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Ruskii
17-05-06, 21:50
Righto, lets hope I explain this properly and not confuse anyone.

A lady has left the company on maternity leave with her Expected Week of Confinement being the 10th May.

Now for the sake of holiday/maternity, so she could get as much cash as possible, she wanted to leave 3 weeks before the baby was due, so the HR has okayed it for her to use all her holiday pay up for the year (which is 6weeks worth) until her Maternity Pay kicks in, only problem I see with it, is it actually overlaps from when the baby is due.

ie She left the company on the 12th of April and is on 'Holiday' til 17th May then she wanted it to drop down to the 90% of her wage for the 6 weeks. As far as the HR Director is concerned this is ok. To my way of thinking, it's not correct as really her maternity pay would be starting one week after the EWC. Am I right in thinking she should start her official maternity pay the week commencing her EWC as stated on the MatB1 form which is the 10th.

Am I right to assume this ? Or is my HR correct in thinking I can delay the maternity pay til her holiday pay runs out even though she would have had the baby (just to confuse matters even more, she actually hasnt had the child yet, she's late but I dont think that matters for this does it ? :lol: )

If her maternity pay does start from the 10th then can she be paid her holiday pay on top of the maternity pay ?

Thanks :D

GILL
18-05-06, 08:32
I'm afraid theres not really a straight forward answer to this one!

The mother has to be on maternity leave for 2 weeks after the child is born (4 in a factory) however any 'additional' pay above statutory maternity pay is up to the employer and is usually a contractual agreement i.e., some employers pay full pay throughout maternity leave.

Therefore I don't see a problem with her being on holiday until the baby is born but from the birth date she must be on maternity leave, however the holiday pay could be added on top so that she is not loosing her holiday entitlement.

I would suggest phoning ACAS if you want further info, I have always found them very good and maternity pay/leave is a minefield.

sarahk
22-05-06, 17:17
Hi,
Have you considered adding the unused holiday allowance on to the end of her maternity leave? This would give the result of her gaining the additional holiday time off - but will not affect the SM payments at all.

Sarah