help with maternity issues

sarahlady

hi,
im currently working under a contract between the months of sept-may,as im paid on a pro rata basis i still recive my wages during the moths that im away from work,this is because iv already earned that money.
Im due to take maternity leave in march and should be entitled to maternity allowence at the very least. i worried that il lose the pay that id usuialy recieve during may-sept as i cant be paid materity allowence & wages at the same time.should my employer pay me in advance the money that iv earned that would usualy cover me from may-sept??

skintchick

I'd ask if you could have it in advance, but otherwise I imagine it is more than MA so you'd be better off with the wages.

nadnad

thats interesting, so you work kind of a term time thing but your wages are spread throughout the entire year? well as you're only getting paid for work you've done already it shouldnt affect your maternity allowance. Have you asked your employer?
sorry not much help. am sure someone will come along the the answer

sarahlady

yes i work term time,i have tried asking my employer but had no certain answers !
i had thought about taking the wages instead of marernity pay but would be worse off in the long run as would be missing out on alot of maternity leave as would then have to return to work in sept instead of dec.
realy dont see why i should lose anything iv already earned or lose the maternity pay that us hard working mums are entitled too!!!!!!

maggie21

Are you not entitled to statutory maternity pay, I think it's more than MA and your employer can still pay you. You get 90% of your wage for the first 6 weeks then 50% for the next 32? weeks. But your employer can still pay you at the same time as SMP goes through you payslip, so will show on your P60.

I think I have given all the correct info, will look for the link so you can check it out yourself. Good luck.

Oh great, I appear to have bookmarked all my other pages accept this one!

maggie21

Found it! And bookmarked it now!!

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Expectingorbringingupchildren/DG_10018741

This one is really good, I got loads of information from it, hope it helps.

I also found this one whilst looking, may be of help, but the one above is much better, IMO.
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/lifeevent/benefits/statutory_maternity_pay.asp#top

Auzelia

meigle21 wrote: »

Are you not entitled to statutory maternity pay, I think it's more than MA and your employer can still pay you. You get 90% of your wage for the first 6 weeks then 50% for the next 32? weeks. But your employer can still pay you at the same time as SMP goes through you payslip, so will show on your P60.

I think I have given all the correct info, will look for the link so you can check it out yourself. Good luck.

Oh great, I appear to have bookmarked all my other pages accept this one!

This is Wrong. Standard SMP is 90% of the OP's wage for 6 weeks. The other 33 weeks would be at a rate of £117.18. Some companies have other maternity allowances but as a rule this is what they have to offer. Though they can improve on it they cant give anything worse.

maggie21

Auzelia wrote: »

This is Wrong. Standard SMP is 90% of the OP's wage for 6 weeks. The other 33 weeks would be at a rate of £117.18. Some companies have other maternity allowances but as a rule this is what they have to offer. Though they can improve on it they cant give anything worse.

Ooops, yes sorry. My company pay me 50% for a bit longer.

But the point I was trying, (not very well!) to make is if you have already worked the time surely your company would still pay your full wage + SMP? At least until you were due to start working again, but I think you would be entitled to SMP rather than MA which I believe would be more.

I'm not talking from experience, I've just been looking into it, to sort our finance for when the time comes.

Good luck

Auzelia

yes that is correct, if she has worked there for x amount of time and has earned x amount per week then she should get SMP.

SMP (IMO) is better if you earn ALOT of money as the 90% for the 6 weeks, plus for every week on maternity leave you can deduct £100 from the amount you give to Working tax credits from your P60. But you still get taxed and N.I taken off you on SMP, whilst you dont get tax and N.I taken off you from MA.

It works in roundabouts really.

But I hope the OP can get an answer as to wether she is entitled to SMP and her wages that she has already worked for. The only problem is see with that atm is though, that as she will have her basic wage + SMP the amount of tax and N.I she will pay is going to be obv more than what she would pay in normal circumstances.

maggie21

Auzelia wrote: »

But you still get taxed and N.I taken off you on SMP,

:eek::eek:

How do people cope? It's only £117ish a week anyway & you pay tax and NI too! :think: I have to admit I did wonder, but thought, surely not!!!!

sarahlady

unfortunatly i only work part time and on min wage,looks like im gonna miss out on smp by about £3 a week and their not keen on me doing overtime at the moment (i dont work for the greatest of companies).