Maternity pay reference period

yumyums

Hi

I'm due to go on maternity leave in August and my maternity pay will be calculated using March & April's pay as the reference period for average weekly earnings.

My problem is I've recently been promoted and this is supposed to be effective as at 1 March but it hasn't gone through officially yet which means my March and April pay was on my old salary.

Once the increase goes through, it will be backdated which is good, but doesn't help with the maternity pay calculation. Should my maternity pay be recalculated based on the new salary and if so, will this be done automatically or will I have a fight on my hands? Also, does this only affect SMP or also occupational maternity pay?

Thanks for any advice!

mariefab

Yes your maternity pay should be recalculated in line with the backdated pay rise.
So, it should at least increase the amount of SMP you receive in the first six weeks.
If you are unsure whether your employer will do this automatically you could first ask them.
If they don't confirm that they will include the pay rise in the AWE calculation you could refer them to page 51 in the link below.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/helpsheets/e15.pdf

Whether your occupational maternity pay will also be affected depends on the terms of your company's policy.