The Social Security (Maternity Allowance) (Earnings) Regulations 2000

Determination of average weekly amount of specified paymentsE+W+S

6.[F1(1) For the purposes of section 35A(4) of the Contributions and Benefits Act a woman’s average weekly amount of specified payments shall, subject to paragraph (2), be determined by dividing by 13 the payments made, or treated in accordance with these Regulations as made, to her or for her benefit—

(a)in the case of a woman to whom paragraph (2) of regulation 5 applies, in the 13 weeks referred to in that paragraph;

(b)in any other case, in the 13 weeks (whether consecutive or not) falling within the specified period in which such payments are greatest.]

(2) In any case where a woman receives a back-dated pay increase after the end of the period specified in regulation 5 above which includes a sum in respect of any week falling within that period, her average weekly amount of specified payments shall be determined as if such sum had been paid in that week.

[F2(3) Where a woman is normally paid other than weekly, the payments made or treated as made to her or for her benefit for the purposes of paragraph (1) shall be calculated by dividing the payments made to her in any week by the nearest whole number of weeks in the period in respect of which she is paid.]

[F3(4) Paragraph (5) applies in respect of a week where–

(a)a woman is a furloughed employee;

(b)the woman’s employer has claimed and is in receipt of financial support in respect of the woman’s earnings under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme; and

(c)the woman’s earnings are lower than they would otherwise have been as a result of that woman being a furloughed employee.

(5) Where any of the weeks in the period of 13 weeks referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or (b) is a week to which this paragraph applies, the average weekly amount of the specified payments are to be determined as if for that week she were paid the amount she would have derived from her employment had she not been a furloughed employee.

(6) For the purposes of paragraphs (4) and (5)—

“Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme” (“the Scheme”) means any scheme to provide for payments to be made to employers on a claim made in respect of them incurring costs of employment in respect of furloughed employees arising from the health, social and economic emergency in the United Kingdom resulting from coronavirus and coronavirus disease and contained in such Directions as may be issued from time to time pursuant to section 76 of the Coronavirus Act 2020;

“coronavirus” and “coronavirus disease” have the meanings given in section 1 of that Act.

“furloughed employee” has the meaning given for the purposes of the Scheme.]