Recording Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)

Once an employee has provided a MAT B1 form, you can enter their leave details. Sage will assess the employee and determine if they’re eligible. For more information about eligibility, read Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) - entitlement.

Entering the leave details

You enter the details of the maternity leave when you process the pay run. You enter this in the ABSENCES screen.

NOTE: Employees can't take holiday or get holiday pay while on maternity leave. However, you can arrange with your employee to take it before or after maternity leave.

▼Steps to enter leave

Select Pay Runs from the menu bar
Select Process Pay Run for the required pay cycle.
Check the pay date is correct, then select Next.
Select the relevant employee. Select Add Absence then Maternity.

Complete the following information:

Child Due Date	Enter the child's due date.
Documentation Received	If the employee has notified you of her maternity using Form MATB1, choose Yes.
Qualifying Week	The 15th week before the child's due date.
Start Date	The date the employee wants to start her maternity leave.
End Date	The date the employee wants to end her maternity leave.
Select Pension Settings - Pension Earnings	To include SMP in pensionable earnings, select this check box. For more information about pensionable earning, read Common pension terms.
Qualifying Earnings	To include SMP in qualifying earnings, select this check box. For more information about qualifying earnings, read Common pension terms.

Select Save.

Payroll calculates SMP in whole weeks only, from the maternity start date. For example: If the maternity starts on Wednesday. The week would be Wednesday to the following Tuesday.

If there’s not enough information to calculate the Average Weekly Earnings (AWE), you’ll see two options:

Issue Certificate SMP1	If the employee doesn't qualify for SMP due to earnings below £123 (24/25) or £125 (25/26), select the SMP1 link. Then give her the form.
Manually set the AWE value	You may have changed Payroll systems part-way through the tax year, meaning this information is held in your previous software. You can select Manually set the AWE value and enter the figure. It is your responsibility to calculate this.

Select Save.
Complete the rest of the pay run as normal.

Pensions

Employers need to keep paying pension contributions while employees are on maternity leave. Base these contributions on the employee's pay before their leave. You can set the pension contribution to a fixed amount in the pay run using the Manage contributions option. When the employee returns, you can change it back. For more information, read Managing your employees contributions.

Stop the SMP payment

If the employee returns to work early, change the return date in the absence record.

CAUTION: Don't delete the maternity record. This will cause Payroll to issue a refund.