Can my employer pay nothing for a KIT day due to pension deductions?

[GreenOctopus]

Hello! Really after some guidance as I am in a situation with work Im very confused about.

I did a KIT day last month which I was encouraged to do by my team. My baby would have been around 10 months when I did this and at this point my SMP had stopped so Im not receiving any other money.

I don’t have any family nearby so I had to ask a relative to travel several hours to come. I also had only ever been away from my baby for this long before to attend a wedding so it was a big deal for me.

I chased payroll multiple times via email as I wasnt paid. When they finally sent an automated email with a copy of my payslip it says I will be paid £0.00 It looks like 90% of it has gone into my pension and other small amounts have gone into salary sacrifices like life insurance.

Are they allowed to do this? It doesn’t seem right that Im not coming out with a single penny and I would have never done it if Id thought this was the case. Im very upset that I lost a day with my baby for nothing, or at least for money I won’t see for at least 30 years!

What’s happened other months with your life insurance and pension? What does your maternity policy say about SMP and pension etc? I didn’t use and KIT days as you say they’re a total pain and not worth the effort for childcare. But I think the policy was very clear on what was paid.

also seems suspicious that it was exactly £0.00 right?

Hopefully a little bump for you… I don’t think they should be taking salary sacrifice as it can’t take you below national minimum wage, so I would ask them this.

you should be paid at least National minimum wage rate so you could ring the tax office & ask them to help you work out what you should’ve been paid

If you have benefits in kind, like life assurance, these still have a tax cost for you which accumulates during the unpaid part of your maternity leave so it is probably that tax which you have paid.

Life assurance specifically isn’t taxable

This doesn't sound right at all. I am a payroll specialist so have some knowledge in this area. ANY statutory pay cannot be reduced by any kind of salary sacrifice and has to be paid in full (subject to tax and NI) to the employee. A KIT day should be paid at your normal working daily rate. If you have company benefits, such as health insurance showing on your payslip, this will only be there to attract tax and should not be a deduction. 90% of your wages going into pension is definitely incorrect too. It sounds like the payroll team have a fixed amount applied to your payslip, rather than a percentage.

In addition to the above, if your pension is normally on a relief at source or Net Pay Deduction basis, your employer must continue to pay their contribution throughout your leave at their normal rate (usually 3%) but this must be based on your full salary, as is you were still working. If your pension is usually a Salary Sacrifice deduction, then your employer must pay both your contribution AND their contribution for you throughout your leave, based on your full pre-mat leave salary.

You can call ACAS if you need assistance - they can contact your employer for you if this helps.

If this is correct what your employer has done is an "illegal deduction from wages"