Furlough: parental pay to be calculated on usual earnings, Furlough: what the updated guidance clarifies, and what it doesn’t. "If you are already on maternity leave and only receiving SMP, then you can agree with your employer to return to work early so as to be put on furlough leave and receive better pay," she says. IT finance analyst is awarded £4,000 in a case involving attitudes to sickness, workloads, mental health and pregnancy. My doctor put me on for swelling, trouble walking, etc. But despite this, helplines were inundated with calls from distressed women who had been sent home on little or no pay simply because they were pregnant. Therefore, your employer should place you on furlough, where possible. Redundancy. Government guidance states that those who are pregnant are “vulnerable”, and this has prompted some employers to send home their pregnant employees on statutory sick pay or without pay at all, mistakenly believing they all needed to be shielded or to self-isolate. If she does, then an employer can furlough her and claim back 80% of this enhancement. Beverley Sunderland attempts to dispel some myths and provide clarity around whether they can be furloughed. HR (General) It may be discrimination to refuse furlough because a woman has taken maternity leave and maternity is also a statutory right. If this is the assessment then they should be found alternative work. Terms and conditions, • Employee Benefits My furlough is better at £783 (before tax), but my normal monthly earnings are £1,500 so I expected £1,200 furlough pay. To do that, they need to give eight weeks’ notice. Maternity Action outline on its website there is “no entitlement” to your full, usual salary while on maternity leave. On Maternity Leave If you are currently getting Maternity Allowance, this will be based on 151.20/week for 39 weeks. Worker awarded compensation after missed antenatal check-up. Shared Parental Pay is up to 50 weeks long and is paid at the lower of £151.20 per week, or 90% of average earnings. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. I’m due end of September but have been put on furlough because of the current crisis. Occupational Health It’s against discrimination law for your employer to make you redundant just because you’re pregnant or on maternity leave. The government published guidance which states that employers can compel employees to take annual leave during furlough leave. For further guidance, Maternity Action is also a good source of advice. The Personnel Today Awards Many women who have exhausted their SMP and are not receiving an income are seeing their colleagues being furloughed and may want to return to work early. Performance & Engagement Employee Relations Adoption Leave and Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) are the same. Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay is 2 weeks long and is paid at the lower of £151.20 per week, or 90% of average earnings. Download our guide to redundancy rights when pregnant or on maternity leave (PDF, 299KB, 13 pages). This is not quite right. I don't understand how it works but I can take annual leave, so I did but my pay is still less than 100% which I don't get as I put in 4 days annual leave. After speaking to HR, I’m feeling pressured to apply for my maternity allowance ‘soon’! If you started unpaid leave after February 28, 2020, you can be put on furlough instead. April 7, 2020 Last month Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a number of measures to protect workers and businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. I'm definitely furloughed until 30th June, but I'm really hoping that they extend my furlough for one more month as I really don't see the point of going back for 4 weeks only just to leave again! Furlough Leave and ending family leave. Hi, I have been on maternity leave for 9 months and was due back to work next week. These measures will ensure those on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme continue to receive the parental leave and pay they are entitled to. However, workers must have been placed on the furlough scheme before 10 June. However due the coronavirus the store has temporarily closed and all staff have agreed to be furloughed. While previously only pregnant with symptoms of the disease were told to self-isolate, now they're all being told to avoid 'all unnecessary social contact'. But if you are only receiving Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) for 39 weeks, you may wish to speak to your employer, advises Jane Johnson, solicitor and owner of specialist employment law firm, JLJ Legal. © 2011 - 2020 DVV Media International Limited. To be eligible for SMP or SAP, a person’s average weekly earnings must be at least equal to the Lower Earnings Limit (currently £120 per week) over a prescribed 8-week test period. The guidance specifies that only if a pregnant woman is showing symptoms of coronavirus, lives in a house with someone with symptoms, or who has tested positive, does she have to be in self-isolation. Lords Minister for the Department for Work and Pensions, Baroness Stedman-Scott said: At an already challenging time for families, peace of mind that they can rightly take time off and receive their full entitlement will provide much needed reassurance. I am due in October, my store has reopened but me and one other girl are still on furlough, my pay is going off my average which is better than my contracted so I’m on a win win at the moment, but if the changes to furlough from the 1st mean companies will have to pay 20% of your wage I’m concerned I may be made redundant with me still being on furlough! If there is no alternative work, then the law says that she should be sent home on full pay. Wellbeing I had the same challenge. We have divided pregnant and new mums into six categories to explain the possible changes to their pay during maternity leave following the introduction of the furlough pay. The answer for HR depends on whether the employee receives enhanced contractual maternity pay. It states: “Government guidance says that women can be on furlough AND maternity leave in order for employers to recoup the costs of occupational maternity pay. Recruitment & Resourcing their contractual salary and not … Pregnant women and new mothers are entitled to take up to 52 weeks of Maternity Leave. The change has been made to make sure parents aren't missing out if they go on leave while they are furloughed. The Chancellor announced on 9 June that “parents on statutory maternity leave and paternity leave who return to work in the coming months will be eligible for furlough scheme even after 10 June cut-off date.” Details of this and the flexible furlough scheme are … Don’t include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details. Contact us Maternity leave and furlough: Can I be furloughed while on maternity leave? Maternity Allowance is a benefit paid to working mothers (including self-employed mothers) who do not qualify for SMP – this is worth up to £151.20 a week for up to 39 weeks. The earliest leave can be taken is up to 11 weeks before the expected week of birth, while the latest is from the date of birth itself. Instead of losing on my maternity leave? However, only women who are pregnant with significant heart disease or other conditions referred to in the government guidance need to be completely shielded. Don’t worry we won’t send you spam or share your email address with anyone. Compensation & Benefits Privacy policy However, I don’t want to take my mat leave so early and if the stores re open, I’m more than happy to go back to work until much closer to my due date. Learning & Development Originally, the CJRS guidance said that if an employee was pregnant, on furlough and on reduced earnings in the two months before the qualifying week – and so used to calculate statutory maternity pay – then their SMP would be reduced. The changes will ensure those intending to take time off following the birth, adoption, or death of a child will not see their entitlement to pay affected as a result of being furloughed in the wake of the impacts of COVID-19. If she does, then an employer can furlough her and claim back 80% of this enhancement. Any advice. Features list 2020 To help us improve GOV.UK, we’d like to know more about your visit today. HR Consultant This was rectified by legislation that came into effect on 25 April, making it clear that for the purpose of calculating SMP the actual earnings and not the furloughed earnings must be used. This is not quite right. I was just wondering how my furloughed pay will be worked out. All of these materials are regularly update… Advertising specifications Can I be made to take my mat leave early? We’ll send you a link to a feedback form. Payroll I got on “intermittent” FMLA right away (Early April). People Analytics Talent Management Fill out our contact form Walsall: 01922 720333 / Sutton Coldfield: 0121 355 2336 Employees on maternity leave can still access furlough after deadline. Employees who have been on maternity leave in the past 12 months, and then subsequently are put on furlough, must have their furlough pay based on their normal pay, i.e. If you want to change the start date of your maternity leave, you must give your employer 28 days’ notice, or agree a new date together. If being pregnant was not a worrying enough time, an added layer of anxiety has been introduced by the Covid-19 crisis, aside from the obvious concern about catching it. While the scheme has been extended until October, the Government has confirmed parents on statutory maternity and paternity leave who return to work in the coming months after a long … I missed the furlough Bec I gave birth in Feb, and maternity leave started 1st Feb. If you work more than 10 KIT days, your maternity leave and pay automatically end by law. We were furloughed in April. However, there will be some women who were pregnant and on furlough between 1 March and 25 April and their pay during this period was reduced – this reduced figure will be used to calculate their SMP for six weeks when they eventually go on maternity leave. HR Shared Services Help! The answer for HR depends on whether the employee receives enhanced contractual maternity pay. The government guidance on those on maternity leave is that: “If you offer enhanced (earnings related) contractual pay to women on Maternity Leave, this is included as … If your maternity leave ends after 19 March and you and your employer have agreed that your part-time hours will begin at the end of your maternity leave, your furlough pay should be based on the full-time salary that would have applied during your maternity leave (not your maternity pay). ... Can I be on furlough and maternity leave at the same time? Entitlement to MA, and the rate payable, are determined by reference to 13-weeks earnings in a 66-week test period. The Government has now confirmed that taking holiday during furlough will not break any furlough leave period or invalidate a furlough pay claim from HMRC. However employees should bear in mind that the furlough scheme could end at any time and if they have given notice to end their maternity leave they cannot go back onto maternity leave. Then along came the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) which allows employees to be sent home (furloughed) on 80% of their normal pay or £2,500 a month, whichever is lower. ... For example, termination of employment on furlough can’t be due to maternity leave or due to a disability. In addition to the Q&A’s, we are pleased to announce that we have an easily-accessible Ashtons Legal Online HR Portal for businesses, which contains over 95 HR documents, templates and draft letters, covering over 14 topics such as contracts and offer letters, disciplinary issues, flexible working, performance management, family leave, sickness absence, recruitment, termination of employment and redundancy. Employers are expected to do a risk assessment for women who are pregnant, and because Covid-19 is an infectious disease then the level of risk at work must be “in addition to the level to which a new or expectant mother may be expected to be exposed outside the workplace”. Furloughed employees will receive 80% of pay, capped at £2,500, which may be higher than maternity pay, but would require you to end your maternity leave.” Training The first 26 weeks are known as Ordinary Maternity Leave, and the remaining 26 weeks are known as Additional Maternity Leave. I was sent home on maternity leave 6 weeks earlier then my due date due to coronavirus, this was in March 2020. The plan is and always has been to have 4 weeks of annual leave, then start statutory maternity leave on 31st August. Email Newsletters If you offer enhanced (earnings-related) contractual pay to women on maternity leave, this is included as wage costs that you can claim through the scheme.’ That, then, suggests that you can’t be on sick leave and furlough, but you can be on maternity leave and furlough — at least for such monies as the employer pays over and above SMP. Health & Safety If in any doubt and to avoid leaving an employer open to claims of discrimination, HR should take legal advice. A person’s earnings over this period are also used to determine the earnings-related rate of SMP or SAP for the first 6 weeks. Maternity and other forms of parental leave are pivotal times in people’s lives, and they should absolutely be protected from the impacts of COVID-19. You’ve accepted all cookies. Furlough leave is simply a status that enables the employer to claim for any enhanced contractual element of maternity pay under the CJRS. Women were reporting that Acas were advising them to bring their maternity leave to an end if they wanted to be furloughed. It protected me until until I had my baby, then I was covered for the full 12 weeks because I didn’t use any FMLA days. My baby was due in May. The days only count of you take them which I didn’t. An early question was whether a woman on maternity leave could be furloughed. Any employee on sick leave or self-isolation should get statutory sick pay, but can be furloughed afterwards. Entitlement to Statutory Maternity Pay, as well as the other forms of Parental or Adoption Pay, are currently calculated through someone’s average earnings over an 8-week assessment period. Up to 39 weeks are paid. Organisational Development The government’s furlough (job retention) scheme is now going to run until March 2021. Holiday Throughout this health emergency we’ve taken unprecedented steps to help those affected make ends meet, and today’s new measures further extend vital financial support. However, if an employer failed to write to them within 28 days of the date they received the employee’s notification to go on maternity leave, or within 28 days of when their maternity leave started to tell them when their 52 weeks’ maternity leave ends, the employee does not have to give notice to return. We use this information to make the website work as well as possible and improve government services. Diversity & Inclusion Change Management Statutory Paternity Pay is up to 2 weeks long and is paid at the lower of £151.20 per week, or 90% of average earnings. Furloughed workers planning to take paid parental or adoption leave will be entitled to pay based on their usual earnings rather than a furloughed pay rate. Furloughed workers planning to take paid parental or adoption leave will be entitled to pay based on their usual earnings rather than a furloughed pay rate, the government announced today (24 April). Cookies policy take all your maternity leave in one go; Your maternity leave and pay ends when you go back to work. For Maternity Allowance, entitlement and the rate payable is also determined by looking at average earnings over a 13 week period. The government's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme can pay employees up to … Hi, has anyone else been furloughed until maternity leave? She said, “It is not yet clear how furlough leave will interact with other forms of leave, such as maternity and adoption leave. And if you’re wondering, “Can I start a redundancy procedure while staff are on furlough?” Yes, you can begin the process if the employee is on furlough leave from your business. Workforce Planning, • About Personnel Today How does annual leave pay and furlough work? HR Business Partner For women who qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), this is paid at 90% of usual earnings for the first 6 weeks, followed by 33 weeks at the statutory rate (currently £151.20). OH&W subscriptions But, a woman returning from maternity leave early should not assume she will be furloughed and should be advised to speak to her employer first. Women were reporting that Acas were advising them to bring their maternity leave to an end if they wanted to be furloughed. However, an employee is only entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) for a period of 39 weeks. There has been debate about the legitimacy of employers requiring employees to take annual leave while on furlough leave. All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0, except where otherwise stated, Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, Statutory Maternity Pay: employee circumstances that affect payment, Work out your employee's payments for Statutory Maternity Pay, Work out your employee's Statutory Sick Pay manually, Statutory Paternity Pay: employee circumstances that affect payment, Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance and support, Transparency and freedom of information releases, Pay for furloughed workers taking family related leave is to be calculated based on usual earnings rather than furlough pay, full earnings will apply to Maternity Pay, Paternity Pay, Shared Parental Pay, Parental Bereavement Pay and Adoption Pay, ensures workers about to take family-related leave are not penalised by being furloughed. My company's maternity policy is full pay for 12 weeks, then it goes down to statutory maternity pay only, then zero for the last three months of the year. I’m in two minds what to do I can go back and they’d put someone on furlough in my place but I may as well stay off and shield me and the baby if possible, I’m just worried about my job in the long run? From 6th April 2020 this rises to £151.20 Usually, maternity leave entitles an employee to 52 weeks of leave. OH&W subscription terms. I’m in a similar position to you, having returned from maternity leave in September and receiving 3 months no pay and 2 months SMP April-September last year. As this is a new scheme there was naturally confusion and misunderstanding to start with, as it was developed at break-neck speed and without the luxury of consultation. The portal also contains a Furlough Agreement. The statutory instrument laid in Parliament today will ensure workers whose period of family-related pay begins on or after 25 April will be assessed on their usual, full pay. 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