Covid-19 impact on maternity, paternity and adoption pay
We explain changes to ensure furloughed employees are not disadvantaged.
Working families in the UK benefit from maternity, paternity and adoption pay that in some cases is seen as more generous than the minimum equivalent EU rights. It also seems unlikely that there will be any adverse changes as a result of Brexit.
We explain these rights in our Employment Law guidance: Family Friendly rights that is free to members.
Furloughed employees
Since we issued our guidance, there has been a change in the calculation of leave for employees addressing the fact that a furloughed employee may be disadvantaged. The Entitlement to Statutory Maternity Pay and other forms of parental or adoption pay are calculated based on average earnings over an eight-week assessment period. For maternity allowance, entitlement and the rate payable is also determined by looking at average earnings over a 13-week period.
The current Covid-19 regulations (Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme) were amended on 23 April 2020 to avoid penalising employees taking family-related leave, meaning statutory payments will be based on full pay rather than the amount received when furloughed. Employees claiming maternity and related pay on or after 25 April will be assessed on their usual, full rate of pay.
The legislation can be found here and HMRC guidance is available here.
