Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP): Overview 2014-15
Key points
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Eligibility To qualify for SMP an employee must have: ✓ worked for you continuously - full or part-time - for at least 26 weeks up to and into the 15th week before the week the baby is due (the qualifying week) ✓ average earnings at least equal to the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) for National Insurance contributions (NICs) in the qualifying week - for 2013-14 this is £111 a week and for 2013-14 this is £109 a week ✓ given you the right paperwork confirming the pregnancy and sufficient notice of when they would like the SMP payments to start If your employee's earnings are below the LEL, or they're not entitled to SMP for some other reason, they may be entitled to Maternity Allowance from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). |
Did you know?
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Rates |
Non- eligibility & Disputes |
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If an employee is eligible for SMP, for the first six weeks you must pay them at the rate of 90 per cent of their average weekly earnings. For the next 33 weeks you must pay them the lower of the following:
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If you determine that your employee isn't entitled to be paid SMP, you must tell them your decision and the reasons for it. You must do this within 28 days of receiving your employee's notice of absence or the date she gave birth if this is earlier. This can be done using form SMP1. Where you have already started to make payments of SMP and before the end of the pay period you decide your employee is no longer entitled to any further payments of SMP you must:
You must do this within seven days of entitlement ending. This can be done using form SMP1. If your employee doesn't agree with you, they have the right to ask you for a written statement showing:
Your employee can ask for a written statement at any time. If the request is reasonable you must give them the statement within a realistic time - for example, within seven days of being asked for it.
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Forms & Record Keeping You will need a number of forms when dealing with SMP. Form MAT B1 Maternity Certificate Your employee gives you this form to confirm that they're expecting a baby. It's signed by a doctor or midwife who'll give it to your employee after the 20th week of pregnancy. You mustn't pay SMP unless you get this form or similar evidence of pregnancy from your employee. Record Keeping The records you'll need to keep include:
You must use the following to keep records of the payments of SMP you make and the amounts you recover:
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Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay (OSPP): Overview
Key points
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Eligibility Your employee may be entitled to OSPP for a birth if they have responsibility for the baby's upbringing, are taking time off to support the mother or care for the baby and they're either:
Where a couple adopts a child, the partner, male or female, who's not claiming Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) may be able to claim OSPP. Your employee may be entitled to OSPP for adoption if they're either:
In this situation, the adoption must also be being arranged through an adoption agency in the UK, or for adoption from abroad the adopter has to have received Official Notification. To qualify for OSPP an employee must have: ✓ worked for you continuously - full or part-time - for at least 26 weeks up to and into the 15th week before the week the baby is due or for at least 26 weeks by the end of the week in which they were notified that they had been matched with a child ✓ continued to work right up until the date the baby was born or the child was placed with the adopter ✓ average earnings at least equal to the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) for National Insurance contributions (NICs) in the qualifying week - for 2014-15 this is £111 a week and for 2013-14 this is £109 a week ✓ given you the right paperwork and sufficient notice of when they would like the OSPP payments to start If your employee's earnings are below the LEL, or they're not entitled to OSPP for some other reason, they may be entitled to other finiancial support from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). |
Did you know?
If you determine that your employee isn't entitled to be paid OSPP, you must tell them your decision and the reasons for it. this can be done using form OSPP1.
Where you have already started to make payments of OSPP and before the end of the pay period you decide your employee is no longer entitled to any further payments of OSPP you must:
You must do this within seven days of entitlement ending. This can be done using form OSPP1. Also make a copy of your employee's declaration - form SC3, SC4, or SC5 or equivalent - and give the original back to them with any other evidence they provided you with. If your employee doesn't agree with you, they have the right to ask you for a written statement showing:
Your employee can ask for a written statement at any time. If the request is reasonable you must give them the statement within a realistic time - for example, within seven days of being asked for it. |
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Rates If your employee is eligible for OSPP you must pay them the lower of the following:
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Record Keeping The records you'll need to keep include:
You must use the following to keep records of the payments of OSPP you make and the amounts you recover:
Remember that almost all employers are required to file their payroll information online to HMRC via the FPS and EPS. You must keep all these records for at least three years after the end of the tax year they relate to. |
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