FAQ
These are support-style answers, not filler. Each one points back to the calculator workflow or the next review step.
BumpPay asks for the due date, leave start date, employment start date, payroll cadence, and relevant-period earnings. It then estimates the qualifying week, average weekly earnings, likely eligibility posture, the first 6 weeks at 90 percent of average weekly earnings, and the next 33 weeks at the lower of the standard rate or 90 percent.
No. It is an informational estimator. Use it to sense-check dates, assumptions, and likely payment structure before you run payroll or make a final employment-law decision. If dates are unusual or the worker has mixed earnings, review the GOV.UK guidance and your payroll process.
The qualifying week is the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth. BumpPay turns the due date into a plain-English qualifying-week window so an employer or employee can understand which employment and earnings period matters.
Weekly, fortnightly, four-weekly, and monthly payroll runs create different habits for how people gather earnings data. The statutory formula still works off average weekly earnings, but the framing and review notes should match the payroll cadence the user actually runs.
That is exactly where review-needed guidance matters. BumpPay shows the Lower Earnings Limit assumption as a visible input and explains when a final payroll review is sensible. If the figure changes in future years, users can update the assumption instead of waiting for the app to be edited.
The tool shows the standard recovery path and the small-employer relief path side by side. It is designed to explain the logic, not hide it. Users can adjust the assumptions and compare what the recovery estimate looks like under each path.
Yes, but as a planning aid. The calculator links directly to support pages that explain notice timing, proof requirements, and next steps. That matters because many payroll questions are really document and timing questions, not math questions.
Review needed means the estimate found a timing or earnings pattern that deserves a closer payroll check. The result still shows the timeline, assumptions, and most relevant guide links so the user does not hit a dead end.