Amendments to calculation of earnings for statutory family benefits and maternity allowance in Northern Ireland where workers are furloughed under Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

New statutory rules ensure that workers receive the same amount of benefit they would have if they had not been furloughed

New regulations have been issued that make amendments to the calculation of earnings for the purposes of statutory family benefits and maternity allowance in Northern Ireland where workers are furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

In force from 25 April 2020, the Statutory Paternity Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay and Statutory Shared Parental Pay (Normal Weekly Earnings etc.) (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 (SR.No.70/2020) amend regulations relating to -

• statutory paternity pay;
• statutory adoption pay; and
• statutory shared parental pay.

- and are designed to ensure an employee’s eligibility for those statutory payments during the COVID-19 crisis (including the earnings-related rate of statutory adoption pay) is the same as it would have been had they not been furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

In addition, corresponding provision is made in relation to maternity allowance and statutory maternity pay by the Maternity Allowance and Statutory Maternity Pay (Normal Weekly Earnings etc.) (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 (SR.No.69/2020), that also come into force from 25 April 2020.

SR.No.69/2020 and SR.No.70/2020 are available from legislation.gov.uk