An employee receiving statutory maternity pay (SMP) or maternity allowance (MA) is not entitled to receive SSP during the 39 week time during which SMP or MA is payable. If an employee needs to take time off work because of her pregnancy, this can affect when the employee’s maternity leave begins, and when you have to begin paying SMP.
If a pregnancy related absence coincides with the Sunday beginning the fourth week before her baby is due and the baby’s due date, this affects when the employee’s maternity leave begins, and when you have to begin paying SMP.
Her maternity leave is deemed to have begun the day after the first complete day of pregnancy-related absence within the span of time defined above and she begins to receive SMP on the same day.
You can find further information from GOV.UK.
There is a period, spanning the week in which the baby is born, for which SSP is not payable. This is known as the disqualifying period.
An employee receiving SMP or MA is not entitled to receive SSP during the 39 week period which SMP or MA is payable.
If the employee is not entitled to either SMP or MA, she is not entitled to SSP during the 18 weeks that begins on the earlier of the following:
- The start of the week in which her baby is born.
- The start of the week in which she is first off sick because of her pregnancy, if this is on or after the start of the fourth week before her baby is due.
If she is receiving SSP, her entitlement to SSP ends on the earlier of the following:
- The date on which her baby is born.
- The day she is first off sick because of her pregnancy, if this coincides with some or all of the following:
- Start: The Sunday beginning the fourth week before her baby is due.
- End: The baby’s due date.
The normal qualifying rules for SSP should be applied to the employee if the absence occurs after the 39 week period in which she is entitled to SMP or MA.
If the absence begins before or during the 39 week SMP period, she is not entitled to SSP until another unlinked absence occurs at least eight weeks after the end of that absence.
For example, if she phones in sick on the day she is due to start work after her SMP or MA has finished, she could be entitled to SSP, if she meets the other qualifying conditions.
However, if she phones in sick during the last week of her SMP or MA and says that she will not be able to return to work because she is sick, she is disqualified from SSP throughout that particular absence.
If she returns to work and subsequently has a PIW due to sickness before the end of the SMP 39 week period, she may be due SMP instead of SSP.
You can find further information from GOV.UK.
