Coronavirus – new family-related statutory payments regulations

The Maternity Allowance, Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay, Statutory Shared Parental Pay and Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (Normal Weekly Earnings etc.) (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 came into force on 25 April 2020. They have amended five sets of family-related payments regulations to ensure that an employee’s eligibility for statutory maternity pay (SMP), statutory paternity pay (SPP), statutory adoption pay (SAP), statutory shared parental pay (ShPP) and statutory parental bereavement pay (SPBP), and an employee’s entitlement to the higher earnings-related rate of SMP or SAP, is the same as it would have been had they not been furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. This is done by providing that the employee’s normal weekly earnings are to be calculated (how to calculate statutory) as if, during the relevant period when they were furloughed, they were paid the amount they would have derived from their employment had they not been a furloughed employee.

These amendments apply where the first day of the period in respect of which the statutory payment is to be made is on or after 25 April 2020.

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