SMP experts - can you tell me what my SMP should be?

[AuntieBacterial]

Hi

I'm just going through my pay records for 2009/10 and had a query on SMP. My employer has been really awkward generally about my maternity leave so they would hate it if they got my SMP wrong! Can anyone help?

EDD was 2 Oct 2009, Maternity leave started on 20 Sept 2009.

I am paid monthly on the last Friday of each month so my average weekly earnings for SMP should be calculated from 1 Apr to 31 May I think - would be grateful if someone better versed in SMP could confirm.

My monthly salary in 2009 was £4463.33. But I was paid my annual bonus of £7493 in April 2009, so I think this should be included in my ave. weekly earnings calculation.

So if I am correct, my average weekly earnings would be £4463.33 (Apr salary) + £7493 (Apr bonus) + £4463.33 (May salary) which gives ave weekly earnings of £2052.

If that's all correct, then the first 6 weeks should have been paid at 6 x 90% of £2052. Which is almost double the £5500ish they paid me.

Have I got this right?
Or shouldn't my bonus count towards the calculation.

I'm no expert but I think it depends whether or not your bonus is in your contract. If it is and the amount is guaranteed then it should be included, if not then I don't think that it would count. I'm not sure though.

Sorry just looked here I think what I just said was nonsence and it should include your bonus.

If you think your employer?s decision is wrong
If your employer does not pay you SMP when you think they should, or pays you less than you think you are entitled to, ask them for an explanation of the decision. There may be a good reason for it.

If you believe your employer's decision is wrong, you should ask for the reasons in writing. If you disagree with their decision, you can contact HM Revenue & Customs Enquiry Line on 0845 302 1479 for advice and information. If you still disagree with your employer's decision, you can then ask for a formal decision from HM Revenue & Customs Statutory Payments Disputes Team. They make decisions on all questions you may have on SMP. The Statutory Payments Disputes Team can be contacted on 0191 2255221.

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Nothing to do with whether your bonus is contractual or not. SMP is all about the actual money you receive during the time period in question.

(Your calculations don't seem right though. If your monthly salary is £4,463.33, then that's a weekly salary of £1029.99, surely? £4463.33 x 12 months / 52 weeks.)

So if you leave your bonus out of it, you should have been paid 6 x 90% of £1029.99 which is the £5,500 you mention.

If your bonus was received during the 8 week qualifying period, it should be included though, yes. So that would be 8 weeks x £1029.99 = £8239.92, then add in the bonus of £7493 = £15,732.92, then divide by 8 to find the weekly average = £1,966.62.

Weekly average £1,966.62 /100 x 90 = £1,769.96 x 6 weeks = £10,619.76

I'm not going to check that over so I may have got it wrong, but it sounds as though your bonus wasn't included and yes it should have been.

Great! Thanks everyone, that's all I needed to hear.