Redundancy & SMP

mrssmithinhull

Hi All,

I found out on Friday (29th Oct) that i was to be made redundant as from the end of that day as the company was ceasing trading. All employees were told the same and we all left on Friday. A guy from the insolvency practice/administrator (sorry, do not know the difference) came in and 'officially' gave us the news. We were given a RP1 claim from and told to complete, send back to the practice and we should then be paid any outstading wages, holidays, redundancy payment and our PILON.

What I'm not sure of is my claim for SMP. I became eligable for SMP (ie 25 weeks pregnant) from my employer on Thursday (28th - the day before this all happened). I have my MATB1 form which ordinarilly i would have given to my employer and they would have sorted. As all this happened on the day after i got my MATB1 form i kept hold of it - didn't want it getting lost and then me left having to sort it out without my certificate.

Having looked on the direct.gov website it says that if my employer is unable to pay me SMP due to 'insolvency', they will pay me my SMP instead BUT apparently the company didn't go/hasn't gone 'insolvent' it has 'ceased trading' and i'm unsure of the difference. Does this mean HMRC will not pay my SMP?

Any help/clarification on the above would be most appreciated.

markandkate

Statutory Maternity pay is normally paid by your employer if you do not have an employer and cannot receive it and the National Insurance Fund will not pay you will need to claim maternity allowance instead

mrssmithinhull

Thanks for that.

I've since been on with the jobcentre to register unemployed and they have said they will also have forms for Maternity Allowance for me to sign when i go in later this week so seems like they will deal with the paperwork from there.

Thanks again.

Ch4rlieB

Hey,

I wouldn't worry about it. The same thing happened to my wife why 15 weeks pregnant. Assuming you have enough qualifying weeks, which it sounds like you do! Then the only thing you miss out on is the 6 weeks at 90% pay. You will get standard SMP (or Maternity allowance now) instead. If you are on job seekers when it gets to a certain point before your pregnancy (I can't remember when this was) you will automatically be put onto maternity allowance (unless you find a job (fingers crossed for you))

mrssmithinhull

Thanks Charlie B,

Sorry to be a pest but do you know at which point they transferred your wife's JSA to MA and how long it was paid for?

Am wondering at which point they say 'okay, we appreciate you're pregnant, you're now allowed to be 'let-off' looking for work and we will leave you to the job of caring for your baby'. I'm really hoping you're not expected to still be seeking works whilst off on maternity (well, at least for the early part of it) and not expected to sign-on every two weeks.

In all honesty, i would have been leaving work to go on maternity leave in about 6 weeks anyway and taking 9 months off.

I know the Jobcentre is going to want me to look for work but who in their right minds would take on somebody whos over 6 months pregnant?

Enough ranting from me. Thankyou again.

mrssmithinhull

Sorry Charlie B,

Just re-read your post and realised you said you didn't know at which point they transferred JSA to MA. Brain the size of a pea right now!

Sorry.

[Deleted User]

The earliest you can get Maternity Allowance is from the 11th week before the week your baby's due. The latest you can get it is from the day following your child's birth according to direct gov website, but no clear guidance as to when they would transfer if you are on JSA, I guess because if you were working each perason will vary as to when they feel they need to give up work, I think you need to ask them directly.

mrssmithinhull

Thanks Joanne.

I had my interview at the Jobcentre last week and was told that once i hit the 11 weeks before baby is due they will transfer me to MA (which is only 3 weeks away) although i do need to apply for MA first.

I am still hanging on to find out the status of my ex-employers. I know they have a meeting with the receivers on 17th November and believe it will be decided on then. If the company is ruled that the company is insolvent it does make things clearer for me (although i must admit, there are so many different status' for companies that have 'shut the doors' i'm really not sure what is the same as what).

I have, since been made redundant, contacted HMRC who say that they would pay me SMP if the company is declared insolvent. I know it only means that for the first 6 weeks i will get 90% of my wages then the following 33 weks at basic SMP/MA rate but that little bit extra makes the difference.