Legalize / United Kingdom / Statutory-Instrument

The Statutory Maternity Pay (Medical Evidence) Regulations 1987

Type Statutory-Instrument

Publication 1987-02-19

State In force

Department King's Printer of Acts of Parliament

Source legislation.gov.uk

Reform history JSON API PDF

Made: 19th February 1987

Laid before Parliament: 20th February 1987

Coming into force: 15th March 1987

The Secretary of State for Social Services, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 49 and 84(1) of and paragraph 6 of Schedule 4 to the Social Security Act 1986 , and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, by this instrument, which is made before the end of the period of 12 months from the commencement of the enactments contained in the 1986 Act under which it is made, makes the following regulations:—

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1

(1) These regulations may be cited as the Statutory Maternity Pay (Medical Evidence) Regulations 1987 and shall come into force on 15th March 1987.

(2) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

“the Act” means the Social Security Act 1986;

“registered midwife” means a midwife who is registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council under the Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001;

“doctor” means a registered medical practitioner;

“signature” means, in relation to any statement or certificate given in accordance with these regulations, the name by which the person giving that statement or certificate, as the case may be, is usually known (any name other than the surname being either in full or otherwise indicated) written by that person in his own handwriting; and “signed” shall be construed accordingly.

Evidence of pregnancy and confinement

2

The evidence as to pregnancy and the expected date of confinement which a woman is required to provide to a person who is liable to pay her statutory maternity pay shall be furnished in the form of a maternity certificate given by a doctor or by a registered midwife, not earlier than the beginning of the 20th week before the expected week of confinement, in accordance with the rules set out in Part I of the Schedule to these regulations—

(a) in the appropriate form as set out in Part II of that Schedule, or

(b) in a form substantially to the like effect with such variations as the circumstances may require.

SCHEDULE

PART I — rules

1

In these rules any reference to a woman is a reference to the woman in respect of whom a maternity certificate is given in accordance with these rules.

2

A maternity certificate shall be given by a doctor or registered midwife attending the woman and shall not be given by the woman herself.

3

The maternity certificate shall be on a form provided by the Secretary of State for the purpose and the wording shall be that set out in the appropriate part of the form specified in Part II of this Schedule.

4

Every maternity certificate ... shall contain the following particulars—

(a) the woman's name;

(b) the week in which the woman is expected to be confined or, if the maternity certificate is given after confinement, the date of that confinement and the date the confinement was expected to take place ...;

(d) the date on which the maternity certificate is signed; and

(e) the address of the doctor or where the maternity certificate is signed by a registered midwife the personal identification number given to her on her registration in ... the register maintained by the Nursing and Midwifery Council NMC”) under article 5 of the Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001 and the expiry date of that registration,

and shall bear opposite the word “Signature”, the signature of the person giving the maternity certificate written after there has been entered on the maternity certificate the woman's name and the expected date or, as the case may be, the date of the confinement.

5

After a maternity certificate has been given, no further maternity certificate based on the same examination shall be furnished other than a maternity certificate by way of replacement of an original which has been lost or mislaid, in which case it shall be clearly marked “duplicate”.

PART II — FORM OF CERTIFICATE

MATERNITY CERTIFICATE

Please fill in this form in inkName of patient	Please fill in this form in inkName of patient
Fill in this part if you are giving the certificate before the confinement.	Fill in this part if you are giving the certificate after the confinement.
Do not fill this in more than 20 weeks before the week the baby is expected.	I certify that I attended you in connection with the birth which took place on ......./........../........when you were delivered of a child [ ] children.
I certify that I examined you on the date given below. In my opinion you can expect to have your baby in the week that includes ......./........../........	In my opinion your baby was expected in the week that includes ......./........../........
Week means a period of 7 days starting on a Sunday and ending on a Saturday.
Date of examination ......../........../........	Registered midwives
Date of signing ......./........../........	Please give your NMC Personal identification Number and the expiry date of your registration with the NMC . __ __
	_____
Signature:	_____
	_____
	DoctorsPlease stamp your name and address here (unless the form has been stamped, in Wales, by the Local Health Board in whose medical performers list you are included or, in Scotland, by the Health Board in whose primary medical services performers list you are included).
	DoctorsPlease stamp your name and address here (unless the form has been stamped, in Wales, by the Local Health Board in whose medical performers list you are included or, in Scotland, by the Health Board in whose primary medical services performers list you are included).






	______
	______
	______

Signed

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Social Services.

Nicholas Lyell — Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, — 1987-02-19

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1986 c. 50; section 84(1) is cited because of the meaning ascribed to the words “prescribed” and “regulations”.

[^f00002]: 1979 c. 36.

Editorial notes

[^c2180621]: 1986 c. 50; section 84(1) is cited because of the meaning ascribed to the words “prescribed” and “regulations”.

[^key-f23c424d4719cc255d56f81f6db8db1e]: Sch. Pt. II substituted (1.11.1991) by The Social Security (Miscellaneous Provisions) Amendment Regulations 1991 (S.I. 1991/2284), regs. 1, 24

[^key-787e5ca837ce3896e9c334defe754fb8]: Words in Sch. para. 4(b) omitted (1.11.1991) by virtue of The Social Security (Miscellaneous Provisions) Amendment Regulations 1991 (S.I. 1991/2284), regs. 1, 23(a)

[^key-1deaad5d42f549560d259fd7a4a09488]: Words in Sch. Pt. II substituted (28.9.2001) by The Social Security (Medical Evidence) and Statutory Maternity Pay (Medical Evidence) (Amendment) Regulations 2001 (S.I. 2001/2931), regs. 1, 3(3)(a)

[^key-22aefb06953dd0144715e14c817253ea]: Words in reg. 2 inserted (28.9.2001) by The Social Security (Medical Evidence) and Statutory Maternity Pay (Medical Evidence) (Amendment) Regulations 2001 (S.I. 2001/2931), regs. 1, 3(2)

[^key-c8b0138a43353c7498ff34ed580563f3]: Words in reg. 1 substituted (17.4.2002) by The Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001 (Consequential Amendments) Order 2002 (S.I. 2002/881), art. 1, Sch. para. 2

[^key-60078bf90c80a648913cd6e90db5e92a]: Sch. para. 4(e) substituted (17.4.2002) by The Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001 (Consequential Amendments) Order 2002 (S.I. 2002/881), art. 1, Sch. para. 3

[^key-3f5e84ce5eb1d39670b8675734f10736]: Words in Sch. Pt. II substituted (E.S.N.I.) (1.4.2004, (further amended (W.) (S.I. 2004/1016)Sch. 1 para. 5)) by The General Medical Services and Personal Medical Services Transitional and Consequential Provisions Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/865), art. 1(1), Sch. 1 para. 5

[^key-265fbd1a2d48c3d2dfa45e860dad57e7]: Word in Sch. Pt. II substituted (1.8.2004) by The Health Act 1999 (Consequential Amendments) (Nursing and Midwifery) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/1771), art. 1(1), Sch. para. 51(b)

[^key-f76e0a5998df5b623055ec0e324ea0ef]: Words in Sch. para. 4(e) omitted (1.8.2004) by virtue of The Health Act 1999 (Consequential Amendments) (Nursing and Midwifery) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/1771), art. 1(1), Sch. para. 51(a)(i)

[^key-b4287628aed9150a8a593f345e9eee40]: Words in Sch. para. 4(e) substituted (1.8.2004) by The Health Act 1999 (Consequential Amendments) (Nursing and Midwifery) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/1771), art. 1(1), Sch. para. 51(a)(ii)

[^key-837cb241be53070a7ee7f34d7d7c7f78]: Words in Sch. Pt. II substituted (1.4.2013) by The National Treatment Agency (Abolition) and the Health and Social Care Act 2012 (Consequential, Transitional and Saving Provisions) Order 2013 (S.I. 2013/235), art. 1(2), Sch. 2 para. 9(3)

[^key-eb38127a5ac47b3fd606c2a5f1d361da]: Words in reg. 1(2) omitted (1.4.2013) by virtue of The National Treatment Agency (Abolition) and the Health and Social Care Act 2012 (Consequential, Transitional and Saving Provisions) Order 2013 (S.I. 2013/235), art. 1(2), Sch. 2 para. 9(2)

[^key-8bac979f347aa11c4cf09868723164da]: Words in Sch. para. 4 omitted (1.4.2026) by virtue of The Social Security and Statutory Maternity Pay (Evidence of Pregnancy and Compensation of Employers) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 2026/201), regs. 1(2), 4

Reading this document does not replace reading the official text published on legislation.gov.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. We assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies arising from the conversion of the original CLML XML to this format.