Maternity allowance vs statutory maternity pay

moneysavingscholar

A friend is planning to get pregnant in the next few months. She is in a job which pays close to the minimum wage and will only get statutory maternity pay. She dislikes the job, but maintains that she can't move because she will (hopefully) not be a new role long enough to qualify for maternity pay when she falls pregnant. Is she likely to be better off staying in the job and getting minimal maternity pay, than starting a new job and getting the government maternity allowance?

Loulou2010

how long has she been in the job thats she's in now?

jcr16

without sounding like i'm being nasty , trying and falling for a baby are two very diff thing's. it could take months , maybe years. it could take weeks. i'd say if she is that un -happy look for a new job now. added stress while trying to conceive or being preg is not good.

i appreciate finding a job is hard at the mo, but while she is looking it might help her not dislike the job so much as she knows it isn't long term. she may end up falling preg before finding another job and it all works out really well.

good luck with which ever route your friend choose.

donteatthat

Do many employers pay more than statutory maternity pay these days?

jcr16

i think most do 90 % pay for 6 weeks then it drops down to ssp ( i think) it was like this when i had my first.

brians_daughter

moneysavingscholar wrote: »

A friend is planning to get pregnant in the next few months. She is in a job which pays close to the minimum wage and will only get statutory maternity pay. She dislikes the job, but maintains that she can't move because she will (hopefully) not be a new role long enough to qualify for maternity pay when she falls pregnant. Is she likely to be better off staying in the job and getting minimal maternity pay, than starting a new job and getting the government maternity allowance?

OK the 'planning to get preg n the next few months' is hopeful...the average couple take 6-12 months to get preg..so just hope she isnt expecting to say 'yep this is the month' and for it to happen.

Stat SSP is 90% of her wages for the 1st 6 weeks then £124 (ish) after that upto 39 weeks....MA (maternity allowance where the mother has started a job whilst pregnant OR is recently uinemployed, or SE) is roughtly the same £124(ish ) a week for 39 weeks... so apart from the 90% bit for 6 weeks its the same. To qualify for MA you need to have been in work for 26 weeks of the 66 weeks before babies due date. Assuming her earnings are more than £150 a week (ish) she will get the £124, if its less she will get 90% of her earnings ..she will need to show 13 weeks worth of payslips - (she chooses what weeks )and they work it out from that ie add the 13 weeks wage slips up and divide by 13 to get average figure..if its more than £150 she will get the full entitlement, if its less she will get 90% of the 13 weeks..does that make sense?)

If shes started the job before she gets preg she is entitled to the companys maternity pay in adherance to their policies.

TBH there are pros and cons of each side... stay where she is and look for something whilst on leave then if she does need to go back she has more chance of negotiating pt/flexi hours..or if she hates it that much find a new job as a new start.

A company cannot sack you for being pregnant , HOWEVER, in the 1st 12 months of any role her rights are limited, so her new boss 'could let her go' for many reasons in the 1st year and she will ahve very little to fall back on... all food for thought

ideally (for me) being in a stable job is a pre-requsite to trying to get pregnant as i would like to think my home, job and life were stable enough to support a baby..but eacch to their own

brians_daughter

donteatthat wrote: »

Do many employers pay more than statutory maternity pay these days?

I am VERY lucky, my last employer paid 10 weeks at full pay, 10 weeks at 90%, 10 weeks at 80% and the last 9 weeks at SSP plus £50.....although from speaking with people i realise i was very, very lucky indeed!

anderson8

my maternity pay will be 6 weeks at 90%, 12 weeks at 50%+SMP, then up to 39 weeks SMP.
every employer is different

LJM

anderson8 wrote: »

my maternity pay will be 6 weeks at 90%, 12 weeks at 50%+SMP, then up to 39 weeks SMP.
every employer is different

yes my sister has recently had to sort hers out and it has all changed since i had my last child

annibee

anderson8 wrote: »

my maternity pay will be 6 weeks at 90%, 12 weeks at 50%+SMP, then up to 39 weeks SMP.
every employer is different

Thats what I get but I also found out today Im still getting my car allowance 100% 4 months 50% 4 months which is a bonus :j

op - does friends job have maternity policy re extra pay?

Is it worth change of job/career when you she is going to take a year off for mat leave anyway? A lot changes in a year and she may decide to go somewhere else or work from home once she has the baby. Personally I would stay in the job until she has the baby as the difference between ma and smp is still more in favour of smp.

Then once she has the baby she can reassess what she wants to do with her life.

But everyones different.

Also Brians daughter has put very useful comments esp re employers getting rid of you within 1 yr so I would take heed on that :cool: