Originally it was thought the time limit to be able to make
retrospective claims would be restricted to 3 years.
However, all indications from the DWP are that
such claims will be able to go back up to 6 years from the date of
the claim. In practical terms, this means an employee could
contact you today, asking you to re-assess SMP paid to them from
August 1999 onwards.
And remember, an employee’s maternity leave can last for up to a
year if they choose to take additional leave, so the period were a
pay rise might affect payment could be as long as 17 months – this
means there may be more than 1 rise to take into effect when
re-calculating the average earnings.
When you think about in those terms you begin
to appreciate the potential administrative work involved in
implementing this ruling.
