Maternity pay

ERJ

Need some advice please!
I am ttc, however I may be changing job, woundering if this would make a difference to the maternity pay if I do fall preg in the future. I know most jobs give you maternity pay after one year, does anyone know what you get if you have not been there for one year?
Hope some one understands!!
Thanks.

ladybirdintheuk

Here goes:

But in order to be entitled to Statutory Maternity pay from your employer, you have to have worked for the company for 26 weeks prior to the qualifying week (that 15th week before baby is due) - so therefore you have to have worked there since you were 3 weeks pregnant.

The legal minimum amount of money for maternity pay is 6 weeks at the higher of 90% of your average weekly earnings (this is the average amount you earn in the 8 weeks running up to the qualifying week) and the SMP rate (currently £117.18) then 33 weeks at the lower of the two.

(ie if your average weekly earnings works out at £200 you would get 6 weeks of £180 per week, then 33 weeks at £118.17. If your AWE was £100 you would get 6 weeks at £118.17, then the rest at £90 a week.)

NOTE, this is legal minimum, so some (but no-where near all!) employers pay more than that... but normally if they are going to pay more you have to have worked there for a certain length of time - I've never heard of an employer paying extra maternity pay to anyone who is not entitled to SMP, and some have policies of only paying the legal minimum for someone whose baby is due within the first year or sometimes 2 years.

If you haven't worked there for long enough to get SMP, you are still entitled to the maternity leave - there is no time cut off for this. Everyone is entitled to a whole year off... (well, technically 52 weeks) If you're being paid SMP, you get paid for the first 39 weeks, then get the rest of the weeks as unpaid. You don't have to take that many weeks if you don't want to. But you do have to take 2 weeks off, or 6 weeks if you work in a factory.

And if you're not entitled to SMP through employer you will likely be entitled to Maternity Allowance directly from the benefits office. I don't know much about that, but a quick google has given me this link

http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCp/Customers/WorkingAgeBenefits/Dev_008115.xml.html

it looks like you get the same amount of money, it just is paid directly by the government instead of by the employer

ERJ

Thanks much appreciated!!!
Going to take the job if get offered it!!

ladybirdintheuk

that's ok - I work in payroll, so spend my day explaining things like this to people

ginvzt

In my previous company you get enhanced maternity pay (100% for 23 weeks + 16 weeks at SMP) independent of how long you have worked for them, but you have to work there for a year after maternity leave or you would have to pay back the top up from standard maternity pay.

Haven't found out how things are in the current company yet (I am here 3 months so far), but we are still trying for a baby... It is not easy to ask, as you wouldn't like to be missed out of certain projects and promotions if they find out you are trying (and it can take a while to get pregnant)

RASTIE_2

Sorry to hijack this thread,but does anyone know your maternity rights/pay if you fall pregent whilst you are on maternity leave?

lizziebell*80

ginvzt wrote: »

In my previous company you get enhanced maternity pay (100% for 23 weeks + 16 weeks at SMP) independent of how long you have worked for them, but you have to work there for a year after maternity leave or you would have to pay back the top up from standard maternity pay.

Haven't found out how things are in the current company yet (I am here 3 months so far), but we are still trying for a baby... It is not easy to ask, as you wouldn't like to be missed out of certain projects and promotions if they find out you are trying (and it can take a while to get pregnant)

Ooh 100% for 23 weeks, that is good. At my current company we get the 6 weeks @ 90%, then 20 weeks @ 50% and finally 13 weeks at 35% pay so that leaves 13 weeks out of 52 with nothing. And it states that you have to come back afterwards or risk having to pay back the enhanced pay however it doesn't say how long for (I would guess a year but feel that it would be kind of cheeky to rock up to HR and ask maybe once pg this would be more of a valid request!);)

ginvzt

lizziebell*80 wrote: »

Ooh 100% for 23 weeks, that is good. At my current company we get the 6 weeks @ 90%, then 20 weeks @ 50% and finally 13 weeks at 35% pay so that leaves 13 weeks out of 52 with nothing. And it states that you have to come back afterwards or risk having to pay back the enhanced pay however it doesn't say how long for (I would guess a year but feel that it would be kind of cheeky to rock up to HR and ask maybe once pg this would be more of a valid request!);)

This is not bad - I would be happy with that!!!! But I suspect that in my current company it is only the basic pay. There is a lady that came back from maternity leave before I started, and a month later I asked her how old is her little buy and she said - oh, 6 months today :eek: And she is working full time - 2 days from home, 3 days from the office. Well, you wouldn't really come back so soon if you had decent maternity pay, would you? She was back to work when the baby was less than 5 months old!!!!!!

lizziebell*80

Maybe she has relatives that can help out for free or is just a workaholic? Or her OH is stay at home dad as she earns tonnes?
We don't have any relatives by us they are all at least 200 miles away so will need to have a long think about what we are going to do, but I am taking a year off and that goes withour saying, we'll use savings to supplement the loss of income in the last weeks.

ginvzt

Well, I don't think they earn tonnes and her OH is def not stay home dad, I think she has mum to help her. She is admin lady, so unlikely to be on a very high pay. Oh well, until I get pg I am not going to stick my neck out and ask...

ladybirdintheuk

RASTIE wrote: »

Sorry to hijack this thread,but does anyone know your maternity rights/pay if you fall pregent whilst you are on maternity leave?

You would still be entitled to maternity leave, but it might mean that you are not entitled to maternity pay, depending on how soon you fell pregnant.

As well as having worked at the company for long enough, your average weekly earnings also have to be higher than the National Insurance Lower Earnings Limit (currently £90 a week).

Your average weekly earnings (as above) is the average you earnt for the 8 weeks prior to the qualifying week, which is the 15th week before baby is due. So if the qualifying period for your AWE was when you were still on the unpaid bit at the end of your maternity leave, then you wouldn't earn enough to qualify.

But otherwise you are entitled to it all again.