Whether you rotate or not will not affect your maternity pay
The receiving trust will arrange your statutory (SMP) and occupational (OMP) payments even if you have rotated after the 11th week before your expected week of conception (EWC) if you are rotating due to training posts.
If you are rotating outside of training posts, but still working within the NHS, your maternity pay will also not be affected, just which employer pays what may change.
This page here explains everything around moving hospitals and your parental pay.
There are also some handy flowcharts at the bottom of the page to help work out your situation and where your pay will come from.
References:
The BMA
Maternity pay for doctors should always reflect any expected pay increases due to awards or training progressions, both before and during maternity leave
If a pay award or move to a higher pay point occurs before maternity leave, maternity pay should be calculated as if the new pay point had been in effect throughout the entire calculation period.
Same Employer, Same or Separate Contracts
The higher nodal point should be applied to pay during parental leave
Different Employers, Separate Contracts
Current employer to decide whether to apply the higher nodal point.
While not required, NHS Employers and the BMA recommend that employers honor the higher pay for fairness and to avoid potential unlawful wage deductions.
During Maternity Leave
If the pay award happens during maternity leave, the pay should be adjusted from the date of the award.
If the award is retrospective, the pay should also be recalculated accordingly.
ARCP Outcomes
If you receive an ARCP outcome that qualifies you for a higher training grade before or during your leave, your pay should reflect this higher nodal point.
If you couldn’t complete your ARCP due to leave but return to a new post, the higher pay should be applied retroactively from the date you would have moved up.
For Example
A doctor on maternity leave who was set to move from CT2 to ST3 should have their maternity pay adjusted to reflect the ST3 pay from the date they would have transitioned, despite being on leave.
This guidance has been summarised from this NHS employers guidance
If you are on unpaid sick leave or half pay during your qualifying week, your average weekly earnings will be calculated based on notional full sick pay
No, you are entitled to up to 52 weeks’ maternity leave for your new pregnancy.
There is no qualifying period, and you are still treated as an employee throughout your maternity leave.
It does not matter how many periods of maternity leave you have taken or whether they overlap or not.
If you take a second maternity leave period, either concurrently or shortly after the first, your average weekly earnings will be based on notional full pay, even if your qualifying week includes a period of no or reduced pay.
Your maternity pay for your next pregnancy will likely be the same as for your first pregnancy even if you don’t return to work between pregnancies:
OMP
Your average weekly earnings for the second period of maternity leave shall be calculated on the basis on notional full pay.
SMP
You will qualify for SMP for your next baby if your earnings are at least £123 per week on average during the calculation period.
If you are not eligible for SMP you will likely be able to claim MA (same pay, different process of application)
MA
You can claim MA if you have
Been employed for at least 26 weeks (not necessarily in a row) in the 66 weeks before your expected week of childbirth (this can include periods on maternity leave as you are still employed during maternity leave)
Earned over £30 per week over 13 weeks (not necessarily in a row)
No.
See above. You may not be eligible to claim SMP however you are likely to be able to claim MA and therefore receive the same pay as you did with your first maternity leave
Useful resources explaining what happens if you are expecting your next child whilst on maternity leave:
If:
You return from an approved OOP and meet the eligibility criteria for occupational pay (NB OOP posts do not cause a break in continuous employment) and
Your reference period for calculating occupational pay falls when you are OOP and is therefore nil
To calculate your parental leave pay:
The reference period used is your last period of paid employment in your previous training placement before starting your OOP
If you have insufficient service with you current NHS employer to qualify for statutory pay, you will receive the value of statutory pay from your new employer
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