An employee on maternity leave can work up to 10 keeping in touch (KIT) days without ending her leave or losing Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) for the weeks in which she works [1]. Those days sit inside a leave period of up to 52 weeks, of which SMP covers up to 39 weeks at 90% of average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks and the lower of £194.32 or 90% for the remaining 33 [6].
KIT days look simple on a policy page and cause real difficulty in payroll. A single hour of work counts as a full day, the eleventh day of work costs the employee a whole week of SMP, and the pay for the day can be offset against SMP only under a specific condition set out in HMRC's own manual [3]. Each of those rules has to be reflected in the pay run, not just in the HR file.
This guide sets out the legal basis for KIT days, how they interact with SMP week by week, how to pay them, how they differ from the 20 SPLIT days available during shared parental leave, and what an employer must record and report. It is written for SME employers, payroll managers and the accountants who run payroll on their behalf.
Key takeaways
- An employee can work up to 10 KIT days during statutory maternity or adoption leave without ending the leave or losing statutory pay for those weeks.
- Any work on a day, even one hour, uses up a full KIT day, and no work at all is allowed in the 2 weeks of compulsory leave after the birth.
- KIT days are voluntary on both sides: the employer cannot require them and the employee cannot insist on them.
- Pay for a KIT day must be agreed in advance, must respect the National Minimum Wage, and can be offset against SMP only where the total paid for the week is at least the SMP due.
- Shared parental leave carries a separate allowance of 20 SPLIT days, in addition to the 10 KIT days.
- Work beyond the 10th day removes SMP for every pay week in which that further work happens.
What KIT days are and where the rule comes from
KIT days exist because the law otherwise treats any work during maternity leave as a problem for both the leave and the pay. Regulation 12A of the Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999 allows an employee to "carry out up to 10 days' work" for her employer during her statutory maternity leave period without bringing that leave to an end [2]. A parallel rule in the Statutory Maternity Pay (General) Regulations 1986 keeps SMP payable for up to 10 days of work, consecutive or not, during the maternity pay period [8].
What counts as work on a KIT day
The legislation is broad about the kind of work that qualifies. Regulation 12A states that work "may include training or any activity undertaken for the purposes of keeping in touch" with the workplace [2]. In practice that covers a team meeting, a training course, an appraisal, a handover with a maternity cover colleague or a normal working day.
The unit of measurement is the day, not the hour. HMRC's Statutory Payments Manual confirms that any work done on a KIT day, even one hour, counts as one full KIT day [3]. Work that spans midnight counts as a single day only where that is the employee's normal working pattern [3]. An employer that invites an employee in for a two-hour meeting therefore uses a tenth of her allowance, a point worth explaining before the invitation is accepted.
Reasonable contact is not a KIT day
Not every interaction with the employer uses up a day. Regulation 12A(4) provides that reasonable contact between employer and employee during the leave does not bring the leave to an end [2]. Acas describes this kind of contact as a normal part of managing maternity leave, separate from the agreed KIT days [4].
A phone call about return dates, an email about a restructure the employee is entitled to hear about, or a message about a pay review is contact, not work. The line is crossed when the employee is asked to do something productive for the business, such as review documents, attend training or cover a shift. Payroll needs to know which side of the line each interaction falls on, because only work days are counted against the 10.
The compulsory leave window
No KIT day can be worked immediately after the birth. Regulation 12A(5) bars any work in the period from childbirth to the end of the two weeks starting on the day of birth [2]. GOV.UK sets the compulsory leave at 2 weeks after the birth, or 4 weeks for an employee who works in a factory [7].
HMRC's employer guidance repeats the same restriction and confirms that no KIT days can be worked during compulsory leave [5]. A payroll system that lets an employer record a KIT day in that window is recording something the law does not allow.
KIT days are voluntary on both sides
The regulations do not create an obligation in either direction. Regulation 12A(6) states that the rule "does not confer any right on an employer to require that any work be carried out", and equally gives the employee no right to work [2]. GOV.UK's employer guide puts it plainly: the employer has no right to demand KIT work and the employee does not have to do it [5].
Agreeing the days in advance
Because both parties must agree, the practical step is a short written agreement before each KIT day. GOV.UK advises that the type of work and the pay should be agreed before the employee comes in [1]. Acas recommends agreeing how many days are planned, what work will be done and how much will be paid [4].
A good agreement records the date, the expected hours, the activity, the rate of pay and the running total of KIT days used. That last item matters most to payroll, because the eleventh day carries a cost the first ten do not.
Protection for employees who say no
An employee who declines a KIT day is protected. Section 47C of the Employment Rights Act 1996 gives an employee the right not to be subjected to any detriment for a prescribed reason, and the prescribed reasons include pregnancy, childbirth, maternity leave, adoption leave and shared parental leave [16]. Section 18 of the Equality Act 2010 separately prohibits unfavourable treatment because an employee is exercising, or seeking to exercise, the right to maternity leave [17].
GOV.UK lists protection against unfair treatment, discrimination and dismissal among the four main legal rights of pregnant employees [18]. Pressure to work KIT days, or a worse appraisal for refusing them, sits squarely in that territory.
How KIT days interact with Statutory Maternity Pay
The core payroll rule is that a KIT day does not reduce SMP. GOV.UK confirms that up to 10 KIT days will not end maternity leave or mean the employee loses SMP for the weeks in which she does some work [5]. HMRC's manual says the same of the maternity pay period, and applies it equally to adoption pay [3].
The SMP week, not the calendar week
SMP is administered in weeks that start on the day the maternity pay period begins, not on a Monday. NI Direct defines a week in the maternity pay period as any period of seven days starting from the SMP start day [9]. HMRC's manual uses the same SMP-week structure when it tests whether KIT pay can be offset [3].
This matters when an employee works across a weekend or a pay-period boundary. Two KIT days can fall in the same SMP week even when they fall in different calendar weeks, and the eleventh day of work affects the whole SMP week in which it lands.
What happens after the 10th day
The tenth day is a hard limit. Acas states that employees cannot work more than 10 KIT days and that statutory maternity leave and pay will end if they do [4]. HMRC's guidance adds that once the 10 days are used, the employer cannot pay SMP for any week in which further work is done [5].
NI Direct gives the precise effect: after ten days of work, each further week in which the employee works for that employer is a week of lost SMP [9]. Where SMP is lost, GOV.UK states it is always lost at the standard rate first, or at 90% of average weekly earnings if that is lower [5]. The table below shows the position at each stage.
| Situation | Effect on maternity leave | Effect on SMP for that week |
|---|---|---|
| Reasonable contact only (calls, emails, return planning) | None | Paid in full |
| KIT days 1 to 10 worked | Leave continues, not extended | Paid in full |
| Work in the 2 weeks of compulsory leave | Not permitted | Not applicable |
| Further work after the 10th KIT day | Leave can end | Not payable for any week in which work is done |
Source for the table: HMRC and GOV.UK [3] [5].
KIT days do not extend the leave
A KIT day is a day of leave on which the employee happens to work. Regulation 12A(7) states that KIT days do not have the effect of extending the maternity leave period [2]. An employee who works 10 KIT days does not gain 10 extra days at the end of her leave, and the return date stays where it was set.
That return date can still move for other reasons. GOV.UK requires an employee to give at least 8 weeks' notice to change her return to work date [23], and the employer should track that change separately from the KIT day count.
How to pay a KIT day
There is no statutory rate for a KIT day. The rules set a floor and a method, and leave the actual figure to agreement between employer and employee.
The National Minimum Wage floor
Whatever is agreed, the hours worked must be paid at least at the minimum wage. GOV.UK's employer guidance states that the employer must comply with the National Minimum Wage when paying KIT work [5]. From April 2026 the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over is £12.71 an hour, with £10.85 for those aged 18 to 20 [15].
Acas recommends a simpler approach: the easiest option is to pay normal pay for the day [4]. Acas also warns that paying less than normal for the same work could be discrimination [4]. For most employers, normal daily pay is the default that removes the risk.
Offsetting KIT pay against SMP
The law allows the employer to count SMP towards the pay agreed for KIT work. GOV.UK states that the employer may count the amount of SMP towards the contractual pay agreed, while still paying at least the weekly SMP rate [5]. HMRC's manual sets the condition: wages for KIT work may be offset against the SMP liability only if the total of SMP and earnings for that SMP week is at least the SMP entitlement [3].
The two approaches produce very different weekly totals, as the table below shows for the same employee. The figures use a worked example of an employee on a salary of £36,000, which is £692.31 a week and £138.46 for a single working day on a 260-day year, in week 12 of her maternity pay period when SMP is £194.32 [6].
| Approach for one KIT day in the week | SMP paid | KIT pay on top | Total paid for the week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal day's pay in addition to SMP | £194.32 | £138.46 | £332.78 |
| SMP counted towards the agreed day's pay | £194.32 | £0.00 | £194.32 |
Source for the rule behind the table: HMRC [3] and GOV.UK [5].
In the second row, the agreed pay for the day is lower than the SMP already due, so offsetting leaves nothing extra to pay. An employee who gives up a day of leave and receives no more than she would have received at home has little reason to agree, and the Acas warning about less favourable pay applies. The offset is legal, but it works best where the agreed KIT pay exceeds SMP, for example during the first 6 weeks or for several days in one week.
Tax and National Insurance on a KIT month
KIT pay and SMP are both earnings for PAYE. HMRC's manual confirms that all statutory payments are treated as earnings for income tax and National Insurance purposes [31]. In a worked example for a monthly-paid employee, four weeks of SMP at the flat rate come to £777.28 and two KIT days at the normal day's pay come to £276.92. Both amounts go through the same pay run, and the SMP element is also reported year to date on the Full Payment Submission [20].
On a gross monthly pay of £1,054.20 under tax code 1257L, the Moonworkers engine gives income tax of £1.00, employee National Insurance of £0.50 and employer National Insurance of £95.58 for that month. Employer National Insurance stays relevant during maternity leave because employer contributions start at a secondary threshold of £5,000 a year, well below the employee primary threshold of £12,570.
KIT days, SPLIT days and other types of leave
KIT days are not exclusive to maternity leave, and shared parental leave runs on a separate allowance. Confusing the two allowances is one of the most common errors in family leave administration.
Adoption and bereaved partner's paternity leave
Adopters have the same 10-day allowance. Regulation 21A of the Paternity and Adoption Leave Regulations 2002 allows an employee to carry out up to 10 days' work during statutory adoption leave without ending that leave [10]. HMRC's manual applies the same protection to Statutory Adoption Pay [3].
GOV.UK now lists bereaved partner's paternity leave alongside maternity and adoption leave as a period in which an employee can work up to 10 KIT days [1]. Adoption leave itself runs to 52 weeks, made up of 26 weeks of ordinary and 26 weeks of additional adoption leave [30], the same structure as maternity leave [25].
SPLIT days during shared parental leave
Shared parental leave has its own allowance of 20 shared parental leave in touch (SPLIT) days. Regulation 37 of the Shared Parental Leave Regulations 2014 caps work at 20 days for each employer during the period in which shared parental leave may be taken [12]. HMRC's manual confirms that up to 20 SPLIT days can be worked without affecting Statutory Shared Parental Pay [11].
Acas states that SPLIT days are in addition to the 10 KIT days available during maternity or adoption leave, that a part day still counts as a full SPLIT day, and that pay for SPLIT days must not be less than the minimum wage [13]. The comparison below sets the two allowances side by side.
| Feature | KIT days | SPLIT days |
|---|---|---|
| Leave types | Maternity, adoption, bereaved partner's paternity leave | Shared parental leave |
| Maximum days | 10 | 20, in addition to the 10 KIT days |
| Part day counts as | A full day | A full day |
| Statutory pay protected | SMP or SAP | ShPP |
| Pay floor | National Minimum Wage | National Minimum Wage |
| Legal basis | Reg 12A (1999) and reg 21A (2002) | Reg 37 (2014) |
Sources for the table: HMRC and Acas [11] [14] [1].
When an employee moves from maternity leave to shared parental leave
A mother who ends her maternity leave early can convert the rest into shared parental leave. GOV.UK explains that the remaining weeks of the 52 can be taken as shared parental leave, up to a maximum of 50 weeks, and the remaining pay weeks as ShPP, up to 37 weeks [14]. ShPP is paid at £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower [14].
The KIT count and the SPLIT count are tracked separately through that transition. An employee who used 6 KIT days before switching keeps a fresh allowance of 20 SPLIT days for the shared parental leave period, and GOV.UK notes that shared parental leave can be taken in up to 3 separate blocks [32]. More detail on that scheme sits in the Moonworkers guide to shared parental leave.
Holiday, pay rises and other rights during KIT days
A KIT day does not change the underlying employment rights that continue throughout maternity leave. GOV.UK states that an employee's employment rights are protected during maternity leave [6].
Holiday continues to accrue
Holiday builds up across the whole of the leave, not only on KIT days. GOV.UK confirms that workers build up holiday entitlement during maternity, paternity and adoption leave [19]. Most workers on a 5-day week are entitled to at least 28 days of paid annual leave a year [19].
GOV.UK also confirms that pay rises and other improvements are kept by employees on leave [1], and that a pay rise must not be withheld because of maternity leave [5]. Where a pay rise takes effect during the leave, the KIT day rate should reflect the new salary. The Moonworkers guide to statutory maternity pay explains how a pay rise can also change the SMP calculation itself.
Redundancy and restructuring
KIT days are often used to bring an employee in for consultation during a restructure. GOV.UK states that an employee on maternity leave has priority for a suitable alternative job in a redundancy situation, from the start of the leave to 18 months after the birth [1]. The same 18-month protection period appears in the guidance on pregnant employees' rights [18].
Consultation itself is reasonable contact rather than work, so an employee can be consulted without using a KIT day. Asking her to attend a full-day workshop on the new structure is work and uses one.
Payroll, reporting and record keeping
Every pound paid during maternity leave flows through Real Time Information. Employers running payroll on HMRC-recognised payroll software for SMEs need the KIT day count, the SMP week structure and the offset rule held in the same record.
Reporting SMP and KIT pay on the FPS and EPS
KIT pay is ordinary earnings and SMP is a statutory payment, and both appear on the Full Payment Submission. HMRC's payroll reporting guidance requires the employer to report SMP year to date on the FPS [20]. The same guidance requires an Employer Payment Summary by the 19th of the following tax month for HMRC to apply any reduction for statutory pay [20].
The recovery is on SMP only, never on KIT pay. GOV.UK states that employers can usually reclaim 92% of SMP, or 109% where the business qualifies for Small Employers' Relief by having paid £45,000 or less in Class 1 National Insurance in the last complete tax year [21]. The April 2026 Employer Bulletin confirms that the Small Employers' Relief compensation rate rose to 9% on 6 April 2026, which produces the 109% figure [28].
| Item | Treatment in payroll | Recoverable from HMRC |
|---|---|---|
| SMP for the week | Statutory payment, reported year to date on the FPS | 92%, or 109% with Small Employers' Relief |
| KIT day pay | Ordinary earnings on the FPS | No |
| SMP offset against KIT pay | Reported as SMP | 92% or 109% of the SMP element |
Sources for the table: GOV.UK [20] [21].
Employers short of cash during a long leave can apply for an advance rather than waiting for the reduction to come through [29]. Accountants handling this across several clients typically rely on a multi-client payroll dashboard that flags each client's Small Employers' Relief status.
What to keep on file
GOV.UK requires employers to keep SMP records including the start date, the payments made with dates, the amounts reclaimed and any weeks not paid with the reason [22]. Those records must be kept for 3 years from the end of the tax year they relate to [22].
A KIT day log should sit alongside those records: the date, the hours, the activity, the agreed pay and the running total. Where an eleventh day of work causes a lost SMP week, the reason must be recorded as a week not paid. The underlying SMP notice is also part of the file, since the employee should give at least 28 days' notice of her SMP start date [24].
Building the rule into software
Platforms that embed payroll for their own customers face the same rules at scale: the 10-day cap for maternity and adoption leave [10], the separate 20-day cap for shared parental leave [12], and the week-by-week loss of SMP after the limit [5]. The Moonworkers HMRC-recognised payroll API treats the KIT day count as part of the statutory pay record, so a host HR or ERP platform can block a recorded eleventh day before it reaches the pay run. The maternity pay and tax guide covers how SMP flows through PAYE in more detail.
Common KIT day mistakes
Most KIT day errors come from treating the allowance as hours, or from losing count across a long leave. The patterns below recur in payroll audits.
- Counting hours instead of days. A two-hour meeting uses a full day, so an employer that books five short meetings has used half the allowance [3].
- Booking a KIT day in compulsory leave. No work is allowed in the 2 weeks after the birth, or 4 weeks for factory workers [7].
- Mixing KIT and SPLIT allowances. The 20 SPLIT days apply only during shared parental leave and are in addition to the 10 KIT days [13].
- Paying below the minimum wage. Offsetting SMP against KIT pay does not remove the National Minimum Wage floor [5].
- Paying SMP for a week after the 10th day. Further work removes SMP for each SMP week in which it happens, so that week must be recorded as not paid [9].
- Treating a KIT day as extending the leave. KIT days do not move the return date [2].
Conclusion
KIT days are a small allowance with outsized consequences. Ten days of voluntary, agreed work keep the employee connected to the workplace without costing her leave or SMP, but the rules that define a day, the SMP week and the offset condition all have to be applied exactly, and the eleventh day of work has a cost the first ten do not.
For employers, the safest pattern is simple: agree each day in writing, pay at least normal daily pay, keep a running count next to the SMP record, and treat SPLIT days as a separate allowance. As family leave rights continue to expand, with bereaved partner's paternity leave now carrying its own KIT days, payroll systems that hold these counts as structured data rather than notes in an HR file will make each new rule easier to absorb.
Frequently asked questions
Do KIT days have to be paid on maternity leave?
Yes, work on a KIT day must be paid, and the amount must be agreed before the day is worked [1]. The pay must respect the National Minimum Wage, and the employer can count SMP towards the agreed pay as long as the total for the week is at least the SMP due [5]. Acas recommends paying normal pay for the day as the simplest option.
Does a half day count as a full KIT day?
Yes. HMRC's Statutory Payments Manual confirms that any work on a day, even one hour, counts as one full KIT day [3]. The same rule applies to SPLIT days during shared parental leave [13].
Can an employer make an employee work KIT days?
No. Regulation 12A of the Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999 gives the employer no right to require any work during maternity leave [2]. An employee who refuses is protected from detriment under section 47C of the Employment Rights Act 1996 [16].
What happens to SMP if an employee works more than 10 KIT days?
SMP stops for every SMP week in which the employee does further work after the 10th day [9]. Acas also warns that statutory maternity leave can end if the limit is exceeded [4]. The employer should record each lost week, with the reason, in its SMP records.
