Police officers who have at least 26 weeks service by the end of the 15th week before the Expected Week of Confinement (EWC) will be entitled to receive Statutory Maternity Pay whether or not there is an intention to return to work.
SMP is payable from the 11th week before the EWC for a maximum of 26 weeks comprising 9/10ths of average salary for the first six weeks, followed by a set statutory rate per week for the remaining period, subject to the usual deductions.
Officers who have 63 weeks continuous service at the beginning of the EWC (Sunday), will be entitled to full pay and allowances for the first 13 weeks of maternity leave.
To receive maximum benefit of 13 weeks regulatory maternity pay and 26 weeks statutory maternity pay, officers must start their maternity leave 24 weeks before the EWC. Where Regulatory Pay and SMP coincide, officers will be paid the greater of the two, not both.
Where officers receive regulatory maternity pay, they must return to work for at least 1 month following maternity leave. This requirement affects both those working reduced hours and full time and includes both sick and annual leave taken during that time. If an officer does not return to work for 1 month then the difference between the statutory and regulatory maternity pay must be repaid.