| Term | Explanation |
| Ordinary maternity leave (OML) | All employed women have an entitlement to a total of 52 weeks maternity leave. This is regardless of their length of service. They don’t need to qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) to be able to take maternity leave.
Maternity leave is split into: - Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML), which is the first 26 weeks of maternity leave
- Additional Maternity Leave(AML), which is the second 26 weeks of maternity leave.
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| Additional Maternity Leave (AML) | All employed women have an entitlement to a total of 52 weeks of maternity leave. This is regardless of their length of service. They don’t need to qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) to be able to take maternity leave.
Maternity leave splits into: - Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML), which is the first 26 weeks of maternity leave
- Additional Maternity Leave(AML), which is the second 26 weeks of maternity leave.
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| Maternity pay period (MPP) | This is the 39 weeks when the employee can take maternity leave and receive maternity pay. |
| Expected week of confinement (EWC) | This is the calendar week, which begins on a Sunday, in which the baby is due. This is also known as the expected week of childbirth. |
| Higher rate | 90% of the employee’s Average Weekly Earnings. Paid for the first 6 weeks of the maternity pay period. The set period used to calculate the employee’s average earnings is the eight weeks before the qualifying week. The qualifying week is the 15th week before the EWC date. |
| Keep in touch (KIT) days | KIT days entitle an employee to work for up to ten days during her MPP without losing SMP. |
| LEL | Lower earnings limit for NI contributions. |
| MAT B1 | Maternity certificate providing medical evidence of the date the baby is due. Issued to the employee by their doctor or midwife. |
| Qualifying week (QW) | This is the 15th week before the expected EWC date. |
| Small employers’ relief (SER) | The amount of SMP that you can recover from HMRC depends on whether you’re classed as a small or standard employer. If you’re a small employer you can claim back 100% of the SMP that you pay to the employee. You also get a further 3% of that amount in NI compensation. |
| Set period or relevant period | This is the eight-week period leading up to the qualifying week. It's used to calculate the employee’s average weekly gross pay. |
| SMP1 | Your employee is on maternity leave, and not entitled to SMP, give them this form. Please see the HMRC article: |
| Standard rate | Whichever is the lesser amount of:
- 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings or
- £184.03 per week
Paid for the remainder of the maternity pay period. It follows the 6 weeks at the higher rate. |