Can they u-turn on payrise

singingsister

Hi everyone,

I recently got a payrise backdated to the start of 2013. Because it was less than I was verbally told I would get, the letter says that I'll get a further 10% in January 2014.

Now since then I have found out I am pregnant and am due late December 2013 so will be on maternity leave in January next year.

The letter doesn't have any conditions attached to it so am I right in saying I'll get the payrise whilst on maternity leave and they can't change their minds?


singingsister

chrisbur

singingsister wrote: »

Hi everyone,

I recently got a payrise backdated to the start of 2013. Because it was less than I was verbally told I would get, the letter says that I'll get a further 10% in January 2014.

Now since then I have found out I am pregnant and am due late December 2013 so will be on maternity leave in January next year.

The letter doesn't have any conditions attached to it so am I right in saying I'll get the payrise whilst on maternity leave and they can't change their minds?


singingsister

First a pay rise may not be witheld because you are on maternity leave.
Second assuming that you qualify for SMP then from what you have said it would seem to me that you would qualify for what was once known as an "Alabaster payment" Basicly if you get a pay rise between the start of when the mat pay is calculated and the end of your mat leave then the average weekly rate of mat pay has to be re-calculated to include this pay rise, or indeed all pay rises if more than one occur.

The following is from the employers' guide at...
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/helpsheets/e15.pdf
page 51 for full details.

"A pay rise must not be withheld because a woman is on maternity leave. You must recalculate SMP AWE to take account of pay rises awarded, or which would have been awarded to a woman had she not been on maternity leave, if:• you awarded a pay rise on or after 6 April 2005, or before that date had granted a pay rise which had not been put into payment by then, and• the pay rise was effective from anytime between the start of the eight-week set period for calculating SMP and the end of the woman’s statutory maternity leave. (This is Ordinary Maternity Leave and Additional Maternity Leave.)"

singingsister

chrisbur wrote: »

First a pay rise may not be witheld because you are on maternity leave.
Second assuming that you qualify for SMP then from what you have said it would seem to me that you would qualify for what was once known as an "Alabaster payment" Basicly if you get a pay rise between the start of when the mat pay is calculated and the end of your mat leave then the average weekly rate of mat pay has to be re-calculated to include this pay rise, or indeed all pay rises if more than one occur.

The following is from the employers' guide at...
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/helpsheets/e15.pdf
page 51 for full details.

"A pay rise must not be withheld because a woman is on maternity leave. You must recalculate SMP AWE to take account of pay rises awarded, or which would have been awarded to a woman had she not been on maternity leave, if:• you awarded a pay rise on or after 6 April 2005, or before that date had granted a pay rise which had not been put into payment by then, and• the pay rise was effective from anytime between the start of the eight-week set period for calculating SMP and the end of the woman’s statutory maternity leave. (This is Ordinary Maternity Leave and Additional Maternity Leave.)"

So for clarification, does this mean that if my payrise is due to start from January 2014 but I go on maternity leave in December 2013 that they have to start my payrise, or rather increase my weekly pay which relates to maternity pay from December 2013 and not from Jan 2014?

chrisbur

singingsister wrote: »

So for clarification, does this mean that if my payrise is due to start from January 2014 but I go on maternity leave in December 2013 that they have to start my payrise, or rather increase my weekly pay which relates to maternity pay from December 2013 and not from Jan 2014?

Yes once the rise comes into effect then your average used to calculate your SMP average payment should be recalculated to increase it by the value of the pay rise. In your case as they know about this in advance they may wish to do this right away to save the trouble of a re-calculation. This is I believe allowed but they do not have to do it they can wait untill the rise is due.
Just to clarify this refers to SMP if your employer pays some form of maternity benefit above SMP then whether that is increased would I believe depend on your contract.

Some details of "Alabaster payments" can be seen here....
http://www.ceridian.co.uk/connection/articles/alabaster-smp/

singingsister

chrisbur wrote: »

Yes once the rise comes into effect then your average used to calculate your SMP average payment should be recalculated to increase it by the value of the pay rise. In your case as they know about this in advance they may wish to do this right away to save the trouble of a re-calculation. This is I believe allowed but they do not have to do it they can wait untill the rise is due.
Just to clarify this refers to SMP if your employer pays some form of maternity benefit above SMP then whether that is increased would I believe depend on your contract.

Some details of "Alabaster payments" can be seen here....
http://www.ceridian.co.uk/connection/articles/alabaster-smp/

Going to be getting nothing more than SMP here!