Paying back maternity pay

[norah13]

Hi could anyone help please? I'm returning to work and have to for a minimum of 3 months or I have to pay my maternity leave back. My question is do you know if I can pay it back in installments or if I was to be signed off "not ready to return to work " ( which my doctor advised) would that count as my 3 months? Any advice would be much appreciated thanks

Depends on your specific terms at your company. I doubt "not ready to return to work" would be considered acceptable though by most employers as it's not actually being signed off sick!

They can't make you repay SMP, only the amount over this.

They can't force you to pay back maternity pay if its SMP.

As a HR professional, i wouldn't accept a sick note stating 'not ready to return to work', that would be unauthorised absence as you aren't (form what i can see from this post) ill.