Made redundant whilst pregnant, getting SMP but entitled to nothing else?!

katwoman28

Hi there,

I'm hoping that someone may have some idea of my rights here.

I was made redundant on the 12th of August after over 42 weeks service with my company, at 28 weeks pregnant.
I will be paid 6 weeks at 90% of my average pay and the remaining 33 weeks at the standard £123.06 SMP from my ex-employer.
They are legally required to do this and I will be paid it in a lump sum on the 6th of September. (it will be heavily taxed but I am told I can claim this back)
In addition I have been given 2 weeks pay as redundancy compensation and 1 month's pay-in-lieu-of-notice.
The date I gave for maternity leave is the 7th September and my baby is due on the 2nd of November.

My partner works 30hrs a week at minimum wage and is currently seeking full-time employment.
We are seriously struggling.

Here's the bit where I'm stuck......

Yesterday I went to the job centre, as I was given the impression by my ex-employer's HR dept that I would be able to get some kind of help.
After a 2.5hr application over the phone I turned up at my appointment and was passed around several people. After various phonecalls I was told that I cannot claim jobseekers and am entitled to nothing else, including income support.
No-one really seemed to know what they were talking about and it just seemed like guesswork.
They gave me a pile of pre-paid envelopes for the week and a half remaining of unemployment and sent me on my way more confused than ever!

They say I can't work past the 7th September and then suggested I come back once the baby is born in the New Year and am seeking work! I explained I would have to pay back the mat leave remaining in that case.....no answer to that one apart from 'oh I don't know'.

The result of my meetings was that they think that all I am entitled to in addition to child and working tax credits is the £500 sure start maternity grant once the baby is born.
It just doesn't seem right that if I was 4 weeks less pregnant, my ex-employer would not be paying my SMP so I would get AML instead and then jobseekers, followed by income support and could return to work earlier if I really felt like it.

I have since heard of several friends of friends who have had income support given by the jobcentre and are in exactly the same situation as me.

What I really need to know is:-

Am I allowed to work past the 7th sept?
When can I go back to work? (SMP covers until 7th June 2010)
Can I claim jobseekers and when?
Can I claim income support and when?
Am I allowed to put my SMP lump sum in a savings acc to standing order it to myself or will this count as savings and go against me?
Who can I speak to now?!

Any ideas would be muchly appreciated.

Kxxx

woody01

I dont undertand?

You want to claim your 90% Maternity Pay AND JSA/IS?
How can you be suprised this isn't allowed.

katwoman28

Thanks,

I think you may have misunderstood me.
I'm actually unemployed now but my ex-employer will pay me 6 weeks at 90% pay - that's only £200 altogether in the entire 39 weeks on top of what I would get if I was entitled to AML.anyway.
£200 is the only benefit I get from them being legally obliged to pay my SMP.

Cheers,
Kx

flea72

it depends on how you have explained your plans to the job centre.

between being made redundant and starting mat leave, you should be able to sign on for JSA

However, once your mat leave kicks in, then you can no longer claim JSA and just get your SMP - as you have stated you want your mat leave to start on 7th sept, then as of that date you cannot claim JSA, so im assuming as the timescales are so close, it might not be worth all the pen pushing required

I dont understand the £200 figure you quote, is that £200 a week, or £200 for the whole 6wks? if the later, then you wont be getting much SMP either as you earnings are too low

Benefit wise as you already know, once baby arrives, sure start grant, child benefit, CTC, WTC - you should have received the health grant up til now?

Other avenues, council tax, housing, etc.

as for paying back the SMP, that would only happen if you return to work before your 39wks are up - one reason not to blow the lot, and instead spend it as if you were still being paid by your employer

Flea

liney

I'm abit confused by your post to be honest, but can confirm you can legally return to work 2 weeks after giving birth, but of course you no longer get SMP if you are working, so i would assume you would pay the SMP back if you had it in advance..... very unusual situation. Have you contacted ACAS?

hunnycat

way i have read it is that your ex employer is giving you 6 weeks at 90% whis is about £200 a week and then the full 33 weeks smp which would be £4060.98 is that right your getting it all in one payment?

If thats the case then your already being paid for your maternity leave as smp is a benefit which the employer claims back from the dwp. after child tax and working tax and child benefit there is not much more you can claim.

Is the house you live in private or rented as you may be able to get help with council tax and housing benefit.

Twinkle29

I understand your reason for questioning this. I am currently 12 weeks pregnant and don't know how we are going to cope once I go on maternity leave. I am however employed but will still only get the 6 weeks at 90% and then the other 33 weeks on £123 per week which is less than half my normal weekly earnings. We are entitled to very little tax credits as these will be based on my full salary and not the reduced maternity pay, and with our morgage being £830 per month for a 2 bed terrace as we bought at the top of the boom and have a high fixed interest rate, one FSA calculator said we will be £7500 in debt when the baby turns 1! Why do the benefit calculations not take into account your monthly outgoings? And why is there not any additional benefit available when on maternity leave. My husband works over 40 hours a week so I can't claim income support! And my grandparents tell me 'you can always find a way if its for your child', I don't see how?

Ch4rlieB

Your post is more than a little confusing.

You seem to think you can get SMP and job seekers!?!

My wife has recently given birth to our first child. She lost her job while about 16 weeks pregnant. and was on job seekers after this.

Whilst unemployed and on job seekers. The Maternity Allowance (SMP when not employed) is paid at the earliest time, you don't get any choice in this matter.

I'd be grateful of the 90%, not everyone gets this!

If you look elsewhere on this site, there is a link to all the benfits you can claim.

We also werent sure exactly how we'd cope with the massively reduced income. But the little one is now just under 4 months old. and I wonder what we actually spent all our money on before he came along.



Twinkle29.... I can see you point, our mortgage is a similiar level to yours, and similar situation, expect we didnt get the 90%, and my wife doesnt have job to after maternity is finished.but you'd be surprise, as i mentioned you just find a way... You will be entitled to tax credits unless your combined income is over £60k, and I don't mean to be mean if it is, I cant see why your complaining, and factor in the child benefits as well.

Ch4rlieB

katwoman28 wrote: »

Thanks,

I think you may have misunderstood me.
I'm actually unemployed now but my ex-employer will pay me 6 weeks at 90% pay - that's only £200 altogether in the entire 39 weeks on top of what I would get if I was entitled to AML.anyway.
£200 is the only benefit I get from them being legally obliged to pay my SMP.

Cheers,
Kx

Thats more than a little confusing...

£200 is all you get for 6 week at 90%.... To me that seems wrong. But I also dont think your ex-Employer is legally obligied to pay you anything.

What you'll be entitles to subject to the correct level of NI payments, is Maternity Allowance @ £123 a week.

katwoman28

Hi All,

I probably shouldn't have written such a long schpeel to start with as perhaps it made me sound like some kind of scrounger.

The simple matter is that I have no job, I cannot work now and will be getting exactly the same mat pay as anyone else that is unemployed with £200 IN TOTAL on top from my employer and am frightened and upset that we have no way of coping, other than my partner's low wage.

I am being forced to have this sum paid by my employer because of a legal loophole.
I have never expected handouts and came on here for advice, not only about JSA and Income support, but for any other ideas about how I might be able to cope.

Please bear in mind if you feel like leaving nasty comments that you are dealing with someone that is devastated at losing her job, is 7 months pregnant and terrified about the future.

Thanks for making me feel like s**t and making me cry.

To those who made constructive suggestions and actually read my longwinded post, thankyou. I just don't know what to do.....

josephine1_2

Hiya, if you're not eligible now, you will probably be eligible for the £500 surestart grant when your baby is here. Have you rang tax credits and checked what you are entitled to? Remember a baby needs very little money spent on it, I know I have a 1 year old who has a living room full of toys, designer clothes, because I go to car boots, surf ebay and go on freecycle. Plus remember lots of shops will give you money off vouchers if you up to their parenting clubs, make sure you sign your partner up to and you get 2 lots!