that.

Good point. Shes just started half pay.

I've checked maternity policy and it doesnt mention how full pay is calculated.

I've noticed that SMP is based on 8 week period after 15 weeks (i.e week 15 - week 23). So we're inside that.

Also, I've read somewhere that if you are off sick during this period and getting halfpay/nil pay then they wont take this into consideration anyway (they assume its normal pay). Otherwise, if you were sick this period on no pay, you'd then get zero SMP which would be unfair.

[Deleted User]

Tenyearstogo wrote: »

My trust does not allow half pay + SMP to exceed full pay. It can equal it but not exceed it.

Why doesn't your wife just ask her department?

Because unfortunately her manager does not know the rules. And generally is happy to stitch staff up if it means less leave/cost for the department.