Maternity pay negotiation?

[JRTfan]

I've consulted Google but wanted some real world advice!
I've been with my employer 17 years and have worked up to a middle management position managing a sales team and key customers. They do not plan to recruit for my maternity leave instead my manager will take on man management and everything else will be spread throughout the team.
The company only offer statutory maternity pay.
My boss is new to the company and I know when I go off he is going to be a bit stuck he has admitted this himself so I have suggested they offer me an enhanced maternity package, in exchange I can make myself available at set times to answer any queries/deal with issues. I'm waiting for a response from HR but wondered has anyone else managed to do this or am I fighting a losing battle?

You can have up to ten days keeping in touch during your mat leave
I think it can be quite complex if you’re working and on mat leave - I would also call ACAS to see where you stand

Thanks @rubyslippers yeah they have mentioned the KIT days which is fine..I'm trying to negotiate something where they give me extra maternity pay if I give them something in return. I know a lot of employers offer half or even full pay for a set number of weeks/months. I just don't know the legalities of it.

I’m also in the same situation OP so will agree to do 1.5 working days a month whilst on leave so it doesn’t affect my stat maternity pay. I’ve also said that I don’t mind answering calls or texts when possible as long as I benefit from this when back at work

You’re entitled to 10 kit days while on maternity leave but if you work outside of them 10 days it will end your maternity pay

You definitely need to find out the maximum time you can work for your employer whilst on Maternity Leave - if you exceed the number of KIT days, then it rapidly gets complicated as it might mean that, legally, your Maternity Leave has ended.

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If you work more than the 10 KIT days then you can't be in receipt of the statutory element of your maternity pay, so you would be artificially ending your maternity leave.

My husband negotiated 2 weeks full pay pay up from statutory 😵‍💫 after I found out how shitty his Pat leave was and made him talk to them 😅
(I negotiate as part of my job)

he nicely said to management something approx like
“stat is appalling, I don’t want more time off but I do think 2 weeks full pay is fair and reflects my contributions to the business. Ultimately it’s at your discretion but if you don’t value me enough to give this due consideration i will consider it a sign of intent regarding my career here and proceed accordingly”

you should make a list of variables you are will to negotiate and trade and put forward a “proposal” to them.

ultimately if they won’t move at all you can’t do anything but I’d be job hunting while on may leave.

i wouldn’t have offered to make myself available so readily… but that horse has bolted.
you need really specifics terms (your terms that you set) if they are open to it.
good luck

How long are you taking mat leave for? It might work out with KIT days depending on how long you are off also, if you do shared parental leave you get loads more parental KIT days. I did this and it worked out really well.

Yeah you can’t do that OP.

Legally, you’re either at work or you’re not. If you do more than the 10 days (KIT) it will end your maternity leave and pay.

Once you go over your 10 KIT days then you no longer qualify for maternity pay

Thanks for the replies. So how does it work with employers that offer an enhanced package? Some offer 3 months full pay for example and apparently two thirds of employees offer some form of enhancement.
I have been treated well and like my job but I am not offering my services to them whilst I'm on maternity leave for nothing, however I know they are going to struggle massively without me there.

A quirk that might be useful to know is that shared parental leave has 20 KIT days compare to 10 with Maternity leave.

If pay is the same on SPL, then you could be paid in addition to SPL for up to 20 KIT days. You could plan as 2d per month

Hi OP, it works just the same as statutory maternity pay. You are off on maternity leave and get full pay. You don't work. Just like when you're on annual leave and still get paid.

It often drops to statutory pay for a while and then no pay for a while. So my employer does 24 weeks full pay, 13 weeks statutory then 13 weeks no pay. I'm sorry your employer doesn't offer enhanced, that's shocking 😕

An enhanced maternity deal is exactly that, it’s a way of employers showing how much they value & look after their staff really. Most decent employers offer an enhanced package. I’m due in a few weeks and get 6 months full pay from my employer, it works because they are not asking anything at all from me during that time, they aren’t paying me because they expect me to work, they are paying me because I’ve been there for years and they look after their staff.

At the point you’re asking for more money in exchange for doing work, you’re no longer legally on maternity leave and your SMP will stop.

its down to each company on what their package is , for me I’m nhs so I’m not following the government pathway but getting equal pay spread over how ever long I’m off

Unfortunately due to law you can’t work more than them 10 days without it ending your pay . It’s up to your manager on how the company will run in your absence , it’s not your responsibility

can you not train up and hand over to other colleagues with the time you’re left

I see, thank you if a company has a statutory pay policy are they then allowed to offer employees an enhanced package based on service? Basically is there a way my employer can pay me more whilst I'm off or are their hands truly tied because that's their company policy?
I am prepared to leave them to fend for themselves and will hand over what I can it's just that after 17 years I've gained a lot of knowledge and the company has recently lost some other long standing employees. In a way I agree not my problem but I have worked hard to build certain projects etc and it's in my interest to ensure they are successful when I return.

I can see the confusion comes from the term "enhanced". That just means all employees who meet certain criteria (usually length of service) receive pay above statutory. They aren't doing anything for the company during mat leave.

Your company needs to change their policy to offer enhanced. You can't work and be on mat leave as that's the law whether you are on enhanced or statutory. It would also be incredibly stressful to agree to any set work whilst recovering from birth and caring for a newborn. You may look back and laugh at yourself for thinking you could do that :) newborns are a full time job 24/7! The best, loveliest job but boy are they demanding managers!!

No, they legally CANNOT say we will pay you £x in return for you doing work.

Enhanced maternity pay is exactly that, it is your employer giving you money while you are on maternity leave.

They can absolutely pay you more while you are off, and if they were a decent employer then they would be, but they would be paying you more to be OFF WORK, on maternity leave.

That’s not company policy, that’s the law. If you are working for more than 10 days then you are no longer on maternity leave and your SMP stops.

Respectfully, if your employer truly cared about it’s long standing staff then it would be offering enhanced mat pay anyway.

Your employer may choose to offer an enhanced maternity package after a certain service has been reached. At my work we get 6 months pay after 18 months service. In order to put this in place we had to go through a full costing exercise and present our proposals to the board in order for them to sign off on it. It cannot be done just for one person as we’d potentially be discriminating against others. When our policy came in to place we back dated the payments for anyone who was already on leave so that they did not miss out, it’s a huge cost that thankfully the company was happy to pay as it’s a fantastic benefit.

The policies are generally available for people to look at in order to help plan their leave so your company may well say that you had the information on what leave they offer so it’s not up for negotiation as that is what they offer.

Thanks for the replies again it's now a lot clearer. I'm still waiting a response from HR but now aware if they are to offer me anything I can't offer to work in exchange.
The company have never offered enhanced maternity but if you don't ask you don't get and as others have said after 17 years service and going above and beyond I don't think I'm unreasonable in asking. @Givemepickles I am aware re a newborn demands I was originally asking for 3 months off then being available 1 day per week for queries etc..i don't expect to be able to 'work' full days or away from home it was merely an offer to share my knowledge..

The point of maternity leave is that you are not at work, csn concentrate on baby without thinking about work. You choose when to end it.

Excuse me for gently trying to help, from one mum to another. Enjoy your mat leave.

what is to stop you

Ending maternity pay after 3 months. then being paid say 50% or 40% or 30% of your normal salary and you just do reduced hours (to match the payment given, less whatever your normal stat pay would be).

Zero rules being broken there. the company can pay you and not require you to work much in that time if they want, sort of reverse gardening leave?

Sorry @Givemepickles I didn't mean to offend at all it can come across so different in writing I do appreciate all the replies and opinions.
@RedHelenB I was basically trying to use being available at certain times as a bargaining tool for extra maternity pay.. because I know I'll be contacted anyway but should have known it's not as easy as that!
Looks like I'll have to suck it up and live off statutory which we were prepared for anyway tbh I was just trying to see if there is anything I can do to help the company and myself.

Many years ago i did this. I was in HR (admin) at the time too 😬 small company, local agreement for me to get enhanced mat pay and id 'advise' when convenient.

Nothing recorded anywhere, and the time went well over KIT days 😬

If I was the decision maker in that arrangement would I have gone for it? Absolutely not its too risky for the business.