My Carer is pregnant, will she get maternity pay?

Almost certainly yes – and she will be entitled to a statutory period of maternity leave as well and maternity pay replaces her normal earnings to help her take time off around the birth her baby. Whether you have to pay SMP to an expectant employee depends on how long they’ve worked for you and how much they earn. They have to provide you with evidence of when the baby is due and give you notice of when they want you to start paying their SMP.

If your employee is entitled to SMP then it is highly likely that you will need to apply for funding from HMRC; this will ensure that you have enough funds to both pay the SMP and pay another carer from your normal Direct Payment funding to cover the maternity leave. Don’t worry though, we will take care of all of this for you.

If you have any questions on statutory maternity, paternity or adoption pay then please call us on 0800 848 8998.