SPM21055 - Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) – Paying SMP

Keeping records of SMP paid

Under the provisions of regulation 26 of the SMP (General) Regulations 1986, employers must keep the following records relating to SMP for at least three years after the end of the tax year to which they relate:

• medical evidence, for example, maternity certificate or MAT B1, showing the EWC, and if appropriate, the actual date of birth
• details of any weeks in the MPP when SMP was not paid and reasons
• details of each week in the tax year for which SMP was paid and the amount paid in each week
• the date from which the employee intended to start her maternity absence and, if different, the date her maternity absence actually starts.

At the end of each tax year, the employer must prepare a return (form P14) for each employee:

• for whom tax and NICs were payable, or
• whose earnings reached the LEL but not the earnings threshold, and
• to whom SMP was paid and the total amount paid.

SMP2 is available for employers to use to record the SMP paid to an employee.

For Leaflets and Forms see SPM20300.