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Employee does some work for you
A woman can work for you under her contract of service and during her SMP pay period for up to ten days without losing her SMP for the week in which that work is done. These ten days are called 'Keeping in Touch' (KIT) days and enable your employee to undertake the odd days training or do some work for you on occasion to keep in touch during her maternity leave without losing her SMP or ending her maternity leave.
The KIT days may be used consecutively, singly or in blocks, it is for you and your employee to agree how they should be used if your employee wishes to do some work. But any work on any day (even as little as an hour) will count as a whole KIT day.
This provision is designed to help ease a woman?s eventual return to work and to make it easier for her to keep in touch with her employer during her leave from work.
Both the employee and the employer must agree that these days may be worked and the arrangements including what work she will be doing and how much she will be paid.
KIT days example
If a woman works Monday to Friday, the SMP pay period is 4 March 2009 to 1 December 2009, and the SMP pay week is Wednesday to Tuesday.
If a woman returns to work for six days:
Monday to Wednesday, 31 August 2009 to 2 September, and
Monday to Wednesday, 7 September 2009 to 9 September 2009.
The SMP pay weeks for this period are:
26 August 2009 to 1 September 2009 (two KIT days)
2 September 2009 to 8 September 2009 (three KIT days)
9 September 2009 to 15 September 2009 (one KIT day)
She then works for five days Monday to Friday 26 October 2009 to 30 October 2009.
The SMP pay weeks for this period are:
21 October 2009 to 27 October 2009 (two KIT days)
28 October 2009 to 3 November 2009 (two KIT days, one non-KIT day.)
SMP is payable for all of the above SMP pay weeks except for the pay week 28 October 2009 to 3 November 2009 because in this week the woman has exceeded her 10 KIT days.
She has used her total of 10 KIT days so for any further work done SMP will not be payable for any SMP weeks.
The amount of pay they receive for work done is something for you to agree with your employee. You may count the amount of SMP towards the contractual pay agreed with your employee. This is something which both parties need to agree before any work is done. You must pay the weekly SMP rate the employee is entitled to and also comply with your statutory obligations, such as paying at least the National Minimum Wage (NMW).
For further information contact the NMW Helpline 0845 6000 678.
The employer has no right to demand that such KIT work is undertaken and the woman has no obligation to undertake such work.
If your employee does more than ten days work for you in her SMP pay period you cannot pay SMP to her for any week in which she does such work. To be clear, if a week in the SMP pay period contains only KIT days, SMP should be paid. If a week in the SMP pay period contains the last of the KIT days and also another day or days of work for you, or she has used up all her KIT days, you must not pay SMP for each week in which such work is done.
Once your employee has used her 10 KIT days, she will lose one week's SMP for each week or part week she works for you. The SMP pay period is not extended to take account of any such weeks. Any SMP lost in this way is always at the standard rate first.
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Employee works for another employer
If your employee works for another employer during the SMP pay period but before the baby is born, carry on paying SMP. She is responsible for telling you if she starts or goes back to work for someone else after the baby is born.
If your employee works for another employer during the SMP pay period after the baby is born, you need to check whether they were employed by that employer during the 15th week before the week baby due.
If your employee is working for someone who employed them in the 15th week before the week baby due, you should continue to pay them SMP as normal.
If your employee is working for someone who did not employ them in the 15th week before the week baby due, you must stop paying SMP from the start of the week they work for that employer. Your liability to pay SMP ends completely on the last day of the week SMP was paid before they started work. Give the mother form SMP1 Why I cannot pay you SMP. Take a copy of the form MAT B1 Maternity Certificate, and send the original back to her.