The Statutory Maternity Pay (General) (Amendment) Regulations 2005

Made15th March 2005

Laid before Parliament16th March 2005

Coming into force6th April 2005

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 164(9)(a), 171(1), (6) and (7) and 175(1) and (3) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 19921 and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, after agreement by the Social Security Advisory Committee that proposals in respect of these Regulations should not be referred to it 2 and with the concurrence of the Inland Revenue, insofar as such concurrence is required3, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and interpretation1

1

These Regulations may be cited as the Statutory Maternity Pay (General) (Amendment) Regulations 2005 and shall come into force on 6th April 2005.

2

In these Regulations,“the principal Regulations” means the Statutory Maternity Pay (General) Regulations 19864.

Amendment of regulation 1 of the principal Regulations2

In regulation 1(2) of the principal Regulations (citation, commencement and interpretation), after the definition of “the Contributions and Benefits Act” there shall be inserted the following definition—

“statutory maternity leave” means ordinary maternity leave and any additional maternity leave under, respectively, sections 71 and 73 of the Employment Rights Act 19965.

Amendment of regulation 21 of the principal Regulations3

In regulation 21 of the principal Regulations (normal weekly earnings), for paragraph (7)6 there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

7
In any case where—
a
a woman is awarded a pay increase (or would have been awarded such an increase had she not then been absent on statutory maternity leave); and
b
that pay increase applies to the whole or any part of the period between the beginning of the relevant period and the end of her period of statutory maternity leave,
her normal weekly earnings shall be calculated as if such an increase applied in each week of the relevant period.

Amendment of regulation 21B of the principal Regulations4

For regulation 21B of the principal Regulations (effect of maternity allowance on statutory maternity pay)7, there shall be substituted the following regulation—

Effect of maternity allowance on statutory maternity pay21B
Where a woman, in any week which falls within the maternity pay period, is—
a
in receipt of maternity allowance pursuant to the provisions of sections 35 and 35A of the Contributions and Benefits Act8; and
b
entitled to receive statutory maternity pay in consequence of receiving a pay increase referred to in regulation 21(7),
the employer shall not be liable to make payments of statutory maternity pay in respect of such a week unless, and to the extent by which, the rate of statutory maternity pay9 exceeds the rate of maternity allowance10 received by her in that week.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

P. HollisParliamentary Under-Secretary of State,Department for Work and Pensions10 March 2005

The Inland Revenue hereby concur.

Helen GhoshAnn ChantTwo of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue15 March 2005

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Statutory Maternity Pay (General) Regulations 1986 (“the principal Regulations”).

Regulation 2 amends regulation 1 of the principal Regulations by inserting a definition of statutory maternity leave.

Regulation 3 amends regulation 21 of the principal Regulations to include in normal weekly earnings for the purpose of calculating entitlement to statutory maternity pay any pay increase which applies to the whole or any part of the period between the beginning of the period when pay is calculated to determine entitlement to statutory maternity pay and the end of the period of statutory maternity leave.

Regulation 4 substitutes regulation 21B of the principal Regulations. The substituted regulation provides that where a woman is entitled to statutory maternity pay in consequence of a pay increase referred to in regulation 21(7) of the principal Regulations, the employer shall only make payments of statutory maternity pay in any week if, and to the extent by which, her statutory maternity pay exceeds any maternity allowance received by her.

The effect of regulation 3 will be to increase costs to business. An assessment of the costs to business of complying with these Regulations has been placed in the libraries of both Houses of Parliament. Copies can be obtained by post from the Department for Work and Pensions, 1-11 John Adam Street, London WC2N 6HT or electronically from www.dwp.gov.uk.