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These initiatives were driven by Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
A new operational system to record Maternity Allowance cases is currently being developed. As such, Maternity Allowance statistics have been suspended from the quarterly statistics release until data can be extracted from the new system.
Analysts are currently unable to provide a timescale for when the Maternity Allowance statistics will be reinstated, as work to develop the statistics from the new system is in very early stages. Users will be updated of progress via the Maternity Allowance statistics page and the DWP Statistical Work Programme page on GOV.UK.
We want new mothers to be able to take time away from work in the later stages of their pregnancy and in the months following childbirth in the interests of their own and their baby's health and wellbeing.
Maternity Allowance is intended for those who cannot get Statutory Maternity Pay and is designed to have a range of in-built flexibilities making it accessible to as many women as possible. Work is underway to make Maternity Allowance even more accessible so that women will, in future, be able to make their claims online. Further information on when this will be available will be provided in due course.
There are two qualifying conditions for Maternity Allowance: a woman must have worked for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks prior to the expected week of childbirth and she must have average weekly earnings at least equal to the Lower Earnings Limit for National Insurance purposes (£123.00 a week, 2023/24).
The work does not have to be for the same employer nor continuous, nor undertaken on the same basis. A claim can be made where there is a mixture of employment and self-employment and work for part weeks also counts as a full week’s work when calculating entitlement. A women can choose any 13 weeks within the 66-week period to calculate her earnings. To ensure that women gets the best rate, we have introduced a real time information calculator tool in collaboration with HMRC. Full details of eligibility and how to apply for maternity pay are available on Gov.uk.
Statutory Maternity Pay is paid by employers and reimbursed by HMRC and is treated as earnings in Universal Credit (UC). As with other earnings, SMP is subject to the work allowance and tapering rules that are built into UC. Maternity Allowance is a contribution-based benefit paid by the State and is classed as unearned income in the same way as other benefits.
The High Court judgment in 2020 upheld the policy of treating Statutory Maternity Pay paid by employers as earnings as well as the treatment of Maternity Allowance. A subsequent joint NI court judgement on 25th April 2022 also upheld the treatment of MA as unearned income in UC.
We want new mothers to be able to take time away from work in the later stages of their pregnancy and in the months following childbirth in the interests of their own and their baby's health and wellbeing.
Maternity Allowance is intended for those who cannot get Statutory Maternity Pay and is designed to have a range of in-built flexibilities making it accessible to as many women as possible. Work is underway to make Maternity Allowance even more accessible so that women will, in future, be able to make their claims online. Further information on when this will be available will be provided in due course.
There are two qualifying conditions for Maternity Allowance: a woman must have worked for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks prior to the expected week of childbirth and she must have average weekly earnings at least equal to the Lower Earnings Limit for National Insurance purposes (£123.00 a week, 2023/24).
The work does not have to be for the same employer nor continuous, nor undertaken on the same basis. A claim can be made where there is a mixture of employment and self-employment and work for part weeks also counts as a full week’s work when calculating entitlement. A women can choose any 13 weeks within the 66-week period to calculate her earnings. To ensure that women gets the best rate, we have introduced a real time information calculator tool in collaboration with HMRC. Full details of eligibility and how to apply for maternity pay are available on Gov.uk.
Statutory Maternity Pay is paid by employers and reimbursed by HMRC and is treated as earnings in Universal Credit (UC). As with other earnings, SMP is subject to the work allowance and tapering rules that are built into UC. Maternity Allowance is a contribution-based benefit paid by the State and is classed as unearned income in the same way as other benefits.
The High Court judgment in 2020 upheld the policy of treating Statutory Maternity Pay paid by employers as earnings as well as the treatment of Maternity Allowance. A subsequent joint NI court judgement on 25th April 2022 also upheld the treatment of MA as unearned income in UC.
The Home Office works closely with DEFRA and Scheme Operators to enable them to manage their visa allocations.
In the event that a Scheme Operator for the Seasonal Worker route became unlicensed for any reason, the Home Office would consider each case on its own merits and tailor our response accordingly with the primary aim of preventing detriment to individuals, which may include moving workers to a different scheme operator where possible and appropriate.
The Home Office has no current plans to update the guidance but will keep this under review.
Provisions have been put in place to make certain that there is no detriment to individuals who were sponsored by any company that no longer has a valid Home Office sponsor licence.
The Home Office has ensured that there is continuity of work with alternative sponsors for those who were originally attached to companies that have had their sponsor licence revoked.
Ethero still hold a GLAA licence and the GLAA are considering appropriate measures in light of the revocation.
The Home Office has a designated Seasonal Worker Scheme (SWS) team that regularly conducts visits to individual farms employing seasonal migrant workers. Checks are undertaken to ensure workers are offered a minimum of 32 hours employment per week and are paid at the appropriate rates.
Scheme operators that are responsible for the recruitment of the migrant workers are obliged to retain records of working hours and wages and these are inspected annually by sponsorship compliance officers. If discrepancies are discovered, then the SWS team will commence action against the respective scheme operator. This can include suspension or revocation of an operator’s licence.
From March 2023 to date, 241 farm visits have been conducted and 1,700 migrant workers interviewed. We will continue to consider how best to tackle labour exploitation in the Seasonal Worker Scheme.