Are keeping in touch days on maternity leave paid?

How many KIT days can I take, and when can I not take them?

GOV.UK employee rights says employees can work up to 10 days during maternity leave, adoption leave or Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave. Those days are keeping-in-touch days. They are optional: both the employee and the employer need to agree. The type of work and the pay should be agreed before the day.

HMRC's SMP circumstances page adds that any work on any day — even an hour — counts as a whole KIT day. Days can be used singly, in a row, or in blocks. They do not end maternity leave or stop SMP for weeks that only contain KIT work, while you still have KIT days left.

• Compulsory leave: the same HMRC page says an employee must take 2 weeks — or 4 weeks if working in a factory — immediately after the birth, and cannot work or use a KIT day during that time.
• Two SMP employers: the maternity-benefits technical guidance says you have 10 KIT days with each employer who is paying SMP (or 10 per contract if two contracts each pay SMP).
• Another employer who did not employ you in the qualifying week: KIT days cannot be used there. Work for a new employer after the birth can stop SMP, under the 'works for another employer' rules on the same HMRC page.
• Maternity Allowance: the technical guidance also describes 10 KIT days in the Maternity Allowance period. You must tell Jobcentre Plus about work, including KIT days.

Are KIT days paid on top of Statutory Maternity Pay?

Official text is about a floor, not a bonus hourly rate. The maternity-benefits technical guidance says: for KIT days worked under the contract of the employer paying SMP, that employer must pay the SMP due for that week as a minimum. Any contractual payment for the work depends on the agreement between you and the employer.

The HMRC employer page says you may count SMP towards the contractual pay you agreed, but you must still pay the weekly SMP the employee is entitled to and meet other statutory duties (it gives National Minimum Wage as an example). GOV.UK's employee-rights page says taking KIT days does not affect the right to maternity leave and pay.

Forum posts that say 'KIT days are always unpaid' or 'KIT days are always full pay on top of SMP' are both incomplete. The statutory floor is that week's SMP; anything above is whatever you and the employer put in writing.

What happens if I work more than 10 KIT days?

HMRC's employer page: if the employee works more than 10 days in the SMP pay period, you cannot pay SMP for any weeks where they work, and maternity leave comes to an end. Once the 10 KIT days are used, the employee loses one week's SMP for each week or part-week of further work. The pay period is not extended. SMP lost that way is taken at the standard rate first, or at 90% of average weekly earnings if that is lower than the standard rate.

The technical guidance gives the same cut-off and an extra edge case: if a week contains the last KIT day and a further day's work for the SMP employer, SMP for that week is lost.

How do I agree a KIT day so the pay rule is clear?

1. 1
   Email before the day State the date, the work (training, handover, a meeting), the hours, and whether the pay is SMP only or SMP plus an agreed contractual amount. GOV.UK says to agree type of work and pay first.
2. 2
   Count the day, not the hours An hour still uses one of the 10 days. Keep a running total so you do not cross the line by accident.
3. 3
   Stay outside compulsory leave Do not book a KIT day in the 2 weeks after birth (4 weeks in a factory).
4. 4
   Ask payroll how SMP will show HMRC allows SMP to be counted toward the agreed contractual pay. Ask whether the KIT day appears as SMP only or as wages plus SMP, so the payslip matches the email.

SPLIT days are separate. GOV.UK allows up to 20 shared-parental-leave-in-touch days during Shared Parental Leave, in addition to the 10 KIT days on maternity or adoption leave. They have their own agreement with that employer. This page does not walk through SPL notices.

In shortIn short: up to 10 optional KIT days; any work on a day uses one; no KIT work in compulsory leave; the employer must pay at least that week's SMP; extra pay is by agreement. More than 10 working days in the pay period stops SMP for weeks with further work. SPLIT days are a different pot.