Does a pregnant employee lose her entitlement to Statutory Maternity Pay if she is made redundant before she goes on maternity leave? What happens if the business has become insolvent? What happens if the employee was entitled to a contractual enhanced maternity payment?

If a woman has qualified for SMP from you then you are still liable to continue to pay SMP to her where she leaves your employ for whatever reason including redundancy. However if, after the baby is born, your employee or ex-employee starts work for another employer who did not employ her in the 15th week before her expected week of childbirth, payment may stop.

If you become insolvent after the start of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth and before the start of your employee’s pay period, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will pay your employee’s SMP. If you become insolvent during the SMP pay period, HMRC will pay your employee’s SMP from the week in which you became