SMP ends, still employed but not paid, what does one live on?

notlongnow_2

My employer states that I have to return to work after mat leave for a certain length of time...sorry, cant remember how long. If I just dont go back to work then I have to repay all my mat pay back.

Does your friends employer have a HR department? She can get all the right info from there.

can she ebay like a mad thing between now and when her mat pay ends so she has money put by to cover her for the last few weeks?

Seems a bit daft to leave her job as she wouldnt need the nursery place at all then.

WestonDave

It may be that the nursery cannot take the baby immediately for the full number of days that the friend wants to work - say she works full time but they've only got space for Mondays and Fridays (quite often parents don't work those days so they can have long weekends). Your friend would then have a strong case to return to work, but ask for flexible working (i.e. reduced days) on the grounds of childcare needs. It is very very hard for an employer to refuse this as it effectively become sex discrimination in the eyes of an employment tribunal. As the nursery has more free days she can then return to her full hours.

The only problem is that this might not leave her enough to live on, but it might be an alternative to just handing in her notice.

supersaverkerry

iamana1ias wrote: »

I bet she would say she was

I think yes she would say she was - the reason - well she IS a lone parent !!

Earlier in the thread it said dad pays maintaince which would mean he isnt with the mother right??

iamana1ias

WestonDave wrote: »

Your friend would then have a strong case to return to work, but ask for flexible working (i.e. reduced days) on the grounds of childcare needs. It is very very hard for an employer to refuse this as it effectively become sex discrimination in the eyes of an employment tribunal.

.

Utter utter rubbish. No employer can be held at gunpoint over flexible working. If they can show strong grounds why they cannot agree the request they can refuse it. There are many many businesses that wouldn't be able to allow someone to work Monday and Friday for valid reasons and they could not be forced to.

iamana1ias

supersaverkerry wrote: »

I think yes she would say she was - the reason - well she IS a lone parent !!

Earlier in the thread it said dad pays maintaince which would mean he isnt with the mother right??

Doesn't mean they can't be together though

thorsoak

Unless we are talking virgin birth here, there is another parent on the planet - yes? Is he not able to take any parental responsibility/leave to look after baby until the nursery place comes up? Or what about grandparents? Could this be a possibility?

Personally I would explore all possiblities, however unlikely, before I would give up a wage - it won't be easy getting back later on.

jen_br

if she resigned i believe the company may ask for some money back no?

jen_br

Sure start offer help with childcare.. also local authorities can help.

I had a baby and i had to pre-plan all this before hand. to not is foolish.. my LO went on a nursery list before he even came out! you have 39 paid weeks to sort it out!

kingfisherblue

jen_br wrote: »

if she resigned i believe the company may ask for some money back no?

I think that an employer can only ask for some money back if they have paid in excess of SMP.

I'd just like to add how lucky people are with maternity leave these days. It is far longer than it used to be, and you receive payment for longer as well. When my daughter was born, I returned to work, albeit part time, when she was three months old as we couldn't afford for me to be off any longer. This was before the minimum wage and we were both in very low paid jobs. It was just something that we accepted though. A few years later, our son was born with major disabilities. I returned to work (part time) when he was four months old, again for financial reasons.

LizzieS_2

soph2566 wrote: »

Hi

My friend's 39 weeks of SMP ends very soon. Once this happens she will have only CTC and CB as her WTC has to end too.

However she is entitled to take a year off on mat leave and wishes to do so. She has spoken to local DWP about claiming IS or JSA for the 13 weeks til she has to either go back to work or resign and they have said she can't claim as she has a job.

Surely this can't be right as with just CTC and CB in payment she will be below her applicable amt and will be entitled to an IS top up.

She is now thinking she will have to resign in order to claim IS but does not really want to do this, she wants the year off as she has secured a nursery place to coincide with the year anniversary...thus enabling her to return to work.

Thanks

It is entirely right - she has a job and can choose whether to take unpaid maternity leave or return to work.

Nurseries take babies as young as 6 weeks - she has already had 39 weeks (plus majority of pregnancy) to find a nursery.

My eldest was a whopping 8 weeks when I returned to work - like many others it was a case of no income = must work (oh and there was no childcare help back then either).

If the nursery of her choice is restrictive - is it really the best one to pick?