SMP Details

If you have selected the Use Full SMP Processing on the Set Options form in the Payroll application, you can store all the details required for the calculation of SMP. You must ensure you have created an SMP type payment profile in the Payroll - Maintenance - Payment Profile command. The application can then automatically calculate an employee's SMP for the period and maintain the relevant history.

You can create an absence record in the Personnel application when an employee takes maternity leave.

Pregnancy Related Illness

If you select 'Pregnancy related illness' as a condition in the Special Circumstances list box on the SMP Details form, the date you enter in the box provided should be the first working day the employee is off sick. For example, if the employee works Monday to Friday and is sick from Saturday onwards, the date entered should be the following Monday. The MPP will then start the day after the date entered (in this example, this would be the Tuesday). However, the day entered should be the first complete day of absence. For example, if the employee goes home after lunch on a Monday, the first day of absence should be recorded as Tuesday, so the MPP starts on the Wednesday.

SMP Adjustments

It may be necessary to supplement the amount of Statutory Maternity Pay calculated by the payroll software in specific circumstances. For example, if an employee qualifies for a pay rise at any time between the start of the period used to calculate SMP and the end of maternity leave, the amount of SMP paid needs to reflect that pay rise.

The payroll software has no means to cater for such an event automatically. However, you can top up the default SMP amount with an additional payment; either while the employee is on maternity leave or after their return, as a payment in arrears.

To use the facility, you start by creating a new payment profile of the type S.M.P. Top-up. Refer to the Payment Profile topic for details.

The payment profile can then be added to the list of payments available to the employee concerned, using the Payments tab on the Payments & Deductions form associated with the employee record.

You will have to calculate the value of any top up manually and enter it in either the Perm. Value or Temp. Value column. You might want to pay top-up amounts each period, coinciding with normal SMP payments, or perhaps making a one-off adjustment. In any case, if paying top-ups on a period-by-period basis, make sure the first top-up payment you make includes any adjustment for arrears due in previous periods, if applicable. The net result of any top-ups you pay should reflect the employee’s full entitlement to SMP, taking into account pay rises.

The application will treat the top-up payments like normal SMP payments, although the employee will effectively receive two SMP payments in the pay period and the exceptions report produced when you calculate the payroll will highlight any top-up payments you make separately.

SMP top-ups are included in payroll payment reports, but not shown in the SMP Report. Make sure you clear the top-up payment from the employee record when the adjustment no longer applies.

Tip: Form SMP1, which is issued to employees who the employer does not think qualifies for Statutory Maternity Pay, is available from the Department for Work and Pensions web site.

SMP Detail Entries

General

Box	Description
Baby's Due Date	The date on which the baby is expected to be born. This is mandatory. Once you have entered this date, the application automatically calculates the following dates. These dates are displayed in the appropriate boxes in the right-hand side of the form. You cannot override these dates. the start of the expected week of childbirth the start of the qualifying week the latest start date for the maternity pay period (MPP) the latest start date for the MPP to satisfy 26-week continuous employment the earliest date on which medical evidence is to be provided.
Medical Evidence Received	An option that indicates that you have received medical evidence of the pregnancy. Without this option selected, the employee is not entitled to SMP.
Baby's Actual DOB	The actual date of birth of the baby. You cannot enter this date unless the Medical Evidence option is selected. The MPP Start and MPP End dates are calculated using the Weeks for Maternity Pay Period field on the PAYE/NI/Stat. Payments form on the Utilities menu.
Intended Leave Date	The date on which your employee is expected to leave to have the baby. Once you have entered this date, the application automatically calculates the following dates: the start date for the MPP and the end date for the MPP. These dates are displayed in the appropriate boxes in the right-hand side of the form. You cannot override these dates.
On Maternity Leave	An option that indicates whether the employee is on maternity leave. This option is activated by the entry of a date in the Intended Leave Date box. Once the employee goes on leave, select this option.
Actual Leave Date	The day before the baby's actual date of birth. You can only enter this once you have selected the On Maternity Leave option. The default is the date you entered in the Intended Leave Date box. Warning: You must enter the date of the day before the first day of the maternity leave.
Weeks Worked in MPP	The number of weeks, if any, that the employee worked in your employment during the MPP for the current pay period. When you make an entry here, the application automatically defers payment of SMP for any weeks worked. Should the employee work for you again later on in their Maternity Pay Period, increase this entry by the number of weeks worked in the subsequent pay period. Important: Employees can work up to 10 days in the MPP without losing any SMP entitlement. The Weeks Worked in MPP field should only be updated after the employee has worked more than 10 days during the MPP. You must keep a note of all KIT days worked by your employees so that you can update the field when appropriate to do so. The Memo field on the SMP Details form can be used for this purpose.
Trade Dispute Weeks	The number of weeks, if any, that the employee spent in trade dispute.
Returned After MPP	The date on which the employee returned to your employment after the maternity pay period. If the employee returns to work early, enter the return date here to automatically cease the employee's remaining SMP payments.
Special Circumstances	An option that determines any special circumstances that might affect the entitlement to or calculation of SMP for the employee. The options available are: Pregnancy Ended Employee Deceased Taken into legal custody Pregnancy related illness Fairly dismissed Outside European Economic Area Resignation before MPP Started Important: The Resignation before MPP Startedoption should not be used if the employee is already on maternity leave when they resign. Tip: Refer to the Statutory Maternity Pay Manual for employers, CA29 for further guidance.
MPP Start	The date when the employee wants the MPP to start. There is no need to change the MPP Start date unless the employee wants to start the MPP on a specific date other than the Sunday after they start maternity leave. The date cannot be later than the day after the Baby’s Actual DOB and must be after the employee's Actual Leave Date. If the date of birth is not known, the due date is used. The field is enabled when: The Actual Leave Date has been updated. The employee has not been paid any SMP. The MPP End date is automatically updated after the MPP Start date is entered.
Relevant Period Start	The relevant pay period start date associated with the MPP. This is displayed automatically and cannot be amended here.
Relevant Period End	The relevant pay period end date associated with the MPP. This is displayed automatically and cannot be amended here.

Entitlement

Use the Entitlement tab to view the estimated entitlement for the employee as well as the SMP status for actual payments. The boxes on the tab are updated automatically by the Calculation command. If you change any of the details in the boxes, you must then run the Calculation command again before the changes come into effect.

Box	Description
Calculated Average Weekly Earnings	The average gross weekly earnings of the employee in the relevant period. This is calculated automatically and cannot be amended here, but you can override it using the Override Average Weekly Earnings box.
Override Average Weekly Earnings	You can override the automatically calculated average weekly earnings for the employee by entering your own figure here. The application will prompt you to enter an override if there is insufficient payment history for the employee to determine a calculated average weekly earnings figure.
No. of Weeks (in Total) Paid TD	The total number of weeks that SMP has been paid to date. You must only make an entry in this box when creating a new SMP record for an employee who is already on maternity leave and has therefore been paid SMP. For example, this might apply when you have upgraded from another payroll product and you already have one or more employees on maternity leave. If you make an entry here, you must also enter the corresponding amount of SMP in the box below. The Calculation command must be run before the number of weeks entered manually comes into effect.
Amount of SMP Paid TD	The amount of SMP paid to date. As with the above box, this information is updated automatically by the application and you must only make an entry here when creating a new SMP record for an employee who is already on maternity leave and has therefore been paid SMP. The Calculation command must be run before the amount of SMP paid to-date comes into effect.
Split-Week Payment Days B/fwd	This is applicable if the payroll group's Split-Week Payments of SMP/SAP option is selected. This box contains the number of split-week payment days for the first week of the maternity pay period that are still to be paid. The number of split days is normally updated by the Calculation command but you can enter up to 6 days. You should only change the box if the employee's maternity leave details were not entered in the application when the maternity pay period started. For example, this might apply when you have upgraded from another payroll product and you already have one or more employees on maternity leave. In this situation you need to work out the number of days for the first week of the current maternity pay period that are still to be paid, and update the box. The Calculation command must be run before the number of days entered manually comes into effect.
Split-Week Payment Days TD	This is applicable if the payroll group's Split-Week Payments of SMP/SAP option is selected. This box contains the number of split-week payment days for the maternity pay period to the end of the previous pay period. It does not include the current period's split-week payment days. You should only change the box if the employee's maternity leave details were not entered in the application when the maternity pay period started. For example, this might apply when you have upgraded from another payroll product and you already have one or more employees on maternity leave. The Calculation command must be run before the number of days entered manually comes into effect.
Entitlement	Important: The rates that are displayed in the Entitlement grid are correct when the SMP is set up for the employee. If the rate subsequently changes, the rate in this section is not updated. However, the actual rate paid always uses the correct rate from the PAYE/NI/Stat. Payments form. If you use the Estimate Entitlement command on the Action menu, the application estimates the SMP payments at the earnings related and standard rates. In each case, the columns in the grid show the number of weeks at the corresponding rate, the rate itself and the value of SMP at that rate. A line of totals is shown for both rates. The terms 'earnings related' and 'standard' are those that correspond to 'higher' and 'lower' rates of SMP.
SMP Payment Status	This part of the form reflects the results of actual SMP payments. The number of weeks at the earnings related and standard rates, plus the weeks remaining are shown for this period (TP), for the year to date (TD) and for the year to date this period (TDTP). The amounts actually paid for the corresponding periods are also shown. An additional line is displayed if the payroll group has Split-Weeks selected. The Split-Week Payment Days line displays the following for each employee: The number of split days paid this period The total number of split days paid up to the last period The total number of split days paid up to the last period + this period.

Actions

The following commands are available on the Action menu associated with the SMP Details form:

Use this command	To
Relevant Period Details	Displays a form showing all eight sets of relevant period values based on the entries in the SMP Details form.
Estimate Entitlement	View the anticipated SMP entitlement for the employee prior to their going on maternity leave. An intended leave date must have been entered.
Calculate	Calculate and display the SMP for the employee that is due to be paid this period. This is only available if the On Maternity Leave option is selected on the General tab of the SMP Details form.

Use this command

Relevant Period Details

Displays a form showing all eight sets of relevant period values based on the entries in the SMP Details form.

Estimate Entitlement

View the anticipated SMP entitlement for the employee prior to their going on maternity leave.

An intended leave date must have been entered.

Calculate

Calculate and display the SMP for the employee that is due to be paid this period. This is only available if the On Maternity Leave option is selected on the General tab of the SMP Details form.