It is for employers to decide whether or not to enhance contractual pay to employees on shared parental leave, where they already pay enhanced maternity pay. The decision by the Leeds Employment Tribunal that, failing to offer enhanced pay for Shared Parental Leave (SPL) where the Respondent offered enhanced pay for maternity leave amounted to direct sex discrimination, has potentially significant ramification. But would it be effective - and cost effective - in your business? This is the most important figure in working out your employees' maternity pay rates. The battle for talent. Companies With The Best Maternity Leave Yes that's the standard statutory pay. You pay it on top of the Statutory Maternity Pay that you can pay your staff while they're on maternity leave. 4.2 Option 2 (Enhanced Maternity Pay) - employees with 38 to 52 weeks' service at the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth. There is While this case is in line with Government guidance and the traditional view, it is notable that this case concerned an . For example, you could: pay more than SMP over a certain period, e.g. The most common form of enhanced maternity leave, offered by two in five (42 per cent) firms, is full pay for six weeks followed by the standard statutory rate. This form is for employees who are absent from work for a pregnancy-related reason during the four weeks prior to their expected week of childbirth (EWC), giving new dates of maternity leave and pay. In between the two This rises to 59.1% among firms with 1,000 or more staff. You will qualify for maternity pay if you have worked for your employer for 26 weeks by the 15th week before the week of the baby's birth. If they earn 120 on average per week or more in the tax year, they are eligible for statutory maternity pay. 4's enhanced maternity pay provisions don't apply This policy does not form part of any employee's contract of employment and we may amend it at any time This has caused a debate as to whether or not the disparity could amount to discriminatory . Why does this happen? Enhanced pay during family leave will also make your organisation attractive to a more diverse workforce. March 2022. In Shuter v Ford Motor Company Limited, an Employment Tribunal ("ET") considered whether an employer's policy of paying 52 weeks' enhanced maternity pay to mothers but no enhanced additional paternity pay to fathers amounted to direct or indirect sex discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. Where a pay award or annual increment is implemented during paid maternity leave, the maternity pay due from the date of the pay award or annual increment should be increased accordingly. If the amount due is less than the ShPP to which the employee is EShPP is inclusive of any Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) to which the employee is entitled. According to the International Network on Leave Policies and Research, receiving 66% or more of your salary while on maternity leave is considered 'well-paid'. This maternity pay will be paid for by your employer directly. The answer is possibly - an Employment Tribunal has just upheld a claim of direct sex discrimination from a male employee who complained that he did not receive full pay during a period of shared parental leave, when the employer offered female employees on maternity leave up to 14 weeks' full pay. This could be a good area for companies looking to differentiate themselves from competitors and steal a march on talent," Priest said. Below, we've compiled some of the best policies out there. Few employers offer enhanced maternity pay throughout maternity leave and, for financial reasons, most smaller employers offer statutory maternity pay rights only. On top of this, 45% of employers also choose to enhance maternity pay, by offering longer or more generous periods of pay linked to a woman's income. Our normal mat pay once you've been with the company for 1 year is 10 weeks full pay & 29 weeks statutory. There is no statutory provision requiring them to do so. Offering enhanced maternity and paternity pay shows that you care about your employees' wellbeing, which may make your company more attractive to a diverse workforce, and more competitive for recruiting the best talent. Editor: To qualify for Maternity Allowance you need to have worked for 26 weeks in the 66 weeks up to your baby's due date. During the next 33 weeks of maternity leave. The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in Ali v Capita Customer Management Limited has now confirmed that it is not direct sex discrimination for employers to offer 14 weeks' enhanced maternity pay but only statutory ShPL pay. 2.2 The University offers Enhanced Maternity Pay (EMP) which exceeds the statutory pay provision by providing 18 weeks of full pay during an employee's maternity leave. Enhanced Maternity Pay is offered by almost two thirds of UK Organisations. Mothers will get 90% of average weekly earnings (before tax) for the first 6 weeks, then 151.97 or 90% of average weekly. If your business does not offer enhanced maternity pay, it must pay the following. Check the maternity benefits you're entitled to & how much SMP, Enhanced Maternity Pay, Maternity Allowance & Child Benefit you'll get each month after tax. Nearly a third (31.7%) of organisations in XpertHR's survey do not offer any enhanced maternity, paternity, or shared parental pay, citing cost and company culture as the cause. Maternity leave will count. Financial incentives, or other benefits such as flexible working to assist with a return to work following maternity leave, are offered by 45.9% of employers. Read more. This rises to 59% among firms with 1,000 or more staff. Some offer bonuses upon return while others have a clause in their policies whereby pay above the legal minimum must be paid back to the employer if the employee does not return to work or does not return . check if you're eligible for maternity leave & pay. The enhanced after you've been with the company 2 years is 20 weeks full pay, then 19 weeks statutory. So, some employers do offer more generous maternity benefits than SMP - sometimes called Occupational Maternity Pay or Enhanced Maternity Pay. By way of background, fathers are entitled . This is over and above SMP. Published: 24 May 2021 Nearly two thirds (63.5%) of businesses offer maternity pay above the statuary minimum in the UK, and three-fifths (60.8%) offer enhanced paternity pay. Under this, eligible employees whose children are due to be born on or after 3 April 2011 will have the right to take up to 6 months' APL. Pay whichever of these is lower: 90% of their average weekly earnings . The findings, from a report by XpertHR, show encouraging signs that employers are taking support for their working parents more seriously. calculate your maternity leave take-home pay. 1) Etsy. This means that for a fair proportion of her maternity leave, the employee is likely to be receiving far less pay than she would ordinarily. "Interestingly, the majority who offer enhanced paternity leave still offer just two weeks at full pay. Download Form providing notification of absence for pregnancy related reasons 4 weeks before EWC.docx 54.96 KB On the one hand, under the UK legislation, surrogate mothers and other birth mothers who give their child up for adoption are entitled to take the full period of statutory maternity leave and pay, regardless of whether or not they continue to have contact with the child following the birth (also entitled are those who sadly suffer a stillbirth). The case of Ali v Capita Customer Management Ltd is causing some justifiable concern for employers. If such a pay award was agreed retrospectively, the maternity pay should be re-calculated on the same basis. Enhanced maternity and paternity pay therefore helps your retain experienced and talented employees. The downside of a great maternity deal is that if you decide not to go back, you'll have to pay anything above SMP back. In Hextall v Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police, a tribunal held that failing to offer enhanced SPL pay was not discriminatory. Using this benchmark, the UK finds itself slipping down the charts, as shown below. Jet2 is the latest airline (along with Virgin Atlantic and SAS CAE Parc) to have introduced enhanced maternity pay, after starting the year offering pilots just the statutory minimum. full pay for the first six weeks, half pay for the next ten weeks, SMP for the remaining 23 weeks make a bonus payment on the employee's return to wor You probably knew that. Expert Answer by Claire Taylor Evans from Boyes Turner. Therefore they continue to tread water in their current role until one day, often way into the future; they finally fall pregnant. Occupational maternity pay is an optional payment that you can make as an employer. Enhanced maternity pay Some employers will offer employees enhanced maternity pay on top of SMP. Alternatively, 45.9% of businesses offered financial benefits to those returning from maternity leave, such as a bonus. tools. Pay is one of the main reasons why many of us go to work. Check your contract or talk to your HR department to find out what yours is. Paid maternity or paternity leave signals a flexible attitude to the challenges of life outside of work, and has shown to boost a parent's feeling of goodwill towards their employer, particularly if pay is enhanced during parental leave time. Enhanced maternity pay If you wish, you can offer enhanced maternity pay arrangements to attract and retain employees. In the latest stage of an ongoing court battle between two fathers and their employers - Capita and the Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police - the court upheld a previous ruling that the employers were allowed to offer enhanced maternity pay without the need to provide the same benefits through SPL. If you are adopting a child, see Shared parental leave and pay-adoption. When one of your staff goes on maternity leave, you must pay them Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP). Government 'repeatedly failed' women in Covid response, MPs warn Low-paid workers more likely to take unpaid leave because of school closures, survey finds Respondents say they offer enhanced maternity pay because it is either part of a broader family friendly policy (63%), it improves recruitment and retention (50%) or it enhances the corporate brand (21%). MA is 136.78 a week or 90% of average weekly wages, whichever is lower, for 39 weeks. One explanation lies in the distinction between 'paid' leave and 'well-paid' leave. Mothers returning to work after maternity leave can take advantage of working 80% of their hours on full pay to help ease their transition back to work. For those that pay into the pension they will be provided with death in service cover of 4 times annual earnings. In April last year we posted a blog on the change in law on paternity leave focussing on the new right to Additional Paternity Leave (APL) which came into force on 6 April 2010. Financial incentives or other benefits such as flexible working to assist with a return to work following maternity leave are offered by 45.9% of employers. The UK Court of Appeal ruled in late May that it is not sex discrimination for employers to enhance maternity pay but only provide the statutory rate of shared parental pay. Offering enhanced maternity pay can help your business attract and keep the best employees. The low rate of pay is what's typically deterred dads from taking more . During the first 6 weeks of maternity leave Pay them 90% of their average weekly earnings (before tax). New mums and adoptive mums receive 21 weeks full pay and new dads receive 10 days paternity pay. Enhanced Maternity Pay. Because this is about the amount of your pay above certain thresholds, the amount you get paid changes the size of the effect. They may pay more than statutory maternity pay for a fixed period. . Minimum wage and national living wage. Shelia Attwood, managing editor, pay and HR practice, at XpertHR said there is still some way to go on enhanced parental support. Some employers have also opted to enhance. One of the advantages of being in the public sector. The Council operated enhanced maternity and adoption leave pay for employees. You also need to have earned at least 30 a week in any 13-week period. This led Mr Price to bring a claim for direct sex discrimination. However, to attract and retain female employees, some employers will offer an enhanced level of maternity pay. My work pays me 90% of my pay for the first 6 weeks of mat leave, then because I've worked with them for a long time I get 50% of my pay on top of the statutory maternity (151 a week . They may pay full pay for the first six weeks, half pay for the following 10 weeks and maternity pay for the remaining 23 weeks. Both SMP and any enhanced maternity pay you get from your employer will be based on your salary. However, 21% now offer more than this, compared to only 9% who offered more than two weeks in 2019. For example, this might be six months on full or half pay. The best way to determine staff AWE is to take all earnings paid in the relevant period and divide the earnings by the number of weeks in that period. I use QuickBooks online and the statutory payment is calculated and correct but does anyone know how I add the enhanced payment in for the employee . The EAT decided (overturning the employment tribunal decision)that it was not discriminatory to offer enhanced maternity pay but only statutory shared parental pay: The primary purpose of maternity leave is the health and wellbeing of the mother; whereas the purpose of shared parental leave is the care of the child; . Enhanced maternity pay for eligible employees at 50% of weekly pay for 12 weeks, plus 39 weeks' Statutory Maternity Pay. Tech firm Lenovo came second. Companies will continue to evolve their maternity leave packages to ensure they attract top talent. Parents can take time off at the same time or separately. Con: Non-parents may feel short-changed Statutory maternity pay is a legal entitlement and some employers may offer more than this, in what is called 'enhanced maternity pay', as a contractual right. During the first 6 weeks of maternity leave. BALPA has welcomed the improvements to maternity, paternity and adoption pay at Jet2, saying the company has recognised the barriers that can put people off a . The statutory weekly rate of paternity pay is 148.68 or 90 per cent of your average weekly earnings (whichever is lower). American Express came out on top with their offer of 20 weeks paid leave. . Families have faced many challenges in the past few years, with childcare labelled the leading cause of stress by people working from home during the pandemic. However, my company also offer 'enhanced' maternity pay. For example, you could: pay more than SMP over a certain period, eg full pay for the first six weeks, half pay for the next ten weeks, SMP for the remaining 23 weeks Why? For example, rather than just paying 90% of their wages, you could choose to pay your employee anything up to full pay for the first six months of their employment. Some companies are going that little bit further for their employees embracing the believing that a better work-life balance fosters happier staff, more productive output . We offer an enhanced Maternity Package, whereby we pay our employees more than the statutory maternity payments of 90% of their salary for 6 weeks and 33 weeks at 156.66. Offer enhanced Shared Parental Pay at the same level as enhanced maternity pay Encourage take up of Shared Parental Leave (see our guidance ). However, 31.7% of organisations do not enhance maternity, paternity or shared parental pay at all. Data shows that nearly two thirds of UK businesses offer maternity pay above the statutory minimum, and three-fifths offer enhanced paternity pay. Read more on statutory pay and leave. Because they don't want to lose out on the additional pay, they may now be entitled to by becoming pregnant shortly after switching employers. In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, Donna Patterson, who was a buyer in Morrisons' online business, explained that she had previously been offered a new role . Civil service - 6 months on full pay, then statutory pay. As you state, this means you qualify for maternity pay in October. however, initially there were concerns that companies who gave employees enhanced maternity/adoption pay, but did not give enhanced shared parental leave pay and benefits to partners, would amount to sex discrimination, as will dealing differently with requests for leave from the partner of the mother-to-be, than they would to woman taking This is to attract and retain employees and can differ from one employer to the next. When your pay is more even over multiple tax years you may pay less tax, and make smaller student loan repayments, because a smaller amount of your income is above the various thresholds. This was on the basis that paying enhanced maternity pay constituted special treatment afforded to a woman in connection with pregnancy or childbirth. nhs maternity pay . The survey also shows that employers are increasingly using enhanced maternity benefits and incentives to retain key skills in the workforce. University employees eligible to take Shared Parental Leave are entitled to 18 weeks Shared Parental Leave at full pay, minus any weeks enhanced maternity/adoption or paternity pay they have already received. The statutory allowance is two weeks of paternity leave paid at a minimum of around 145 per week . Pay them 90% of their average weekly earnings (before tax). If you wish, you can offer enhanced maternity pay arrangements to attract and retain employees. Some also extend these benefits to fathers and to adoptive parents who do not give birth themselves but still need time to bond with their new arrival. Many employers who offer enhanced maternity pay rates often don't provide enhanced SPL or paternity leave rates. . This could be a good area for companies looking to differentiate themselves from competitors and steal a march on talent." Statutory . "Interestingly, the majority who offer enhanced paternity leave still offer just two weeks at full pay. It is noted that the soon-to-be-abolished additional paternity leave regime was not well received. The judges ruled that the predominant . Maternity pay. The clearest advantage to offering employees enhanced shared parental pay is that it is an attractive benefit and one that is likely to help those organisations which offer it to draw in and retain talented employees. What is enhanced maternity pay (EMP)? Shared parental leave allows mothers to end maternity leave/pay early so that one or both parents can take leave in a more flexible way during the baby's first year. The percentage of private sector organisations offering EMP was 65.5% in 2021 but new data from February 2022 shows this has increased to 74.1%. Enhanced maternity pay. Etsy offer a 'gender blind' approach to parental leave, offering all employees 26 weeks of fully paid leave to be taken in the first year of their child's life. Maternity Allowance is paid at a flat rate and is not linked to your salary. Enhanced Paternity Pay. Every work place differs for how long you get paid that amount, but that's how much they have to pay you minimum. ! However, an employment tribunal found that Mr Price was not entitled to compare maternity leave or adoption leave with shared parental leave. You do not say when this year the current office is likely to be closed. This is often referred to as occupational or contractual maternity pay. Enhanced maternity pay Some employers offer enhanced maternity pay to attract and retain staff either as a contractual right or on a case-by-case basis. For example: Inform future fathers that. Now I can see why the company enhanced pay would be preferable in a full time workers case, but as you can see for me, I . The most common option for employers is to offer full pay for the first six weeks or more when the employee takes maternity leave, instead of 90% of their average weekly earnings (before tax) for the first six weeks. In addition to promoting agile working, we offer enhanced maternity and paternity pay. The legal minimum for maternity pay If your business does not offer enhanced maternity pay, it must pay Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP). The legal minimum for maternity pay . Paying enhanced maternity but not paternity pay 17 September 2014 An employment tribunal has ruled that a car manufacturer was justified in not paying enhanced paternity pay to a male employee during additional paternity leave. Enhanced Maternity Pay is correct at 31/3/2022. When making such a decision, employers should bear in mind the need to avoid any discrimination. The EAT held that this was not discriminatory, however the case was subsequently sent to the Court of Appeal for further clarification. Other notable names on the list include Spotify, Twitter, Netflix and Etsy - who offer unlimited sick leave to look after unwell children. However, 21% now offer more than this, compared to only 9% who offered more than two weeks in 2019. If you're only getting SMP, that will be paid as 90% of your average weekly earnings for the first six weeks, but drops to the lower of 90% of your weekly earnings or 156.66. Last year those employers breathed a sigh of relief. Many thanks to Employee Benefits for their report on the tribunal decision in the case of Shuter v Ford Motor Company. Supermarket chain Morrisons has been ordered to pay 60,442.25 to a woman from Wetherby, Yorkshire, as an employment tribunal found that the employer had discriminated against her after returning from maternity leave..
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why offer enhanced maternity pay