Being paid during last 3 months of maternity leave?

[WhatAFunnyPotato]

I've been on mat leave since last April and am in the final (unpaid) 13 weeks. I'm doing a bit of work for my company this week, work I pitched to them which is unrelated to my return (so not 'keeping in touch' type stuff). I work in an industry where freelancing is common, and I suppose the reason I'm doing this work is with a view to quitting and setting up as a freelancer at the end of my leave.

So my question is: can my employer pay me freelance rates for the work I'm doing for them at the mo? Or do they have to disguise it as a KIT day? Can they pay me at all?

What rate they pay you is between them and you. They are still your employer though, unless and until you resign, so if you work for them other than keeping in touch days, your maternity leave has ended.

Bearing in mind you are on unpaid maternity leave at the moment, would it be a problem if you ended your maternity leave now and spent the first three months of your return doing whatever it is, and then returning to your normal job on x date?

It's tricky, because what I've done is give them information they'd normally pay for. So it's not work that will take 3 months - or even 3 hours. I haven't had any KIT days though, so wondered if they could pay me the equivalent value in those?

Well if it's taken well under a day to do, then yes do it as a KIT day.

Except the going rate for what I've done is worth several KIT days. Would my employer be able to put it through the books as several, hypothetically? Obv I'm planning to ask them (and yes, stupid that I haven't already...) but don't want to ask if it was effectively not allowed, iyswim.

The rate you get paid for working a KIT day is negotiated between employer and employee, it doesn't have to be your normal day rate.

Don't blame you for wanting to go freelance if three hours works pays several days of your existing pay!

Presumably the actual amount your employer is going to pay you is already agreed, so why don't you ask them how they planned to put it through?

Good plan. Thanks for the advice. Yes, it definitely pays to be freelance, although I guess the work isn't always there so the pay days have to last potentially longer. But lovely to have the option of a more flexible life!

"The rate you get paid for working a KIT day is negotiated between employer and employee, it doesn't have to be your normal day rate."

Really? In the public sector, could you expect this to have been part of wider negotiations by the union, and thus more likely to be the same as the normal day rate?

No idea about how KIT pay is sorted in public sector organisations.

Most employers do pay normal daily rate obviously, either by topping up SMP or on top of SMP, but because KIT days are entirely optional for both parties, the rate of oay is also completely negotiable so that both parties can find an arrangement that suits them.