Scotland - Apply for Statutory Maternity Pay

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Procedure

Apply by Post

1. To Apply for Statutory Maternity Pay, the applicant has to approach the HM Revenue and Customs - Guardian's Allowance Unit link
2. An application form will be provided to the applicant by the concerned officer.
3. The applicant has to fill in all the necessary details in the application form. (Incomplete applications are not accepted)
4. Make sure that the applicant has attached all the necessary documents that are mentioned in the “Required Documents” section of this page.
5. The applicant has to attach the photocopies of the required documents along with the application form while submitting.
6. Submit all the documents with the completed form to the concerned office's postal address.
7. The postal address is mentioned in the “Office Locations & Contacts” section of this page.
8. There is no fee for Statutory Maternity Pay.
9. After receiving the application, the concerned authority will check the submitted application and document set. If all are in place, the application will be accepted.
10. Then the application will be processed further. All the updates on the application status will be sent via SMS to the applicant’s mobile number.
11. Once the process gets completed, the applicant gets a call from the office regarding the application.
12. The applicant’s employer will pay the SMP in the same way as the regular salary. SMP is paid for up to 39 weeks, with the first six weeks paid at 90% of the average weekly earnings and the remaining 33 weeks paid at the statutory rate or 90% of the average weekly earnings (whichever is lower).
13. The entire process can be completed within 15 – 30 days or as per the timeline advised by the respective department authority.

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Required Documents

• Completed application form
• Proof of eligibility
• ID proof (Birth Certificate, national Identity card, etc)
• Address proof – (Driving license, passbook, utility bill, etc)
• Any other documents (if required)

Office Locations & Contacts

HM Revenue and Customs - Guardian's Allowance Unit
Child Benefit Office
PO Box 1
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE88 1AA
United Kingdom
Telephone: 0300 322 9080
Textphone: 0300 200 3103
Contact Details link

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) in Scotland, you must meet the following criteria:

• You must be an employee, not a self-employed contractor or freelancer.
• You must have worked for your employer continuously for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before your expected week of childbirth.
• You must earn at least £120 per week on average. This is based on your average weekly earnings in the eight weeks prior to the end of the qualifying week.
• You must provide your employer with the required notice of your pregnancy. This is at least 15 weeks before the week your baby is due.
• You must provide your employer with a MAT B1 form, which confirms your expected due date. This should be provided by your doctor or midwife.

Fees

• There is no fee for Statutory Maternity Pay.

Validity

Explain the time until which the certificate/document is valid.
e.g. Birth Certificate Valid Forever

Documents to Use

Please attach documents that can be used by people. e.g. links

Sample Documents

Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.

Processing Time

• The entire process can be completed within 15 – 30 days or as per the timeline advised by the respective department authority.

Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications.
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type='website'>video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites.
Please remove the '&' inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver,
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M' Video ID is 'Y0US7oR_t3M'.

Instructions

• Applicants must complete the application form before submitting it. Incomplete applications will not be accepted.
• Applicants must provide genuine information while applying for this procedure.

Required Information

• Applicant’s name and address
• Age
• Gender
• Postcode
• Telephone
• Email address
• Father’s name
• Mother’s name
• Address
• Medical details
• Date
• Signature

Need for the Document

• Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is a payment made by employers to their employees who take maternity leave to have a baby. It is a legal entitlement in the UK, including Scotland, and is designed to provide financial support to new mothers during the time they take off work to care for their babies.

Information which might help

• For more information link

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

Please explain what are other uses of obtaining this document/certificate.
e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

Link

Others

• SMP is paid for up to 39 weeks, although the amount paid will depend on the employee's earnings and employment history.
• For the first six weeks of maternity leave, SMP is paid at 90% of the employee's average weekly earnings, and for the remaining 33 weeks, it is paid at the statutory rate or 90% of the employee's average weekly earnings (whichever is lower).