Maternity Pay/Allowancw

neas

Hi all,

My wife was unemployed for last month on JSA and has just got a 2 month fixed term job (8 weeks) with a temping agency.. so long as all goes well will be there 8 weeks maybe more.

But we are starting to think about having children, and want to ensure we get maternity allowance/pay once she becomes pregnant.

Can someone advice me on what the rules are?

On the website I see that she has to have worked 26 weeks into her 'test period' (66 weeks before birth of baby so about 7-8 months before she conceived and afterwards), but also more confusingly it states she has to work 13 weeks with pay greater than 30 quid a week.

So does anyone know if these are together? i.e. must earn 30 quid a week over 13 weeks and have worked 26 weeks out of the 66 weeks?

or if they are seperate i.e either 26 weeks out of 66 weeks or earn 30 quid a week for 13 weeks.

Thanks

clb776

You cannot claim maternity allowance until you have been pregnant for 26 weeks, you dont get it once you become pregnant.

The maximum amount of maternity allowance is £123.06 (at the moment)or 90% of your average earnings if the £123.06 is more than you already earn. The £30 is a threshold that you must cross to be eligible for the benefit.

The test period is the 66 weeks before your baby is due.

To get maternity allowance you must-
--have been employed for at least 26 weeks during the test period
--earn on average £30 a week

You can chose ANY payslips showing 13 weeks earnings, and they do not have to be consecutive...

you do need to do both....

the best thing I can suggest is to download the application form, its pretty straight forward and once you have seen it you will understand what you need!

Finally, you shouldnt base having a baby on what benefits you will receive...it perhaps would be best to concentrate on finding a steady job, which I understand is not easy at the moment!

Hopefully this temping job will lead to better things!

Good Luck!

flea72

its confusing depending on which rules apply, depending on whether you are entitled to SMP or MA (or neither)

for SMP, as long as you working for a company when you fall pg, and work up until you are 6m pg, then you will get SMP - the earnings rules for SMP are that you have to earn over £95/m, otherwise your SMP gets reduced to 90% of your pay (based on what you earnt in the qualifying period)

For MA, you have to be working for at least 26wks of the qualifying period, and earn over £30/wk - if you dont do both of these, then you wont get MA either

However, when working for an agency continuity of employment is the hardest thing to maintain. Work can be erratic. however, as long as your OH is prepared to take anything the agency throws at them, then you should be able to hit the targets, seeing as you only have to work one day in a week, for it to count as having worked a whole week in the eyes of MA, but problems could occur if you earn less than £30 for that one day

Also, some agencies arent too keen on having pg staff on their books, so may not offer work to your OH, which would mean you cant build up enough qualifying weeks

F

loobyloo0302

Well my current experience of maternity allowance is that your employer really doesn't see you as their responsibilty anymore, even when they have not fulfilled their recquirements for you to be able to start receiving MA. Howevber, when I was recveiving maternity pay from them, it was a different stpry. When I called the MA helpline to discuss the trouble I was having getting my forms from my employer, she wasa of the same opinion as me, that I'm not their responsibilty anymore, so there's no rush on their part. That's fine when youy haven't a penny to feed your kids as your technically still classed as beingf employed, regardless of whether you have any money coming in or not.


If I'm having these problems with my employer, imagine that you'd get from an agency!

Oh and I might add that the only reason that I don't qualify for maternity opay from my employer is all down to the fact that they began paying us weekly and during that period, I was paid off and on for long periods of time, which led to me having gaps in my test period.. So, if I were you, I'd be careful!

flea72

loobyloo0302 wrote: »

Oh and I might add that the only reason that I don't qualify for maternity opay from my employer is all down to the fact that they began paying us weekly and during that period, I was paid off and on for long periods of time, which led to me having gaps in my test period.. So, if I were you, I'd be careful!

if you are paid weekly, then you should get payslips dated weekly - ok, you might not actually receive the payslips (or pay) every week, but as long as they detail your correct income, then your entitlement to MA shouldnt be in question

even if paid monthly (due to your employers erratic practises), your payslips should still tally, with what you have earnt/worked (over the course of the qualifying period)

as stated above, for MA your qualifying period is 66wks thats roughly 16 months. i would have thought over the course of 16m, you would have 26 weeks worth of payslips, and if your employer is erratic in the amounts they write on them, it could only work to your advantage, as some weeks your payslip would detail a larger amount than you actually earnt for that week, so that ups your chances of getting full MA

have you had a break in employment with this employer? its just you refer to a previous time when you were PG and got SMP, but they are just being funny now you want MA. or was the SMP with a different employer?

F