Smp help!!

samanthab616

Default SMP HELP! Maternity leave!
Hi i hope I'm posting this in the right place, I work in a small nursery term time only, to qualify for SMP the qualifying weeks between 17-25 are in the summer holidays which I don't get paid for, I've read on one site that they will calculate the 8weeks before the qualifying weeks to calculate my maternity pay. It's very confusing and my employers aren't sure either. Any advice Greatly appreciated! Thanks

chrisbur

samanthab616 wrote: »

Default SMP HELP! Maternity leave!
Hi i hope I'm posting this in the right place, I work in a small nursery term time only, to qualify for SMP the qualifying weeks between 17-25 are in the summer holidays which I don't get paid for, I've read on one site that they will calculate the 8weeks before the qualifying weeks to calculate my maternity pay. It's very confusing and my employers aren't sure either. Any advice Greatly appreciated! Thanks

Did not come across a situation like this when I used to do SMP but the following is the instructions for SMP entitlement and the instructions for working out the average are similar.

"Regulations define the ‘relevant period’ as the period between:
Date 1 the last normal payday on, or before the Saturday of the Qualifying Week (QW), this is the 15th week before the week baby due. This payday will be Date 1 and is the end of the ‘relevant period’, and
Date 2 the last normal payday falling not less than eight weeks before the payday at Date 1. Date 2 will be the day after this payday and is the start of the ‘relevant period’.
You must include all the earnings paid on, or after, Date 2, up to and including those paid on Date 1."

The calculations refer to "normal payday" so in this case I would say the normal payday for you would be the last payday you had before the holiday period and your average is then the average of the eight weeks that end with that last normal payday.

The bit quoting the eight weeks before the QW works fine if your normal payday is every week but in your case that is not what happens. It is a bit of over-simplifying that covers most but not all cases.

samanthab616

chrisbur wrote: »

Did not come across a situation like this when I used to do SMP but the following is the instructions for SMP entitlement and the instructions for working out the average are similar.

"Regulations define the ‘relevant period’ as the period between:
Date 1 the last normal payday on, or before the Saturday of the Qualifying Week (QW), this is the 15th week before the week baby due. This payday will be Date 1 and is the end of the ‘relevant period’, and
Date 2 the last normal payday falling not less than eight weeks before the payday at Date 1. Date 2 will be the day after this payday and is the start of the ‘relevant period’.
You must include all the earnings paid on, or after, Date 2, up to and including those paid on Date 1."

The calculations refer to "normal payday" so in this case I would say the normal payday for you would be the last payday you had before the holiday period and your average is then the average of the eight weeks that end with that last normal payday.

The bit quoting the eight weeks before the QW works fine if your normal payday is every week but in your case that is not what happens. It is a bit of over-simplifying that covers most but not all cases.

Fab thanks that's very helpful! I'll go back to my employer with this. As i said we are a very small company and dotnthink they've had to deal with SMP before!

chrisbur

samanthab616 wrote: »

Fab thanks that's very helpful! I'll go back to my employer with this. As i said we are a very small company and dotnthink they've had to deal with SMP before!

Suggest that they use the calculator here....

https://www.gov.uk/maternity-paternity-calculator