Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

AdoptionShared parental leaveMaternityPaternityFamily-friendly benefits

Statutory maternity pay and sick pay: 2017/18 rates announced

by Personnel Today 28 Nov 2016
by Personnel Today 28 Nov 2016 Rafael Ben-Ari/Chameleons Eye/REX/Shutterstock.
Rafael Ben-Ari/Chameleons Eye/REX/Shutterstock.

The Government has published the statutory rates for maternity pay, paternity pay, shared parental pay, adoption pay and sick pay from April 2017.

The current weekly rate of statutory maternity pay is £139.58, or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings if this figure is less than the statutory rate.

The rate of statutory maternity pay is rising to £140.98 from April 2017. The increase normally occurs on the first Sunday in April, which in 2017 is 2 April.

Maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental pay

Work out an employee’s statutory maternity pay

Employment law manual: statutory paternity pay

Which employees are entitled to statutory shared parental pay?

Also on 2 April 2017, the rates of statutory paternity pay and statutory shared parental pay will to go up from £139.58 to £140.98 (or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings if this figure is less than the statutory rate).

The rate of statutory adoption pay increases from £139.58 to £140.98.

This means that, from 2 April 2017, statutory adoption pay is payable at 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings for the first six weeks, with the remainder of the adoption pay period at the rate of £140.98, or 90% of average weekly earnings if this is less than £140.98.

The rates normally increase each April in line with the consumer price index (CPI). A 0.1% fall in the CPI in the year to September 2015 meant that there was no increase to the rates in April 2016.

This means that the rates have been frozen since 5 April 2015.

However, the CPI has increased by 1% in the year to September 2016, which is reflected in the rates for 2017/18.

Stephen Simpson, principal employment law editor at XpertHR says: “These are key rates that many HR professionals will be looking out for.”

“Their publication well in advance of April 2017 will help employers to plan their budgets for 2017/18, and to prepare amendments to their policies and documents on family-friendly benefits for April 2017.”

The rate of statutory sick pay is also increasing from £88.45 to £89.35. This increase is expected to occur on 6 April 2017.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

To be entitled to these statutory payments, the employee’s average earnings must be equal to or more than the lower earnings limit.

The lower earnings limit is increasing from £112 to £113 in April 2017.

Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

previous post
HR pay rises lowest in a decade
next post
HR analytics skills: strong demand but short supply

1 comment

Anita Carter 28 Nov 2017 - 12:01 am

It’s absoustley disgusting that maternity pay is so low and that it’s starts 6 weeks after u had the baby. How are people supposed to survive on such a shit wage.

Comments are closed.

You may also like

Government urged to commit to wholesale review of...

6 May 2025

Recruiter who returned to empty office after maternity...

23 Apr 2025

Retail employers offering fewer perks to offset wage...

26 Mar 2025

April 2025: What’s coming up for HR?

21 Mar 2025

UK is only advanced economy where economic inactivity...

20 Mar 2025

Ministers commit to miscarriage and pregnancy loss leave

12 Mar 2025

MP urges rethink on ‘ladies do babies’ approach...

6 Mar 2025

Employment Rights Bill: Government stays firm on sick...

5 Mar 2025

SSP changes mean 1.3m will receive up to...

3 Mar 2025

Up to 74,000 women forced out of work...

27 Feb 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+