SPM120500 - Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP): general information - medical evidence

What is acceptable evidence of pregnancy

The employee must produce medical evidence of the date the baby is due. This will normally be on a Maternity Certificate MAT B1, which shows the date the baby is due SPM120400.

The MAT B1 is given to the employee by the doctor or midwife. The date given on the MAT B1 cannot be changed. Only in exceptional cases, a doctor or midwife who has given a fresh examination would issue a new MAT B1.

In cases where a MAT B1 is lost or mislaid a replacement can be issued and clearly marked “duplicate”.

It cannot be issued before the start of the 20th week before the week the baby is due. The date of issue is the date it was signed by the doctor or midwife.

The employer may be able to calculate what SMP is due before they receive medical evidence but they must not pay SMP until acceptable medical evidence is received. Although a birth certificate is acceptable as proof that a baby has been born, the employer still needs evidence of the date the baby was due, in order to check that the employee satisfies the continuous employment rule and to calculate the AWE.

More than one employer

If the employee has more than one job, they need to ask the other employer what other evidence they would accept to confirm the date the baby is due as more than one maternity certificate cannot be issued showing the same expected date.

The evidence can be a letter showing the employee’s name and date of confinement. It must be signed by a doctor or midwife and it must be stamped. If it is issued by a midwife, it must have the midwife’s PIN number and the expiry date of registration.

An alternative to this would be for the employee to give the first employer her MAT B1 and ask them to photo copy it and note the copy they have seen the original. The original can then be given back to the employee to pass on to their second employer.