Repaying OMP if I don't go back to work

[kivvi]

I'm currently on mat leave and considering not going back to work. My contract says I need to repay mat pay over and above smp if I don't go back to work for at least 3 months. Fine - but I have a few questions that I'd like to avoid asking HR if I can, so I'm hoping someone here can help.

1. Would it be normal to expect repayments to be pro rata (eg if I go back for 2 months, I'd only have to repay 1/3 of the total)? Or is that only the case if my contract explicitly says so?

1. Would they ask me to pay back the tax/ employee's NI? If so would I need to claim that back from HMRC?

1. What about employers NI - presumably they can recover that themselves rather than trying to get it back from me?!?

1. What about pension contribs? I pay mine by salary sacrifice so I suppose they would be entitled to ask for these back (but I guess I wouldnt be able to get them back from the pension company). What about employers contribs - presumably that's their problem?

1. I also get childcare vouchers by salary sacrifice - could they ask for these back??

It seems so straightforward at first glance but when I try to calculate how much it would actually be, it suddenly looks a lot more complicated!!

The first point I'd like to cover relates to the childcare vouchers. If these are salary sacrifice, you cannot sacrifice SMP. My employer got this wrong and when I discovered this and warned a colleague, work actually corrected mine. During maternity leave you should receive the same level of vouchers as previously, but without the sacrifice.

I don't think you would repay the tax, as they would correct the payments, which would reverse the tax. They would recover this via the payroll deductions they pay over to HMRC.

IF YOU DID RETURN FOR 2 months, I would expect only a part to be repaid, but you need to check the contract wording.

Before you don't go back think about whether you can go back for a short period. You will have a years worth of annual leave to use (from your mat leave year). If you went back part time you could string out quite a few weeks of 'return' in annual leave, you might only have to do 4 or 5 weeks actual work and not have to pay back any money.

AuditAngel - thanks, I know they aren't allowed to deduct childcare vouchers from SMP (I'll check my last payslip to make sure they haven't!). Do you know if they're allowed to deduct pension contribs that are paid by salary sacrifice from SMP?

Also Im not sure I understand how they should deduct childcare vouchers from OMP. eg let's say I earn £1243 per month of which £1000 is paid as cash and £243 as vouchers. If I get half pay for some weeks, should it be half of £1243 with £243 deducted and paid in vouchers (so £378.5 cash and £243 vouchers) or should it be half of £1000 (£500 cash) plus a separate £243 paid in vouchers?

Darcourse I'd like to go back but may not be able to due to potential family relocation - we're trying to figure out the best timing for this and what the financial implications are for each option!