Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
All employees are entitled to take up to 1 year/52 weeks off for maternity leave paid or unpaid.
Of the 1 year entitlement, your employee only gets paid for the first 39 weeks and should she take the further 13 weeks off, these are unpaid.
The first 6 weeks are paid at 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings.
The remaining 33 weeks are paid at the lower rate of £151.97 per week or the 90% figure.
To be eligible for maternity pay, your nanny -
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needs to have been employed by you for 41 weeks before her due date,
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needs to be earning above the lower earnings limit of £120.00 gross per week,
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needs to still be in your employment 15 weeks before her due date.
Your nanny will be issued form MATB1 from her doctor or midwife. This form then needs to be forwarded to our office and we can determine whether she qualifies for SMP or not.
If your nanny does not qualify, we will issue a form SMP1 so they claim maternity allowance directly from the government.
Should your nanny qualify, we will then process accordingly and we will then continue to issue payslips as normal throughout her maternity leave.
Small employers can claim back 103% of any SMP i.e. 100% of the maternity pay itself and an additional 3% compensation to help towards the cost of employers national insurance.
We will apply to HMRC for the maternity funding in advance so paying your nanny during her maternity, won't cost you anything.
Employees accrue holiday entitlement as normal throughout their maternity leave and this includes any bank holidays that may fall during that leave.
Antenatal classes - Employees are entitled to paid time off to attend these and except from the first appointment you can request proof of these.
Keeping in Touch Days - Once the baby has arrived, your nanny is entitled up to 10 days 'keeping in touch days'. Any days worked are paid in addition to any paid SMP and is at a cost to the employer.
These days can be used for work and irrespective of the hours worked each day it is classed as a full day for Keeping in Touch purposes.