You can recover the SMP you pay out in full if the employer’s and employees’ National Insurance comes to more than a set amount, which is £45,000 (2017/18 figures). | 4100 Chapel Ridge Road, Suite 500, Lehi, UT 84043. As an employer, you are entitled to reclaim 92% of employers’ Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) and up to 103% if your business is eligible for Small Employers’ Relief. It’s vital to speak to the pregnant employee’s direct supervisor or line manager, which may be yourself, and other members of the employee’s team. As a small business owner, you might have experienced how hard it can be to take any kind of break from your own business. Small businesses often have to make payments to employees to cover statutory maternity and paternity pay. In 90 per cent of the cases that I know, it is likely that nothing will need to change, however, the employee may require an adjustment to her work station, such as a different chair, or a role change as their pregnancy progresses, such as being placed on light duties or home working. This is a new kind of entrepreneurial grind, and although you’re going to crush it, be patient with yourself. Regardless of how short a time she may have worked for you, your employee is entitled to 26 weeks ordinary maternity leave. Homepage; About; Accountancy; Company formation; Blog; Contact; MENU CLOSE back . See also: The right to return to work after maternity leave. In terms of antenatal care, you must allow your employee to take reasonable paid time off at her normal hourly pay rate. Plan for how long you’ll be taking maternity leave, how you’ll transition back into full-time work, and what the future will look like once you have two babies (or more) to care for. I have known employees who have coincided these KIT days with team meetings or training sessions. Fleet House, 59-61 Clerkenwell Road, EC1M 5LA He's created and managed content for startups, growth-stage companies, and publicly-traded businesses. The additional maternity leave will usually be unpaid unless the terms of employment specify otherwise. If there is a maternity leave policy, talk to the employee about her plans – when she expects to finish, how long she will be taking off etc. But when a real baby comes along, female business owners face a distressing situation: how can they care for both babies without neglecting one or the other? Learn how your comment data is processed. If the National Insurance comes to more, you claim back 92 per cent of the sum you pay out (and have to fund the remaining 8 per cent yourself). All Rights Reserved. If she has taken more than 26 weeks’ leave this is slightly different as she has the right to return to the same job, unless it is not reasonably practicable for her to do so, in which case appropriate similar employment must be offered. What is the maternity leave entitlement for an employee who has been with us for less than a year? The reason is that it must not count towards an employee’s total sickness absence record or be used as a reason for disciplinary action or redundancy selection, even where that action is being taken after the woman has returned to work. Aggressively saving could also mean cutting back on day-to-day expenses or luxuries: eating out, TV subscriptions, etc. Your employee can choose to take a further 26 weeks additional maternity leave running straight on from the ordinary leave and so making a break of up to 52 weeks altogether. Applying is free and it won't impact your credit. For many entrepreneurs, their business is their baby. It is discrimination to treat a woman less favourably on the grounds of her pregnancy or maternity leave. We support small businesses with useful guides and advice – especially with the recent outbreak of coronavirus. The help you enlist doesn’t need to understand all the ins and outs of your business or industry—just the bare minimum to hold things over until you get back. It is very important to note though that participation in these days is completely voluntary on the employees’ behalf, but may be a good way for the employee to keep in the circle. Most small business owners embrace the entrepreneurial grind, taking pride in sleepless nights, break-less summers, and never-ending to-dos. If Economic Recovery Is a Letter of the Alphabet, Which Will It Be. And not only do you rely on the month-to-month business revenue for your own salary, but your business’ survival depends on it, too. For small businesses with few employees and limited resources, maternity leave can be tricky to manage, but don’t worry, you can reclaim most or all statutory maternity pay back from HMRC. But as a new mother, you’ll be thrown headfirst into unknown territory, and it’s important to approach it with realistic expectations. This isn’t a time to look for new business ventures or identify future opportunities—it’s a time to focus on how best to maintain the business with as little input as possible. It really is good practice to have a chat with your employee about her rights and entitlements. Meadowcroft House, 182 Balcombe Road, Horley RH6 9ER, Surrey; 01293 365 018; info@fraccountants.co.uk; Facebook Google+ Twitter Skype Linkedin. Danielle Ayres runs the Keeping Mum Campaign, aimed at helping everyone understand their legal rights and responsibilities surrounding maternity leave and pregnancy in the workplace. Helping you grow your business is our number one priority, if you would like to take your business to the next step just sign up! Here are some pointers to treating pregnant employees and new mothers fairly. But when a real baby comes along, female business owners face a distressing situation: how can they care for both babies without neglecting one or the other? The employee must normally tell you by the end of the fifteenth week before the expected week of childbirth that she intends to take leave. Having a baby is a celebration of life! You must normally pay statutory maternity pay (SMP) to an employee who is on ordinary maternity leave (but not additionally maternity leave) even if she is not going to return to you after the birth of her child. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Jesse has spent almost a decade writing about small business and entrepreneurship topics, having built and sold his own post-apocalyptic fitness bootstrapped startup. Fleet House, 59-61 Clerkenwell Road, EC1M 5LA, The right to return to work after maternity leave, Reducing stress as a small business owner by tackling thought spirals – infographic, Banking giant suggests 5% working from home tax for businesses, Five ways to add value to retain your customers, Call for digital adoption fund to boost small business productivity, When and where to apply for the new 80% self-employed grant, is still pregnant at the eleventh week before her baby is expected, has average weekly earnings of at least £82 a week for 2005-6. has been continuously employed by you for six months or more by the end of the fifteenth week before the baby is due. As a priority, if the employee’s work is to be redistributed among other staff you should take care that cover arrangements do not create resentment if other members of staff take up the slack and end up with an increased workload. How Small Businesses Can Afford To Offer Paid Parental Leave It may be easier for Facebook, but some small businesses have figured out the finances and logistics of offering paid leave. The employee should, therefore, be kept informed of any proposed changes to her role while she is on maternity leave, such as if a restructure or redundancy situation arises. Helping you grow your business is our number one priority, if you would like to take your business to the next step just sign up! T. 0207 250 7010. KIT days. 60DBO-44694. So how in the world do female entrepreneurs balance the demands of motherhood and running their small business? You get the relief by deducting it from the tax, National Insurance contributions and other PAYE deductions you would otherwise hand over to HMRC. Another option is to adjust internal roles. Thereafter, it is £106 a week (or 90 per cent of weekly average earnings if this average is less). Monday - Friday | 9am - 9pm Eastern Time, Lendio no longer supports Internet Explorer. This will normally be paid leave. All such loans made through Lendio Partners, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lendio, Inc. and a licensed finance lender/broker, California Financing Law License No. There are a number of arrangements you can make: a number of employers hire a temporary member of staff to cover the maternity leave, while others I know have recruited internally. T. 0207 250 7010. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. SMP is payable throughout the ordinary leave, in other words for a maximum of 26 weeks. If possible (although sometimes impossible), try to get a little done during nap times. Understanding the Benefits of Parental Leave . She should be informed of vacancies and promotion opportunities which arise during her maternity leave and should also be sent information about social events, training courses and receive any newsletters of bulletins which are sent to other members of staff.