Statutory Maternity Pay

I will be starting my maternity leave in February 2004. Our annual pay increase is usually effective from the start of the New Year. Will my Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) be based on the new rate or on my current earnings?

Earnings for SMP purposes are calculated by taking an average of eight weeks' pay ending in the 15th week before the baby is due. This would mean that the calculation would be based on your existing pay. However, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) is due to hear a case where a woman is claiming that she should have her SMP based on her earnings at the time when she starts maternity leave. The Advocate General, the ECJ's top legal officer, has said that the EU directive on health and safety for pregnant and breast-feeding women grants a woman on maternity leave the right to benefit from a pay rise awarded before or during her period of maternity leave.

* More information: Alabaster v Woolwich plc Case C-147/02 - see also page 19