Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005

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Chapter 9

Maternity Benefit

Entitlement to and duration of benefit.

[1997 s10(1)]

47.—(1) Subject to this Act, a woman shall be entitled to maternity benefit where—

(a) it is certified by a registered medical practitioner or otherwise to the satisfaction of the Minister that it is to be expected that the woman will be confined in a week specified in the certificate (hereafter in this section referred to as “the expected week of confinement”) not being more than the prescribed number of weeks after that in which the certificate is given,

(b) in the case of an employed contributor, it is certified by the woman's employer that she is entitled to maternity leave under section 8 of the Maternity Protection Act 1994, and

(c) subject to subsection (2), she satisfies the contribution conditions in section 48 .

(2) The requirement in subsection (1)(c) shall not apply in the case of a claim for maternity benefit made by a woman who was in receipt of health and safety benefit under section 52 at any time during the pregnancy as a result of which it is expected that she will be confined.

(3) Regulations may provide for entitling to maternity benefit, subject to the conditions and in the circumstances that may be prescribed, the class or classes of women who would be entitled to that benefit but for the fact that the contribution conditions in section 48 are not satisfied.

(4)  (a) Subject to this Act and paragraph (b), where a woman, who has been delivered of a living child, dies at any time before the expiry of the twenty-second week following the week of her confinement, the father of the child shall, subject to satisfying the contribution conditions in section 48 , be entitled to benefit under this Chapter as if he were a woman and the provisions of this Chapter (other than section 50 (b)) apply in all respects in the case of that man.

(b) Paragraph (a) applies in the case of an employed contributor where it is certified by his employer that he is entitled to leave under section 16 of the Maternity Protection Act 1994.

(c) In this Act, a reference to maternity benefit shall be read as including a reference to benefit payable to a man under this subsection.

(5) Subject to this Chapter, maternity benefit shall be payable to—

(a) a woman, who is an employed contributor, for the period of maternity leave to which she is entitled under section 8 of the Maternity Protection Act 1994 (including any extension of that period by virtue of section 12 of that Act),

(b) a woman, who is in insurable self-employment, for 18 weeks—

(i) beginning not later than 2 weeks before the end of the expected week of confinement, and

(ii) ending not earlier than 4 weeks after the end of the expected week of confinement,

but if the date of confinement occurs in a week after the expected week of confinement, the period in respect of which benefit shall be payable shall be extended by the number of consecutive weeks, subject to a maximum of 4 consecutive weeks, after the week in which the date of confinement occurs as ensures compliance with subparagraph (ii),

(c) a man, who—

(i) is an employed contributor, for the period of leave to which he is entitled under section 16 of the Maternity Protection Act 1994, or

(ii) is in insurable self-employment, for a period beginning on the day after the day on which the death of the mother occurs—

(I) where the mother dies before the expiry of the sixteenth week following the week of her confinement, to the end of the sixteenth week following the week of her confinement, or

(II) where the mother dies after the expiry of the sixteenth week but before the expiry of the twenty-fourth week following the week of her confinement, to the end of the twenty-fourth week following the week of her confinement,

but if the beneficiary dies, the benefit shall not be payable for any subsequent day.

(6) Regulations may modify subsections (1) and (5) in relation to cases where—

(a) it is certified by a registered medical practitioner or otherwise to the satisfaction of the Minister that a woman has been confined, and

(b) a certificate referred to in subsection (1)(a) has not been given.

(7) Regulations may provide for the postponement of the payment of maternity benefit in the event of the hospitalisation of the child in respect of whose birth the person is entitled to that benefit, subject to the conditions and in the circumstances that may be prescribed.

(8) For the purposes of this section, a Sunday shall not in any week be treated as a day of entitlement to maternity benefit and, accordingly, the amount payable by way of that benefit for any other day of a week shall be one-sixth of the appropriate weekly rate, subject to the total amount being paid at any time by virtue of this subsection being rounded up to the nearest 10 cent where it is a multiple of 5 cent but not also a multiple of 10 cent, and being rounded to the nearest 10 cent where it is not a multiple of 5 cent or 10 cent.

(9) In the case of an employed contributor, where the employment ceases (whether due to the death of the employer or otherwise) during the period for which maternity benefit is payable under subsection (5), the beneficiary shall continue to be treated as if the event which caused the cesser of employment had not occurred.

(10) Regulations may provide for requiring an employer or any other person to furnish any information that may be required for the purposes of determining a claim for maternity benefit.