SPM21106 - Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) - Changes in Cicumstances

Keeping In Touch (KIT) Days

For babies due on or after 1 April 2007

Employees can work for up to 10 KIT days during the MPP without it affecting their SMP payments.

KIT days can be taken at any time during the MPP as single days or blocks of days.

A part day worked counts as a full day against the allowance of KIT days.

Any wages paid for the day’s work may be offset against the employer’s SMP liability so long as the total amount of SMP and earnings paid to the employee for the SMP week is at least the SMP entitlement.

If the employee returns to work for any day or part of a day which is not a KIT day they will lose the SMP they were entitled to for the week in which they have worked. Any SMP lost in this way is always at the standard rate first, see SPM21105 

Example

A woman works Monday to Friday

The SMP pay period is 4 March 2009 to 1 December 2009

The SMP pay week is Wednesday to Tuesday.

She returns to work for six days:

Monday to Wednesday, 31 August 2009 to 2 September 2009, and

Monday to Wednesday, 7 September 2009 to 9 September 2009.

The SMP pay weeks for this period are:

• 26 August 2009 to 1 September 2009 (two KIT days)
• 2 September 2009 to 8 September 2009 (three KIT days)
• 9 September 2009 to 15 September 2009 (one KIT day).

She then works for five days Monday to Friday 26 October 2009 to 30 October 2009.

The SMP pay weeks for this period are:

• 21 October 2009 to 27 October 2009 (two KIT days)
• 28 October 2009 to 3 November 2009 (two KIT days, one non-KIT day).

SMP will be payable for all of the above SMP pay weeks except for the pay week 28 October 2009 to 3 November 2009 because in this week she has exceeded her 10 KIT days.

She has used her total of 10 KIT days so any further work done for her employer SMP will not be payable for the SMP pay week in which she works.