What Is A KIT Day In The UK? A Guide For Employers

Consider a scenario where an employee is on maternity leave. Yet, they want to stay intact with their work without ending their maternity leave. How do they achieve this? The solution lies in the keeping in touch (KIT) days. In the UK, “Keeping in Touch” (KIT) days offer a valuable opportunity for employees on maternity or adoption leave to stay engaged in work activities without disrupting or ending their leave entitlements. Notably, it is immensely significant for employers to understand what is a KIT day to support employees during their transition back to work. Therefore, this guide is meant to encompass the essentials of what is a KIT day in the UK to help employers stay compliant with employment laws.

 

 

What is a KIT Day?

KIT days allow employees on maternity or adoption leave to work up to 10 days without ending their leave or affecting their statutory pay. The primary purpose of KIT days is to facilitate an employee’s smooth return to work by keeping them connected with the workplace. Further elaborating, KIT days are principally intended to enable employees on maternity leave to continue working, retain touch with co-workers and stay informed of any changes at work that might have occurred during their absence. Ultimately, KIT days provide employees with an opportunity to make a seamless return to work.

Furthermore, these days are entirely optional and must be agreed upon by both the employer and the employee. Notably, keeping in touch days do not impact the employee’s right to maternity or adoption leave.

Understanding The Key Aspects Of KIT Days:

It is necessary to look at all the important aspects when learning what is a KIT day, such as:

Participation:

Since KIT days are not an automatic entitlement for employees, participation in KIT days is not mandatory. Subsequently, employers cannot compel employees to work these days, nor can employees insist on working them. Any work that an employee undertakes must be mutually agreed upon beforehand between the employer and employee, with the employee requesting to avail themselves of the KIT days.

Timing Restrictions:

The exception to KIT days is that employees cannot undertake Keep in Touch days during the first two weeks following childbirth. Similarly, it is four weeks for factory workers. Beyond this period, KIT days can be scheduled at any time during maternity or adoption leave, paid or unpaid leave. However, they do not have to occur on consecutive days. In addition, KIT days cannot be utilised to extend maternity leave beyond the limit of 52 weeks.

Nature Of Work:

An employee can utilise their KIT days carrying out any work that they would normally do as part of their employment. Yet, it is great practice for the employer to direct the employee on what they will be doing during their KIT days.

The KIT days can also be used to stay apprised of the workplace developments taking place when an employee has been on leave. Generally, the type of work performed during KIT days can vary and may include the following:

• Attending training sessions.
• Participating in meetings.
• Attending conferences.
• Working on specific projects.
• Engaging in team-building activities.
• Work-from-home can also be considered a Keep in Touch day if it has been agreed with the employer beforehand.

It is noteworthy that any work, regardless of duration, is deemed a full KIT day. Subsequently, even when an employee participates in a brief meeting, it would constitute one of the ten allowable days.  Overall, whatever the nature of work that an employee performs, keeping in touch days are principally meant to help an employee’s gradual transition back into the workplace.

Payment For KIT Days:

When learning what is a KIT day, figuring out if KIT days are paid cannot be overlooked. Principally, employers must compensate employees for any work they perform during KIT days. While there are no specific regulations or requirements on how much employees should be paid for working during keeping in touch days, the rate of pay should be consistent with the National Minimum Wage Act, the Equal Pay Act and any relevant terms of the employment contract. Usually, many employers opt to pay the employee’s standard daily rate in order to maintain consistency. You can learn more about the National Minimum Wage rates by visiting the government website.

To go further, it is prudent for the employer and employee to confirm and agree payment and pay rate for Keep in Touch days before they take place. Finally, payment for KIT days should be compensated in the payroll for the week or month worked, since it will be dealt with in the same manner as the employee’s regular wage. As an outcome, the employee should not have to wait for their pay until the end of their maternity leave, unless this is the next scheduled payroll date.

Impact On Statutory Pay:

As the prime objective of KIT days is to retain the employee’s status on maternity leave, they should keep getting paid Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), which is £187.18 per week for the 2025/26 tax year. Take note that Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is payable for up to 39 weeks. You can enlighten yourself more about SMP through the government website.

Moreover, engaging in up to 10 KIT days does not affect an employee’s entitlement to Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) or Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP).On the contrary, if the employee exceeds this limit, it might result in the discontinuation or termination of these benefits. The employer can deduct any pay for KIT days against SMP payments or make a contractual payment, but they cannot pay an employee an amount less than what they are entitled to as SMP.

 

 

Conclusion:

All in all, understanding what is a KIT day is vital, for it serves as a valuable tool for maintaining engagement between employers and employees during maternity leave and helping a seamless return to work for them. More importantly, by understanding and adhering to the guidelines surrounding KIT days, employers can support their staff’s smooth transition back to work and abide by the employment laws.

Nevertheless, being an employer, if you are seeking assistance in managing Keep in Touch days and other payroll obligations, the payroll accountants at Payrollservices.accountants can be of adequate help to you. Our services include accurate record-keeping, compliance with HMRC regulations, and personalised advice to support both employers and employees during periods of leave.

Disclaimer: The content contained in this blog is exclusively aimed at informational purposes and should be treated as such. While it has been written with thorough scrutiny at the time of writing to ensure every information is correct, no warranty for the acceptance of any error or inaccuracy is given. It is not a piece of absolute financial advice, nor is it expert legal advice. Hence, it is advised to consult a professional before acting upon any information stated herein.