MATERNITY LEAVE AND PAY
EMPLOYEE’S GUIDELINES
INTRODUCTION
You are expecting a baby
– congratulations! After the excitement/pleasure/shock of finding out you are pregnant, you will want to know what you have to do as far as your job is concerned and what leave and pay you are entitled to. You must inform your manager as soon as your pregnancy is confirmed.
This guide is designed to answer your questions as simply as possible, however, if you need further information your manager will be able to help you.
SECTION 1 - MATERNITY LEAVE AND PAY – YOUR RIGHTS
1.1 Who is eligible for maternity leave?
Any female employee, no matter how much service they have.
1.2 Who is eligible for maternity leave and pay?
To be eligible for contractual maternity pay
, you will need to have 1 year’s continuous service with the NHS at week 11 before your Expected Week of
Childbirth (EWC).
To be eligible for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) you need a minimum of 26 week’s service at week 15 before the EWC. See Appendix 2 for qualifying rules. Statutory maternity pay is paid for a period of 39 weeks but ceases on return to work if sooner than 39 weeks.
(Please note that continuous service with NHS Professionals counts as continuous NHS service in terms of maternity pay entitlement).
1.3 How much time off will I be entitled to?
Entitlements, based on length of service, and whether or not you intend to return to work following the birth of your baby, are detailed in Appendix 1. The first 26 weeks of maternity leave is called Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML) and any subsequent maternity leave is called Additional Maternity Leave (AML) up to a total of 52 weeks.
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1.4 How do I apply for maternity leave and pay?
You must ensure that your maternity leave application form (Form ML1) is completed and submitted to your manager by the end of week 15 before your baby is due , your manager then complete a maternity schedule from the information provided.
You also need to provide your Maternity Certificate (Mat B1) issued at approximately the 21st week of pregnancy. You must let your manager have the Mat B1 as soon as you receive it, as without it, the Trust cannot pay your maternity pay.
Your Mat B1 certificate, together with your maternity schedule and copy of the
ML1 form will then be forwarded to pay services, with a copy of all documents for yourself.
Your manager will also have a meeting with you to discuss aspects of your maternity leave, including arrangements for keeping in touch while you are off.
This will include whether, and how, you would like to be informed of Trust vacancies and promotion opportunities during your maternity leave, information about the Trust, your department etc.
It is also useful to think about your likely return to work following your leave, and get information on childcare options.
If you have decided that you are not returning to work, your maternity leave will be paid as non-returning and you will automatically be taken out of the NHS Pension Scheme, however, you can choose to extend your pensionable service for the duration of your 39 weeks statutory pay period. If you have indicated that you are not returning to work, and wish to continue to be a member of the pension scheme during this period, you will need to inform pay services in writing that you wish to take this option.
1.5 When will my maternity leave start?
The earliest you can start maternity leave is 11 weeks before your EWC, although you may work for as long as you are able.
Maternity leave can start on any day of the week and employees should discuss the commencement of their maternity leave with their manager prior to completing the application to take maternity leave.
In the event of an employee having their baby early, maternity leave will commence on the day after the baby is born.
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1.6 Am I entitled to time off for antenatal appointments?
Yes, you have the right to reasonable time off for antenatal appointments.
These are generally defined as appointments that are advised by your GP or midwife, and may also include relaxation and parent craft classes. After your first appointment you should, provide evidence of future appointments. If you prefer you can attend such appointments in your own time
1.7 What if I cannot do my job because I am pregnant?
If in the period prior to 4 weeks before you baby is due, your registered medical practitioner considers that your health or that of your unborn child may be at risk if you continued your normal duties, or part of your normal duties, but you are not advised to stop work, your manager will, wherever practicable, provide alternative work for which you will receive normal pay. Where this is not possible, you will be suspended on full pay (ie medical suspension) until your maternity leave commences. This provision also applies to women who have recently given birth or are breast-feeding.
If you have been unwell and adjustments are proposed to your role before you commence maternity leave, your manager will seek advice from Occupational
Health, and any changes that are proposed to your role will be agreed with you, to ensure that you are happy with what is being recommended, and that you feel it is fair.
1.8 What if I am off work due to sickness whilst I am pregnant? a) If you have a period of sickness prior to the 4 th week before your baby is due, your sick leave is treated as it is usually, and you will qualify for sick pay in the normal way. You will need to submit a medical certificate if your absence is more than 7 consecutive days. b) If you work later than 4 weeks before your baby is due and you become ill (or are already absent from work) with a pregnancy related illness, your maternity leave will commence either on the first day of the 4 th week or on the day on which you are taken ill, whichever occurs sooner. If the illness is not related to your pregnancy, then your absence will be treated as sick leave until you are fit to return to work or you reach the date you previously agreed to commence your maternity leave.
Occasional days of pregnancy related illness during the above period, may be disregarded if you wish to continue to work until the maternity leave start date previously agreed, providing this does not put your health, or that of your unborn baby, at risk.
1.9 How does being on a fixed term contract affect my entitlement to maternity leave/pay?
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a)
If you have one year’s continuous NHS service at week 11 before your baby is due and your contract runs beyond the 39 week period of statutory maternity leave, you will receive maternity pay in line with permanent staff (including
SMP if you are entitled to it
– see Appendix 2 for qualifying arrangements).
You must return to work to complete your contract or you will have to repay any maternity pay, to which you are not entitled. b) If you have one year’s continuous NHS service at week 11 before your baby is due and your contract expires after 11 weeks before your baby is due, your contract will be extended to enable you to receive maternity pay in line with permanent staff (including SMP if you are entitled to it – see Appendix 2 for qualifying arrangements). Your contract will end at the end of this 39 week period. Absence on maternity leave (paid or unpaid) up to 52 weeks before a further NHS appointment does not constitute a break in service. c) If you are entitled to receive SMP but do not have the service detailed in a) and b) above, your contract will be extended to allow you to receive SMP for the full 39 weeks. d) If you do not fit a, b or c above, you will leave on the date your contract expires. e) If you are a doctor or other employee participating in a planned rotation of appointments as part of an agreed programme of training, you have the right to return to work in the same post or the next planned post and your contract will be extended to enable you to complete the agreed programme of training.
NB Annual leave is accrued as for permanent staff – see paragraph 3.2.
SECTION 2 - FINANCIAL ASPECTS
2.1 What will I be paid during maternity leave?
Entitlement, calculated on average earnings, varies depending on length of service and is summarised in Appendix 1.
By prior agreement, Occupational Pay, may, for the duration of Ordinary
Maternity Leave, ie, the first 26 weeks, be paid in equal instalments.
2.2 How are average earnings calculated?
The 15 th week before your expected date of childbirth is called the qualifying week (QW). Your average earnings are calculated using an 8 week/2 month pay period prior to the QW. If you need more precise information about which pay periods are covered, or you use a “salary sacrifice scheme”, for example for nursery vouchers, you should contact Pay Services.
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All earnings, including allowances, overtime etc, will be taken into account when calculating average earnings.
2.3 What is Statutory Maternity Pay?
SMP is a Department of Work & Pensions (DWP) payment, but providing you meet the qualifying conditions in Appendix 2, it is paid by the Trust. If you do not qualify for payment via the Trust but you have been paying National
Insurance contributions with another employer, you may still be entitled to
Maternity Allowance directly from the DWP.
In these circumstances, Pay Services will issue you with an SMP1 form which will explain why you are exempt from payment and what action you need to take.
2.4 What happens to my pension whilst I am on maternity leave?
Pension remains payable throughout a period of maternity leave.
Contributions are based on pay actually received during the period of paid maternity leave. During unpaid maternity leave contributions are based on the rate of pay immediately prior to unpaid leave.
If you have a period of unpaid maternity leave, outstanding pension contributions will be deducted from your pay when you return to work and deductions will be over the same period as unpaid leave, i.e. if you are on unpaid leave for 3 months, deductions will be made over 3 months, etc.
If when applying for maternity leave, you state your intention not to return to work, or if having taken maternity leave, you fail to return, your pension contributions will cease from the time maternity payments commence.
However, as all women have a right to a minimum of 39 weeks paid statutory maternity leave, you can choose to extend your pensionable service for this period and pay contributions. If you wish to do this, you should inform Pay
Services.
2.6 Childcare Vouchers
The Trust runs a salary sacrifice scheme to enable staff to purchase childcare vouchers to pay for childcare.
Changes to the Sex Discrimination Act and Parental Leave Regulations which came into effect in October 2008 increase the length of time that employers must provide childcare vouchers to employees on maternity leave.
For babies due on or after 5 October 2008 employees are entitled to continue receiving childcare vouchers for weeks 1 to 26 (Ordinary Maternity Leave or
OML) and then for weeks 27 to 52 (Additional Maternity Leave or AML)
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For those in salary sacrifice schemes it should be noted that Statutory
Maternity Pay (SMP) cannot be reduced by a salary sacrifice, it must be paid in full for 39 weeks. Any contractual maternity pay above the level of SMP will be subject to salary sacrifice.
Therefore, once contractual maternity pay ends, employees will continue to receive childcare vouchers and the employer (ie, the Trust) will cover the cost.
There will be no requirement under the new legislation for the cost of the vouchers to be repaid by the employee.
Therefore if you become pregnant while part of the childcare voucher scheme you must decide your options, whether to continue with childcare vouchers or cancel any salary sacrifice scheme that you may be part of to establish full salary prior to the period when your Statutory Maternity Pay is calculated (two pay dates prior to week 15 before EWC, or week 25 of your pregnancy)
The amount of Statutory Maternity Pay you receive is based on your salary
(90% of your average earnings for the first six weeks and for the remaining 33 weeks, 90% of your average earnings or £117.18 per week, whichever is the lesser. You will need to refer to Appendix 1a of this document to ascertain your entitlement to Statutory and Occupational maternity pay based on length of service.
However, you may qualify for the childcare element of Working Tax Credit; therefore it is advisable to seek advice from the HM Revenue & Customs or scheme provider.
Should you decide to leave the voucher scheme, you will be able to rejoin when you return to work provided that you meet the pre-conditions of the voucher scheme.
For details of the childcare voucher scheme please refer to Section 4,
Returning to Work
– paragraph d) Childcare Voucher Scheme.
2.7 Incremental Date
Absence on maternity leave, either paid or unpaid, will count towards annual increments.
2.7 What happens to my authorised car user status?
Standard User : There is no entitlement to mileage payments whilst on maternity leave.
Regular User : Normally, if you meet the regular user criteria, you will have a lease car and the regulations relating to that are below. However, if you do receive a regular user allowance, your lump sum allowance will be paid for the remainder of the first month of your leave and also for a further 3 months.
Payment will then be made at the rate of 50% for a further 3 months or until
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the end of maternity leave whichever is sooner. If you do not return to work following maternity leave, payment will be limited to a six week period.
Lease Cars: If you are returning to work after your baby is born, you will carry on making payments during your maternity leave as currently, although you will not be claiming any official mileage. If you do less than 2,500 miles within the year, you may be liable to pay more tax
– please speak to your tax office for more details.
If you do not intend to return to work after your maternity leave and wish to terminate your Lease Car agreement, please speak to the Lease Car Coordinator.
2.8 What happens to salary deductions for car parking?
While on maternity leave it is assumed that you will not be parking on site as you will not be in work. Therefore you will need to discuss with your manager whether you want to suspend your payments, and thus any visits to colleagues will be paid at visitor rates. You should discuss with your manager any impact this may have.
SECTION 3
– MATERNITY LEAVE
3.1 What if my baby is born early? a) If your baby is born earlier than the 11 th week before it is due and has to remain in hospital, you can, with the agreement of your Manager, split your maternity leave, taking a minimum period of two weeks leave immediately after the birth, returning to work and taking the balance of your leave when your baby leaves hospital.
This will not affect your Occupational Pay but could impact on your entitlement to SMP and you should seek advice from Pay Services.
Statutory Maternity Pay is paid for a total period of up to 39 consecutive weeks and you will be allowed to work a maximum of 10 days during your SMP period without it affecting your SMP. However, if you work for more than 10 days, this will result in a loss of one weeks’ Statutory Maternity Pay for each week that includes a working day. b) If your baby is born before you are due to take leave, the maternity leave period begins with the day childbirth occurs. You are not allowed to work in the
2 weeks after giving birth.
3.2 Do I accrue annual leave during maternity leave?
Returning to work:
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You will accrue your normal annual leave entitlement throughout the paid and unpaid maternity leave period. However, this does not include bank holidays as you have no statutory entitlement to be paid for them.
Where you anticipate that your maternity leave will cross over into the next holiday year, you should take as much of your annual leave entitlement as possible before commencing maternity leave,
The balance of any annual leave untaken may be carried over into the next holiday year but must be taken immediately prior to returning to work.
However, if you are prevented from taking annual leave prior to the start of your maternity leave, either because your baby is born early, you are admitted to hospital, or are off sick, then you will be entitled to carry this leave forward and should be taken immediately prior to retuning to work..
In the rare event of a situation arising whereby you are prevented from taking your leave entitlement due to the needs of the service, your manager will contact a senior member of the HR Department to seek advice on your specific case.
Requests for annual leave must be agreed with your manager in the usual way. Where holiday is going to be carried over as described above, this should be agreed with your manager prior to your maternity leave starting.
Exceptional Circumstances
Where an employee’s baby is born before the 11th week before the expected week of childbirth and the baby is in hospital, the employee may split her maternity leave entitlement, taking a minimum period of two weeks’ leave immediately after childbirth and the rest of her leave following her baby’s discharge from hospital.
Not returning to work:
If you are not returning to work following your maternity leave, you will receive any annual leave entitlement calculated up to the date on which you advise the
Trust your maternity leave period will end.
3.3 Keeping-in-Touch Days
You will be allowed to work a maximum of 10 Keeping-in-Touch (KIT) days without losing your maternity pay or bringing your maternity leave to an end.
KIT days are by mutual agreement with your manager, there is no requirement for you to undertake this work, nor is there a requirement for your manager to provide work. Payment will be made according to the individual’s hourly rate.
KIT days cannot take place during the 2-week period immediately after the birth of your child(ren) and can include training or any activities that will keep
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you in touch with your department. You must not exceed the 10 day maximum as this will result in a loss of one weeks’ Statutory Maternity Pay for each week that you undertake a KIT day that exceeds the 10 day maximum.
3.4 Additional work during maternity leave.
During the additional maternity leave period, additional work can be undertaken for another employer. This additional work must be undertaken in accordance with your contract of employment with the Trust. Therefore if you have a contract for 37.5 hours with defined hours, you can only undertake bank work outside of those hours. It should be noted that bank work should not be undertaken in an area of the Treatment Centre with a Service Level
Agreement, as potentially the position could be rotated into a department within the Trust.
SECTION 4
– RETURN TO WORK
4.1 Do I have an automatic right to return to work following maternity leave?
Yes, no matter how much service you have, you have a right to return to work on the basis of your existing contract with the same grade and status.
Although there is no right to return to fewer hours, there is a legal right to request a variation to working hours and/or flexible working, for parents of children under 6 years of age, and your manager will give as much consideration as possible to a reasonable request to vary your hours. If this request is turned down, your manager should provide you with written, objective reasons for the refusal.
The Trust recognises that circumstances and commitments of staff change throughout their working life. In order to retain the skill and expertise of women returning from maternity leave, the Trust positively encourages managers, wherever possible, to accommodate women who wish to return to work on a part-time or job-share basis. Wherever possible, this work should be at a grade equal to your grade prior to maternity leave and be work of a similar status.
If it is agreed that you can return to work on a flexible basis, including changed or reduced hours, for an agreed temporary period, this does not affect your right to return to your job under your original contract, at the end of that agreed period.
Employees on maternity leave can apply for other posts in the Trust if they wish, and if successful, the new post is the one to which they return.
You must return and work for a minimum of 3 months. If you work for less that
3 months you will be treated as not having returned to work and will be
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required to pay back any occupational maternity pay to which you are not entitled.
4.2 When must I return from maternity leave?
You are entitled to a total of 52 weeks maternity leave made up of 26 weeks
Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML) and a total of 26 weeks Additional Maternity
Leave (AML). You can however return earlier by giving 4 weeks (28 days) notice if returning after OML and eight weeks (56 days) notice if returning after 39 statutory weeks or after AML.
See appendix 1a/1b for full details of leave entitlement and eligibility.
You are not allowed to work in the 2 weeks after giving birth.
If you are breastfeeding your child, your manager will ensure that there are appropriate private facilities for you to express and store milk.
4.3 What if I am ill after my baby is born?
You cannot receive sick pay until the date you have previously said you will return from maternity leave, or, if you have not confirmed a date of return, until your full entitlement to maternity leave (including any unpaid maternity leave) has expired.
4.4 If I do not return to work at the end of my maternity leave, what will happen?
a) You will have to repay anything you would not have been entitled to if you had initially declared that you were returning after maternity leave (Pay Services will be able to tell you how much this is). If you are in any doubt about whether you will return, you can request, when applying for maternity leave, to have some of your maternity pay withheld and only receive what you would receive if leaving. If you do return you receive the balance and if you do not return, you do not owe anything to the Trust. b) You may want to return to work in another hospital or NHS Trust. If you do this and find a job and commence within one year of starting your maternity leave , you will not have to pay anything back. In these circumstances you have up to 15 months from the start of your maternity leave , to provide proof of appointment (this can be a letter of appointment or a copy of your contract).
4.5 What information is given in relation to childcare?
The Childcare Intranet site has a lot of useful information with regards to finding, choosing and paying for childcare.
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Both the QMC and City campus have onsite nurseries. TLC, ‘Tender Loving
Care’ Ltd, have a nursery on the City campus at Gate 3 which provides full day care and a holiday club for 4-11 year olds. The nursery on the QMC campus
(University Hospital Day Nursery Ltd) is Ofsted registered and also provides full day care and a holiday scheme for employees based at both QMC and City campuses. The Trust has a salary sacrifice voucher scheme.
It is useful to note that all Ofsted registered childcare is held by the Children’s
Information Service (CIS), in every local authority, they provide free information and advice on childcare and early years education.
There are a number of nurseries and out-of-school clubs across the Trent area who are prepared to offer emergency / short notice childcare to staff. The
Trent area includes Nottingham City, Nottinghamshire, Derby City, Derbyshire,
Lincoln and Lincolnshire, Staffordshire and Leicestershire.
It is worth noting that if you live close to local authority boundaries you may need to contact more than one CIS. All CIS’s are linked onto one national website; this is where you can search for registered childcare, vacancies and other community information. Contact numbers can be found on the Childcare
Web site. a)
4.6
Paying for Childcare or Nursery Education
You may be able to make savings with childcare costs in the following ways:
Inland Revenue
The Inland Revenue offer Child Tax Credit & Working Tax Credit as a means of supporting families with children and people on low incomes.
The amount of tax credit you may be entitled to is dependent on your specific individual circumstances and your earnings. Child Tax Credit &
Working Tax Credit does not affect Child Benefit payments that are paid separately. b) Child Tax Credit
This supports families with children and the amount you get is based on your household income c) Working Tax Credit
This supports people working on low incomes by topping up earnings.
Again, the amount you get is based on your individual circumstances & you may or may not fall within the necessary criteria. You can claim
Working Tax Credit if you are responsible for a child or young person & you work at least 16 hours a week.
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d) Child Care Voucher Scheme
As your employer we run a child care voucher scheme via an independent organisation known as KiddiVouchers. You may wish to make savings on your monthly child care costs by purchasing vouchers from KiddiVouchers on a monthly basis.
Vouchers can be transferred to your normal childcare provider electronically, or if you prefer paper vouchers you can print your vouchers from your on-line account; alternatively paper vouchers can be sent by post or email.
The voucher scheme operates as a salary sacrifice arrangement. This means the cost of childcare vouchers are deducted from your pay prior to tax & national insurance deductions and this is how you make the saving i.e. you are not paying tax & national insurance on the cost of the childcare vouchers.
It should be noted that that the vouchers are not pensionable and this may affect both statutory and pensionable benefits.
Should you become pregnant while part of the scheme, please refer to
Section 2, Financial Aspects, 2.6 - Childcare Vouchers , for information.
Prior to purchasing your vouchers you will need to ensure that your childcare provider accepts them. If they are not registered with the childcare voucher provider, they will contact your childcare provider in order to register them.
Your will also need to check that your reduced earnings do not fall below the minimum wage (KiddiVouchers can calculate this for you).
You will be able to purchase up to a maximum £243 worth of vouchers per month. If your partner also works for us or works for an employer offering the same scheme, he /she will also be able to purchase up to
£243 worth of vouchers per month.
Contact:
0800 6129015 www.KiddiVouchers.com
Please Note: You will need to decide for yourself which of the above arrangements suit you best. For example, tax credits, a combination of tax credits & vouchers or vouchers only. You will need to declare this to the Inland
Revenue.
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Appendix 1a
ENTITLEMENT TO MATERNITY LEAVE/PAY
(Including Statutory Maternity Pay) *
Length of Service Entitlement (returning to work)
At least 1 year's continuous NHS service at week 11 before your baby is due service
AND at least with the Trust before your baby is due.
26 weeks
at week 15
At least 1 year's continuous service at week 11 before your baby is due service but LESS THAN with the Trust before your baby is due.
NHS
26 weeks
at week 15
Maximum 52 weeks leave.
8 weeks full pay, including SMP; 18 weeks half pay + standard rate SMP
(this must not exceed full pay. - if it does, payment is reduced so that the total equals full pay) Plus an additional 13 weeks of SMP.
Any further leave is unpaid. You do not have to take the full 52 weeks off.
Maximum 52 weeks leave.
8 weeks full pay; 18 weeks half pay.
Any further leave is unpaid. You do not have to take the full 52 weeks off.
As you are not entitled to SMP from the Trust you may be able to claim
Maternity Allowance from the DWP.
Less than 1 year's, but more than 26 weeks, continuous NHS service at week 11 before your baby is due and
MORE THAN 26 weeks service with the Trust at week 15 before your baby is due.
Maximum 52 weeks leave.
If the criteria* is met, 6 weeks SMP at 9/10 th average earnings; 33 weeks standard rate SMP.
Any further leave is unpaid. You do not have to take the full 52 weeks off.
Maximum 52 weeks unpaid leave. Less than 26 weeks service with both the NHS and the Trust week 15 before your baby is due.
at You do not have to take the full 52 weeks off.
You may be eligible to claim maternity Allowance from the DWP

See Appendix 2 for criteria

DWP is Dept of Work & Pensions (formerly DSS)
Entitlement ( not returning to work)
If you fulfil the criteria* you receive 6 weeks SMP at 9/10th average earnings, followed by 33 weeks standard rate SMP.
Contractual pay equivalent to SMP,
(you do not fulfil the criteria for SMP), ie 6 weeks at 9/10 th average earnings.
You may be able to claim Maternity
Allowance from the DWP. If you do, you need to inform the Trust of the amount you receive.
If you fulfil the criteria, 6 weeks SMP at 9/10 th average earnings; 33 weeks standard rate SMP.
You will not get any payment from the Trust. You may be eligible to claim to Maternity Allowance from the DWP.
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Appendix 1b
ENTITLEMENT TO MATERNITY LEAVE/PAY – Non Agenda for Change
(Including Statutory Maternity Pay)
Length of Service Entitlement (returning to work) Entitlement ( not returning to work)
At least 1 year's continuous service at week 11 before your baby is due weeks service
AND at least with the Trust week 15 before your baby is due.
At least 1 year's continuous baby is due but weeks service
NHS
26
at
NHS service at week 11 before your
LESS THAN with the Trust
26
at week 15 before your baby is due.
Maximum 52 weeks leave.
8 weeks full pay, including SMP;
14 weeks half pay + standard rate
SMP (this must not exceed full pay. - if it does, payment is reduced so that the total equals full pay). A Further 17 weeks
SMP.
Any further leave is unpaid. You do not have to take the full 52 weeks off.
Maximum 52 weeks leave.
8 weeks full pay; 14 weeks half pay.
Any further leave is unpaid. You do not have to take the full 52 weeks off.
As you are not entitled to SMP from the Trust you may be able to claim Maternity Allowance from the DWP.
Less than 1 year's, but more than
26 weeks, baby is due weeks service continuous and MORE
NHS service at week 11 before your
THAN 26 with the Trust at week 15 before your baby is due.
Less than 26 weeks service with both the NHS and the Trust at week 15 before your baby is due.
Maximum 52 weeks leave.
If the criteria* is met, 6 weeks
SMP at 9/10 th average earnings;
33 weeks standard rate SMP.
Any further leave is unpaid. You do not have to take the full 52 weeks off.
Maximum 52 weeks unpaid leave.
You do not have to take the full
52 weeks off.
You may be eligible to claim maternity Allowance from the
DWP

See Appendix 2 for criteria

DWP is Dept of Work & Pensions (formerly DSS)
If the criteria are met: 6 weeks
SMP at 9/10th average earnings, followed by 33 weeks standard rate SMP.
Contractual pay equivalent to
SMP, (you do not fulfil the criteria for SMP), ie 6 weeks at 9/10 th average earnings.
You may be able to claim
Maternity Allowance from the
DWP. If you do, you need to inform the Trust of the amount you receive.
If you fulfil the criteria, 6 weeks
SMP at 9/10 th average earnings;
33 weeks standard rate SMP.
You will not get any payment from the Trust. You may be eligible to claim Maternity Allowance from the DWP.
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Appendix 2
SMP QUALIFICATIONS a) You must have been employed by Nottingham, University Hospitals NHS
Trust for 26 weeks up to and including the 15 th week before the expected week of childbirth (the qualifying week). b) You must still be pregnant at the beginning of the 11 th week before the expected week of childbirth, or have given birth by that time. c) You must have ceased work for the Trust either wholly or partly as a result of pregnancy or childbirth. d) Your average earnings must meet the lower earnings level for National
Insurance purposes. e) By the end of the 15 th week before your expected week of childbirth, you must notify your Clinical Director/Accountable Manager of the date you expect your maternity leave to begin. f) You must provide medical evidence of your expected date of childbirth.
This will normally be a Maternity Certificate (Mat B1) but if it is not possible to get this, a letter from your doctor or midwife will be acceptable. No payment will be made until this is received. A Mat B1 will not be issued before the 21 st week of pregnancy but it is most important that as soon as you receive it, you give it to your manager. If your doctor or midwife makes a mistake and issues a Mat B1 early, it cannot be used for SMP purposes. g) You are allowed to work a maximum of 10 Keeping-in-Touch days during maternity leave without loss of SMP.
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