Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his planned increase to contributions holidays for SAYE schemes will apply to those (a) on maternity leave, (b) on shared parental leave, (c) on adoption leave and (d) who miss payment contributions.

The government announced at Autumn Budget that it would extend the Save As You Earn (SAYE) contributions holiday from 6 to 12 months for those on maternity and parental leave from 6 April 2018. After receiving representations from the share plan industry, the government is delaying the implementation of this change until 1 September 2018 to allow for software changes and testing.

The government will, from the same date, extend the SAYE contributions holiday to 12 months for all SAYE plans. This change will extend the benefit to all SAYE participants, including those with pre-existing contracts.