Source · Select Committees · Petitions Committee
Recommendation 7
7
Rejected
Paragraph: 35
In addition to the immediate financial consequences for pregnant women of being put on Statutory...
Recommendation
In addition to the immediate financial consequences for pregnant women of being put on Statutory Sick Pay or unpaid leave—often when they should have been suspended on full pay—in many cases the loss of income that results can also mean women lose their rights to Statutory Maternity Pay. This is unacceptable. Nor should anyone having to spend a period on Statutory Sick Pay or unpaid leave due to following guidelines to isolate, including the new track and trace policy, be penalised for their compliance. The Government was able to amend the Statutory Maternity Pay calculations to disregard the lower income of periods on furlough. We recommend the Government should also do so for women whose incomes have fallen through no fault of their own because their employers have failed to follow the Government’s guidance on how pregnant women should be treated.
Government Response Summary
The government rejects the recommendation to amend Statutory Maternity Pay calculations to disregard lower income periods from Statutory Sick Pay or unpaid leave, stating that while adjustments were made for furlough, SSP is not a new situation and there are no plans to change its treatment in SMP calculations.
Paragraph Reference:
35
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
The Government has made changes to the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) which help support new parents who are self-employed. These changes benefit self-employed parents who were previously ineligible for SEISS because they had not submitted a tax return for 2018/2019, or because their trading profits in 2018/19 were less than their other non-trading income, because they were taking time off work from their business to care for their new-born or newly adopted child. Individuals in this position will be able to claim through SEISS if they meet the other eligibility criteria. The amendment does not affect the grant calculation for those individuals who submitted a 2018/19 return and were already eligible for SEISS. The impact of Covid-19 on maternity and parental leave: Government Response 9 Further guidance on the updated eligibility criteria and claiming through SEISS is available on the Gov.UK website at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-different-circumstances- affect-the-self-employment-income-support-scheme-if-having-a-new-child-affected-the- trading-profits-you-reported-for-the-tax-year-2018-to-2019 Those affected can now ask HMRC to verify that their new child either affected their trading profits or total income that they reported for the tax year 2018 to 2019 or meant they did not submit a Self Assessment tax return for the tax year 2018 to 2019 at: https:// www.gov.uk/guidance/ask-hmrc-to-verify-you-had-a-new-child-which-affected-your- eligibility-for-the-self-employment-income-support-scheme