Bonus baby?

[BlingLoving]

Using the HM revenue and customs website, I've plugged in my maternity dates etc. It's telling me the SMP will be calculated on a period that will include my annual bonus and that therefore SMP will be significantly higher than my "normal" pay.

Is this really right? And can my employer claw back some of that if they're foced to pay it by HMR&C?

Having that money would make a huge difference to DH and I but we don't want to get over excited.

I worked double hours during my qualifying weeks when pg with DD and ended up getting a payrise for the first 6 weeks of maternity pay.

if the bonus goes through your paycheck with your normal pay then I don't see why it wouldn't count.

Yes that's correct- it's all about what money you actually get paid in the relevant period.

And yes, your employer gets it back from HMRC, I think the amount they can reclaim is c. 90% normally and 100% + some compensation for small employers.

Start getting excited. It's true. I've had the benefit of this myself. The employer can claim back something in the region of 95% of it, IIRC.

I wouldn't make a song and dance about it though, because your employer might be a bit annoyed about the perceived 'unfairness' of it - just keep quiet and when the time comes make sure they do the calcs correctly.

Yep true, I know someone who successfully planned two pg to get the annual profit share and payrise this this window!

Yep, my mat pay was calculated using the month my bonus was paid. I ended up getting more than my normal pay on mat leave.