How do I add adoption pay?

Summary

The following article explains how to enter and keep track of an employee's Adoption pay.

If you are unsure whether to pay Statutory Adoption Pay, please refer to the information provided by HMRC explaining the rules governing statutory pay or visit the HMRC web site [1].

More Information

Entering the Adoption Pay record

To allow the Payroll system to calculate SAP, the "SMP/SAP/SPP" flag on Page 3: Statutory Payments on the Employee record, should be set to 'Yes'.

When the system starts to pay Adoption Pay, you will have to zero out the "Hours Worked/Basic Salary" to ensure they only receive their Adoption Pay and any other additions/deductions to/from their pay.

Go to " Payroll Run Payroll Period".

Enter <Y> against the employee's pay frequency or click the [Down arrow] and select [Yes].
Click [OK] button to go into the payroll.
Choose the relevant employee and press <Ctrl+F8> to open the SMP/SAP/SPP/ASPP/ShPP Entry screen.
Click [Add] if they have existing records.
Choose [Adoption].

Within this [Details] tab, you will need to complete the relevant details for this record:

Date Child Expected

Enter the date the child is expected to be placed for adoption. This is as shown on the matching certificate.

Date Match Notified

Enter the date when the adopter (employee) was notified of being matched with a child - as shown on the matching certificate. This date is used as the reference point when calculating the employee's average weekly wage.

Average Weekly Earnings

Enter the employee's average weekly wage based on their pay over the 8 weeks previous to the Matching Week. This will be calculated for you but you may override it if necessary.

Date Child Placed

Enter the date when the child was actually placed for adoption, as notified/certified to the employee. ONLY enter this date if the employee intends to work up to the date the child is placed.

Adoption Leave Begins

Enter the date Adoptive Parents leave is to start. This should be the first FULL day of absence from work.

Completing the Adoption Pay Entry

When you have entered all the relevant details for the Adoption Pay record, the SAP Entitlement section will display the Adoption Pay Period and the amounts to be paid over this period.

Press <Esc> and <Enter> to accept the record.

View the Adoption Pay Diary

When a record has been created, you may view a weekly diary which details the amount of Adoption Pay paid per week. You may also stop pay for a period, e.g. if the employee works during an Adoption leave period, they are not entitled to SAP for that period.

To view the details:

Go to " Payroll Run Payroll Period".

Enter <Y> against the employee's pay frequency or click the [Down arrow] and select [Yes].
Click [OK] button to go into the payroll.
Choose the relevant employee and press <Ctrl+F8> to open the SMP/SAP/SPP/ASPP/ShPP Entry screen.
Press [Edit] to open the relevant record.
Click on the [Diary] tab.

Week

This column lists the number of weeks of Adoption Pay and displays the weekly end date.

End of SAP

This displays the weekly end date. Adoptive pay cannot be paid in advance.

Status

This column allows you to designate a week to be unpaid/excluded from Adoption Pay, if it has not already been paid.

Select 'Worked' if an employee is not to be paid SAP for that week as they will have worked one or more days in this week and none or only some of them were KIT (Keeping in Touch) days.
Select 'Excluded' if the employee is excluded from an Adoptive Pay Period for some other reason.

KIT

This column allows you to log the Keeping in Touch days that have been used. The number of days available will reduce by the value entered here.

SAP Paid

This column shows the amount of Adoptive Pay which has been paid in each Adoptive Pay period, where that period has been closed.

Total

This column shows a running total of SAP paid to the employee.

Notes

If the period has not been closed, you can enter any notes here to indicate why you have withheld SAP, e.g. 'Worked'.

Click [Done] and [Accept] to exit any changes.