The Statutory Maternity Pay (General) (Amendment) Regulations 2005

• Citation: S.I. 2005/729
• Sections: 4

Section 1 Citation, commencement and interpretation

(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Statutory Maternity Pay (General) (Amendment) Regulations 2005 and shall come into force on 6th April 2005.

(2) In these Regulations,“the principal Regulations ” means the Statutory Maternity Pay (General) Regulations 1986 .

Section 2 Amendment of regulation 1 of the principal Regulations

In regulation 1(2) of the principal Regulations (citation, commencement and interpretation), after the definition of “the Contributions and Benefits Act” there shall be inserted the following definition—

“statutory maternity leave” means ordinary maternity leave and any additional maternity leave under, respectively, sections 71 and 73 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 .

Section 3 Amendment of regulation 21 of the principal Regulations

In regulation 21 of the principal Regulations (normal weekly earnings), for paragraph (7) there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

(7) In any case where—

(a) a woman is awarded a pay increase (or would have been awarded such an increase had she not then been absent on statutory maternity leave); and

(b) that pay increase applies to the whole or any part of the period between the beginning of the relevant period and the end of her period of statutory maternity leave,

her normal weekly earnings shall be calculated as if such an increase applied in each week of the relevant period.

Section 4 Amendment of regulation 21B of the principal Regulations

For regulation 21B of the principal Regulations (effect of maternity allowance on statutory maternity pay) , there shall be substituted the following regulation—

Effect of maternity allowance on statutory maternity pay

(21B) Where a woman, in any week which falls within the maternity pay period, is—

(a) in receipt of maternity allowance pursuant to the provisions of sections 35 and 35A of the Contributions and Benefits Act ; and

(b) entitled to receive statutory maternity pay in consequence of receiving a pay increase referred to in regulation 21(7),

the employer shall not be liable to make payments of statutory maternity pay in respect of such a week unless, and to the extent by which, the rate of statutory maternity pay exceeds the rate of maternity allowance received by her in that week.