What are Keeping in Touch (KIT) days for people on maternity leave?
Under current legislation if a woman returns to work for any time at all during her SMP period she will lose her entitlement to SMP for that whole week. KIT days have been introduced to allow employees to keep abreast of any changes or training, by allowing them to attend work up to 10 days during her SMP period. Provided the employee does not exceed this limit her entitlement to a full weeks SMP will not be affected. Some important points: KIT days are to form part of the maximum 39 week entitlement and are not in addition to it. These days are optional and cannot be insisted upon by either party. KIT days must be taken as whole days, even if the employee only comes in for an hour. Payment for KIT days: As the employee is working under her contract of service for these days she must be paid an agreed rate for attending work. In most cases this will be at the employee’s normal rate of remuneration. It will not be acceptable to pay the equivalent hourly rate of SMP as this will fall bel
