Should back pay be applied to my Mat Pay?

[JammyQueenOfTheSewers]

I was on Mat Leave from June 13th 2007 to Jan 7th 2008. Most of this (18 weeks, which took me to Oct 16th) was at full pay, then for the remainder I was on SMP.

In April 2005 my employer merged into a larger organisation. Since then we have undergone a huge process of review, which includes a pay adjustment (upwards) if we accept the terms and conditions of the larger organisation. This pay award is being backdated to April 2005. I have accepted the new terms and conditions, and the increased salary and in in June pay I received some arrears, to cover the period Feb 2007 - May 2008, with April 2005 - Jan 2007 to be paid in a couple of months.

The ammount I have received so far in arrears was not as high as I had expected, so I have asked for a breakdown of how they calculated it, and it seems that no arrears have been applied while I was on Mat Leave. I understand for the period I was on SMP, but surely while I was on full pay, I should have arrears due to me? If the pay award had come through before I went on ML then My mat pay would have been higher after all.

PLease someone before I stress myself out arguing with our payroll providers, can anyone tell me what should have happened?

[flowerybeanbag]

Yes jammyqueen if a pay rise has been backdated and you were on 'full pay' for a portion of your maternity leave, then I'd say 'full pay' ought to mean whatever your full salary has been backdated to be at the time, definitely.

There is a legal ruling stating that when paying SMP, if there is a payrise awarded even after the event, SMP must be completely recalculated, see here. That's relevant and useful information for you to pass on. Although the ruling is about SMP specifically, it could apply to occupational schemes and they should be aware of it.

But if your full pay before mat leave is now £xxx amount, and your maternity policy says you should be on 'full pay' for a set period of time, then it should be the same amount. Otherwise they are risking a discrimination claim, as you would effectively be suffering a 'detriment' by having been on maternity leave.

[JammyQueenOfTheSewers]

Thanks FBB. That's what I thought, but as our payroll people are completely rubbish and I get really stressed dealing with them, I thought I'd check in case I was fighting a losing battle from the start.

Ah well, looks like I'll be having words when I'm in at work next

[flowerybeanbag]

What a pain!

If you send them that link, it is from the employers' section of DWP, so it's aimed directly at people like them.