Answer by Laura Livingstone

You have already answered the first question on which I would need the answer i.e. do you qualify for SMP for both jobs?  Your employer has told me that you are eligible.  This is good news since this should mean that you can choose to take different times off for each job without losing any SMP. 

This would not be the same if you qualified for SMP for one job but not the other.  The reason for this is because SMP entitlement is treated completely separately under each contract when earnings are not added together to work out National Insurance Contributions. So it appears that you can return sooner to your fitness class than to your full-time job for which you can take the whole leave period if desired together with some negotiated KIT (Keeping in Touch) days which you can negotiate with your employer.

Laura Livingstone is an employment lawyer for Davenport Lyons in London. Her practice focuses on contentious and non-contentious employment work, but she leans towards the non-contentious.  She has advised a wide variety of corporate clients in all areas of employment.