• Appreciate that salary sacrifice is a contractual arrangement between employer and employee.
  
• Remember that a salary sacrifice arrangement must be effective in achieving its intended purpose.
  
• Remember that HM Revenue and Customs will not provide advice on setting up, drafting, operating or varying salary sacrifice arrangements.
  
• Be aware of the impact that a salary sacrifice arrangement may have on statutory maternity pay.
  
• Be aware of the relationship between statutory maternity pay, salary sacrifice and childcare vouchers.
  
• Take into account that a “lifestyle change” such as expecting a baby may justify changing a salary sacrifice arrangement before the intended period has elapsed.
  
• Remember that a salary sacrifice arrangement may reduce an employee’s entitlement to contractual maternity pay.
  
• Ensure that any non-cash benefits, such as childcare vouchers, provided as a term of the contract continue during additional maternity leave where the expected week of childbirth is on or after 5 October 2008.

More resources from XpertHR on this topic include:

• How to manage pregnant employees and handle maternity leave
  
• How to respond to an employee’s notification that she is pregnant
  
• How to deal with requests for time off for antenatal care
  
• How to deal with maternity suspensions
  
• How to deal with an employee who has a miscarriage or stillbirth or whose baby dies after birth
  
• How to deal with the holiday entitlement of an employee taking maternity leave
  
• How to take disciplinary action against an employee during pregnancy or maternity leave
  
• How to deal with keeping-in-touch days during maternity leave
  
• How to stay in touch with employees on maternity leave
  
• How to ensure employees’ smooth reintroduction to the workplace on their return from maternity leave
  
• How to deal with requests to return from maternity leave on a part-time basis
  
• How to deal with the situation where an employee becomes pregnant again while on maternity leave