Agency Worker Handbook – Maternity Policy Statutory maternity pay
Agency Workers are not eligible for Maternity Leave
Agency workers are eligible for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) if they meet the normal qualifying conditions. You do not need to be classed as an employee to get SMP. To qualify for SMP you must: Have been employed by the same agency in each of the 26 weeks ending with the qualifying week (the 15th week before the week your baby is due), and Still work for the agency in all or part of your qualifying week, and Earn at least £116 per week (April 2018-2019) on average in the eight weeks (if paid weekly) or two months (if paid monthly) up to the last payday before the end of the qualifying week. To get SMP you must give Top Job Recruitment the following information in writing at least 28 days before you wish to start your SMP: That you are pregnant, The expected week of childbirth, The date on which you intend to start your maternity pay,
Your MATB1 certificate (you will receive this from your GP or Midwife when you are around 20 weeks pregnant). If you want to change the date you start your maternity leave, you must give Top Job Recruitment notice of the new date at least 28 days before the new date or the old date, whichever is the earliest. If there is a good reason why that is not possible, tell us as soon as you reasonably can. The earliest you can start your SMP is 11 weeks before the expected week of childbirth. You can work right up until the date the baby is born, unless you have a pregnancy-related illness/absence in the last 4 weeks of your pregnancy or your baby is born before you have started your maternity leave.
SMP is paid for 39 weeks. SMP is paid at two rates: for the first six weeks you get 90% of your average pay. The average is calculated from the pay you actually received in the eight weeks or two months up to the last payday before the end of the qualifying week. After that you get a flat rate of £145.18 per week (April 2018-2019) for 33 weeks or 90% of your average earnings if that is less. Top Job Recruitment will pay your SMP in the same way as your salary is paid. We will deduct any tax and National Insurance contributions. If you do not qualify for SMP Top Job Recruitment will give you form SMP1, which explains why you do not qualify for SMP and your MATB1 form. You will need both forms to claim Maternity Allowance.
If you are off sick with a pregnancy-related illness in the last four weeks of pregnancy, your SMP will start on the day after your first day of absence from work. So, if you phone in sick on a Wednesday, your SMP period will start on a Thursday. If you give birth before the start of your maternity leave, your SMP period will start on the day following the actual date of birth.
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