Sick Leave/Maternity Pay/ Tax Credits/ Maternity Grant

dannib2k

Hi All,

PLEASE HELP.

I have currently been working for my employer for 5 years, and am 31 weeks pregnant, i have been unable to work for the past 5 months due to ill health against a pregnancy related condition, for this period all but 2 weeks i have been paid, but am being forced onto maternity leave 1 month earlier than i wanted to because of this illness. Therefore my maternity pay kicks in sooner and in theory i am losing out. Me and my partner were both working over 30 hours to cover Loans C/C repayments house and Car.

We are struggling at the moment to make ends meet and will be even more so when i drop to statatory maternity pay, i have looked into Tax Credits and it seems i have earnt to much last year to be entitled although this years wages will be different.
Will we get help with Tax Credits / Maternity Grant .

It seems to me that if i come out of work after the baby has been born we will get more help and be better off overall.
It really doesnt feel like middle class working familys are eligiable for any help.

Advice on this would be excellent

WestonDave

Unfortunately the rules do allow employers to start someone in your situation on maternity leave early.

Once the baby is born you will be entitled to continuing SMP up to a total of 9 months (it used to only be 6 in total) which gives you some flexibility. You will also get child benefit (roughly £18 per week for a first child - memory is letting me down) and unless you have a combined income of over £75k you will get the working families tax credit child element.

Best thing to do is try entitledto.com and have a play with their calculators to see what you get under various scenarios and not rely on my dodgy memory!

clairec79

You can ask for the claim to be processed on the current years estimated earnings (I *think* you put it in on last years then ring up and amend it

DaisyFlower

WTC is capped far lower than £75k - more around £17k. CTC are payable once the baby is born - the amount depends upon joint earnings and Family Allowance is £18 a week once the baby arrives.

The sure start grant is usually only payable to those on benefits or those getting CTC at more than the family/baby rate so if you both earn you may not quaaalify for that.

Assuming you got your normal wages whilst off sick (as you say you will drop to SMP) then most people try and put some by to cover the SMP period or start to reduce outgoings.

cw18

WTC is certainly capped a lot further down that that -- and CTC starts to drop at (I think) around the 52k mark.......

cw18

Meant to say......

if your income for this tax year is lower than last tax year, then they will calculate your allowances based on THIS years estimated income. (We did that last tax year and it made a huge difference to us )

tinkerbell84

dannib2k wrote: »

am being forced onto maternity leave 1 month earlier than i wanted to because of this illness. Therefore my maternity pay kicks in sooner and in theory i am losing out.

This is right. See

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Moneyandworkentitlements/WorkAndFamilies/Pregnancyandmaternityrights/DG_10039631

which says that:

When you can start your leave
You can start your leave any time from 11 weeks before the beginning of the week when your baby's due. If you're off work because of your pregnancy in the four weeks before the expected birth date, your employer can make you start your maternity leave

If it weren't like this, everyone would go sick before the baby arrived and then start their maternity on the day it came!

cw18

but she's not yet in the 4 weeks before the EBD.

tinkerbell84

No, but she doesn't say that they've put her on mat leave now either.

I read it that they'd told her she would be going onto maternity leave 4 weeks (a month) before her due date, and she actually wanted to stay off sick, on full pay, until the baby arrives, and then have 9 months maternity.

scotty1971

dannib2k wrote: »

It seems to me that if i come out of work after the baby has been born we will get more help and be better off overall.
It really doesnt feel like middle class working familys are eligiable for any help.
Advice on this would be excellent

couldn't agree with you more on this,my partner who is a self employed childminder is due a baby in january,but after working out the figures,we would be far better off her not going back to work,just dosen't make sense to me.she minds two kids for a single mother(totally admire her for going out work),who gets paid £98 a week for a wage,and the tax credits pays my partner £120 a week for watching her kids!