Employer wants to use me/pay me as a freelance option while on maternity leave. Can they without jeopardising SMP?

[DungunGirl]

Anyone got any experience or knowledge?

My employer wants the option of throwing the odd freelance job at me while I am on maternity leave. I am keen as it means well needed money. However I do qualify for SMP, so will this put this at risk?

Or can I suggest they classify the work under the 10 'Keeping in touch' days that one is allowed?

I think the keeping in touch days are your only option tbh. You cannot work ane receive smp. If you are only getting smp then perhaps it's worth you returning to work sooner rather than later?

It's easier to leave a child at 6 months rther than 9 months or year when seperation anxiety peaks. A bit tricky with the breast feeding if you can't express etc though.

I'm doing freelance work for my employer (as I did before going on maternity leave) and its going through the payroll -so yes they can.

giantkatestacks

Cool, so I take it you don't invoice, they just put it through your paycheck as usual.

Doesn't that make your end of year tax calculations go all weird though?

I need to offer my employer a way to do it that won't muck things up, as they are keen to do it.

giantkate, that may be because they are treating you as 2 different eployees as you previously worked for them self employed.

I found this on the DWP which implies that you can

"If you do any work in a self-employed capacity during your MPP, then such work will not affect your SMP"

You will have to register self eployed and fill in a tax form at the year end.

no we have always invoiced - exactly the same as any other freelancer.

CarGirl - maybe, I havent actually asked them how it works [goes and gets payslip]...its got project overtime on one line and then SMP on the line below and its added up normally and then tax just comes off it all - why would it make the tax calculations weird?

If you are being paid as a freelancer surely you are paying your own tax? Or are you subcontracting?

I would work as properly self employed, invoice them GROSS and keep 25% in a savings account and sort out tax when you do your tax return.

Also from DWP

Keep in Touch (KIT)
Some employees like to use keep in touch days in their place of employment by working a few days during their maternity leave. An employee can work 10 days while receiving SMP without it affecting their payments. However, if work continues, the worker loses benefits each week she works past the allotted 10 KIT days.

Which really does imply that you need to invoice them not go through payroll.

I think it just gets paid as overtime - even though its work that mostly gets done by outside selfemployed freelancers normally.

DungunnGirl I don't think you can do it how giantkatestacks does but you can def do it as self employed. Just gross up your hourly rate - gross salary divided by annual working days (take off paid holidays) to work out your self eployed rate - add a bit on to be cheeky as it's saving them money.

Oh all so confusing...

Yeah....I would love to do it how Giantkatestacks does it but I can see it causing confusion and also will worry it may get queried as odd later on.

Maybe the self-employed route is the best.

So as far as you are concerned, I can still work as a self-employed for my current employer then?

According to this

www.dwp.gov.uk/advisers/ni17a/smp/smp_16.asp

there are no restrictions on working as self employed at all.

ahhh thats why then - would 10 days be 80 hours? or am I being a complete idiot?

I work about 15-18 hours a month extra - maybe I havent reached the 10 days yet. Or maybe I am losing SMP and havent noticed...

I wouldn't advise it. Technically you can work on a self-employed basis during your maternity leave without jeopardising your SMP. But whether work you are doing is self-employed or employed isn't something you can just choose, it's something that is defined by the nature of the relationship between the worker and the company.

As you are already employed by this company it's highly unlikely you could justifiably describe yourself as self-employed while working for them.

Have a read here about different types of employment, there's a section about self-employment and a list of questions to work out whether you are (would be) self-employed or not. I would be very surprised if you would be in these circumstances.

Hurrah flowery has turned up to help!!!

At least my first instincts were correct!

Cargirl

That is the document isn't it! Makes it relatively clear.

Thank you.

This way I think I'll tell them that they'll just have to register me as a freelancer and I'll invoice like the other regular freelancers.

I'll also offer them the option of classifying the work within the 10 KIT days it they prefer ( BUT I think this will be more complicated )

THanks a lot!

If it 'feels' wrong it usually is ime.

I just spent hours of my life to find out our pre-school staff are entitled to redundancy pay of so many weeks and completely ignores the fact they only work 40 weeks of the year.

Nightmare!!! We need some of them to retire, our redundancy fund needs to be massive. One situation where unfortunately my instincts were wrong - I'd hoped it would be pro-rata!

OH no... I thought it was sorted.....

MY DH was registered both as self-employed and employed at one stage though and it was fine.

But you are right, he wasn't doing freelance for his employer....

oh dear.....I guess I am back to the KIT days then....

So how would they pay me for KIT days?
If I agree a day rate with them, then do they just pay me the total for the total number of KIT days I do then? And would they do this via payroll or separately?

KIT would normally be done through the payroll, and you'd agree the amount between you. Often it involves 'topping' up SMP to what your normal salary would have been but there are no restrictions on the amount and how it's arranged. They could add the amount for KIT in any given month to that month's payroll, or pay you in one go, whatever works for both parties.

Thanks flowery

So they wouldn't need to actually list the KIT days payment separately on payslip/accounts - they would just top up the amount of SMP for the month...

And this wouldn't cause any issues for them with the total amount they would have ended up paying me over my mat leave period, for claiming back from Gov purposes?

I got this right yes?

flowery and cargirl - can I just ask while you're here - do people add on their holiday they've accrued to the end of their maternity leave or do they mostly have to take it as pay? I want to add it on but as its 2008 holiday (which normally needs to be used by the end of jan) I think I wont be able to and will have to use 2009 holiday.

and sorry to muddy the waters with my answer to the OP - I didnt realise that my work were doing something odd...

I meant in terms of the amount they'd pay you, often they'd top up SMP so that the total you get works out to your normal salary. Otherwise if they pay you 10 days normal salary rate, you'd be getting more than your normal daily rate as you would have SMP for those days as well iyswim?

I'm not a payroll person but I imagine KIT days are specifically mentioned as such on accounts so that it's clear what the payment is in order to ensure SMP is protected if that makes sense.

giantkatestacks with the holiday thing, under the Working Time Directive it's illegal to pay in lieu of statutory holiday, it must be actually taken. I usually encourage employers to make staff take as much of it as possible before they go on mat leave, and otherwise take anything left in a chunk at the end of maternity leave.

How much of 2008 holiday have you still not taken?

9 days...do they get round it by saying that you're taking that holiday at the end of your paid leave?