PART IIENTITLEMENT
The Maternity Pay Period2
1
F2Subject to paragraphs (3) to (5), where a woman gives notice to her employer that she intends to stop work and does in fact stop work because of her pregnancy in a week which is later than the 12th week before the expected week of confinement, then the first week in the maternity pay period shall be the week following the week in which she stopped work, F3or the week immediately following the week in which she is confined, whichever is the earlier.
F42
The maternity pay period shall be a period of 18 consecutive weeks.
3
Where—
a
a woman is confined before the 11th week before the expected week of confinement, or
b
is confined after the 12th week F5... before the expected week of confinement and the confinement occurs in a week which precedes that mentioned in a notice given to her employer as being the week she intends to give up work,
the first week in the maternity pay period shall be the week after the week in which she is confined.
F64
Subject to paragraph (5), where a woman is absent from work wholly or partly because of pregnancy or confinement on any day which falls on or after the beginning of the 6th week before the expected week of confinement, but not later than the week immediately following the week in which she is confined, the first week of her maternity pay period shall be the week which includes that day.
F65
Where–
a
a woman is employed by an employer who is liable to pay her statutory maternity pay; and
b
she is absent from work wholly or partly because of pregnancy or confinement on any day which falls on or after the beginning of the 6th week before the expected week of confinement but not later than the week immediately following the week in which she is confined; and
c
she has worked for that employer or is entitled to statutory sick pay, on any day which falls on or after the start of the week in which the absence mentioned in sub–paragraph (b) above falls,
the first week of her maternity pay period shall be the week next following that day.
Contract of service ended for the purpose of avoiding liability for statutory maternity pay3
1
A former employer shall be liable to make payments of statutory maternity pay to any woman who was employed by him for a continuous period of at least 8 weeks and whose contract of service with him was brought to an end by the former employer solely or mainly for the purpose of avoiding liability for statutory maternity pay.
2
In order to determine the amount payable by the former employer—
a
the woman shall be deemed for the purposes of Part V of the 1986 Act to have been employed by him from the date her employment with him ended until the end of the week immediately preceding the 14th week before the expected week of confinement on the same terms and conditions of employment as those subsisting immediately before her employment ended, and
b
her normal weekly earnings for the period of 8 weeks immediately preceding the 14th week before the expected week of confinement shall for those purposes be calculated by reference to her normal weekly earnings for the period of 8 weeks ending with the last day in respect of which she was paid under her former contract of service.
Modification of entitlement provisions4
F71
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2
In relation to a woman in employed earner's employment who was confined before the 14th week before the expected week of confinement F8section 164(2)(a) and (b) of the Contributions and Benefits Act shall have effect as if for the conditions there set out, there was substituted the conditions that—
a
she would but for her confinement have been in employed earner's employment with an employer for a continuous period of at least 26 weeks ending with the week immediately preceding the 14th week before the expected week of confinement, and
b
her normal weekly earnings for the period of 8 weeks ending with the week immediately preceding the week of her confinement are not less than the lower earnings limit in force under F9under section 5(1)(a) of the Contributions and Benefits Act immediately before the commencement of the week of her confinement.
F10F13
In relation to a woman to whom paragraph (2) applies, section 166 of the Contributions and Benefits Act shall be modified so that subsection (2) has effect as if the reference to the period of 8 weeks immediately preceding the 14th week before the expected week of confinement was a reference to the period of 8 weeks immediately preceding the week in which her confinement occurred.
Treatment of more than one contract of service as one5
Where 2 or more contracts of service exist concurrently between one employer and one employee, they shall be treated as one for the purposes of Part V of the 1986 Act, except where, by virtue of regulation 11 of the Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 1979 the earnings from those contracts of service are not aggregated for the purposes of earnings-related contributions.
Lower rate of statutory maternity pay6
The lower rate of statutory maternity pay is a weekly rate of F11£55.70.
Liability of Secretary of State to pay Statutory Maternity Pay7
1
Where—
a
an adjudicating authority has determined that an employer is liable to make payments of statutory maternity pay to a woman, and
b
the time for appealing against that determination has expired, and
c
no appeal against the determination has been lodged or leave to appeal against the determination is required and has been refused,
then for any week in respect of which the employer was liable to make payments of statutory maternity pay but did not do so, and for any subsequent weeks in the maternity pay period the liability to make those payments shall, notwithstanding section 46(3) of the 1986 Act, be that of the Secretary of State and not the employer.
2
In paragraph (1) adjudicating authority means, as the case may be, the Chief or any other adjudication officer, a Social Security Appeal Tribunal or the Chief or any other Social Security Commissioner.
3
Liability to make payments of statutory maternity pay shall, notwithstanding section 46(3) of the 1986 Act, be a liability of the Secretary of State and not the employer as from the week in which the employer first becomes insolvent until the end of the maternity pay period.
4
For the purposes of paragraph (3) an employer shall be taken to be insolvent if, and only if—
a
in England and Wales—
i
he has been adjudged bankrupt or has made a composition or arrangement with his creditors;
ii
he has died and his estate falls to be administered in accordance with an order under section 421 of the Insolvency Act 1986; or
iii
where an employer is a company, a winding-up order or an administration order is made or a resolution for voluntary winding-up is passed with respect to it, or a receiver or manager of its undertaking is duly appointed, or possession is taken by or on behalf of the holders of any debentures secured by a floating charge, of any property of the company comprised in or subject to the charge or a voluntary arrangement proposed for the purposes of Part I of the Insolvency Act 1986 is approved under that Part;
b
in Scotland—
i
an award of sequestration is made on his estate or he executes a trust deed for his creditors or enters into a composition contract;
ii
he has died and a judicial factor appointed under section 11A of the Judicial Factors (Scotland) Act 18891 is required by that section to divide his insolvent estate among his creditors; or
iii
where the employer is a company, a winding-up order or an administration order is made or a resolution for voluntary winding-up is passed with respect to it or a receiver of its undertaking is duly appointed or a voluntary arrangement proposed for the purposes of Part I of the Insolvency Act 1986 is approved under that Part.
Work after confinement8
1
Where in the week immediately preceding the 14th week before the expected week of confinement a woman had 2 or more employers but one or more of them were not liable to make payments to her of statutory maternity pay (“non-liable employer”), section 47(6) of the 1986 Act shall not apply in respect of any week after the week of confinement but within the maternity pay period in which she works only for a non-liable employer.
2
Where after her confinement a woman—
a
works for an employer who is not liable to pay her statutory maternity pay and is not a non-liable employer, but
b
before the end of her maternity pay period ceases to work for that employer,
the person who before she commenced work was liable to make payments of statutory maternity pay to her shall, notwithstanding section 46 of the 1986 Act, not be liable to make such payments to her for any weeks in the maternity pay period after she ceases work.
No liability to pay statutory maternity pay9
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 46(1) of the 1986 Act, no liability to make payments of statutory maternity pay to a woman shall arise in respect of a week within the maternity pay period for any part of which she is detained in legal custody or sentenced to a term of imprisonment (except where the sentence is suspended), or of any subsequent week within that period.
Death of woman10
An employer shall not be liable to make payments of statutory maternity pay in respect of a woman for any week within the maternity pay period which falls after the week in which she dies.