Getting sickness and maternity pay right is increasingly problematic. It's not always clear which payments are obligatory and which are discretionary; employers and advisers need to understand fully the relationship between State payment of benefit, contractual maternity and sickness payments and eligibility of workers.The Sickness and Maternity Pay Handbook answers many common questions. It explains the latest legislation and shows you how the rules and regulations affect you - helping you to find accurate, up-to-date information quickly and easily. New for the second edition, extensively expanded sections on Statutory Paternity Pay and Adoption Pay, also new material on refunds of National Insurance Contributions (NICs) paid on occupational maternity pay which is payable when an employee does not return to work.