Maternity pay

somewhereweknow

Not sure if this is the right place to post about maternity pay, but hope someone can help me.

I have asked my company for some maternity pay quotes so i can budget for when i am off at the end of the year. Each quote they do seems to have a different figure and i am confused about which is right, if any!!

Basically i was very fortunate to get paid £900 overtime in one of qualifying months, so thought this would boost my maternity pay. I was under the understanding that the maternity pay is worked by adding both of the qualifying months together and then dividing by 2 (and then further maths!). So should be £450 more split between those 2 months.

My company have worked out that i get my usual salary and then a 'family top up' on top of this of £140 (per month). This is massively lower than the overtime i earnt. Is this right or does anyone know anything about this top up payment?

Thanks.

neneromanova

How much do you get

If you qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) it is paid for a maximum period of 39 weeks. It is paid:

• for the first six weeks at 90 per cent of your average gross weekly earnings with no upper limit
• for the remaining 33 weeks at the lower of either the standard rate of £128.73, or 90 per cent of your average gross weekly earnings

Your employer will work out the rate of SMP you will get.


http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Expectingorbringingupchildren/DG_175917

neneromanova

oh and

Who can get Statutory Maternity Pay


The continuous employment rule

To satisfy the continuous employment rule you must:

• have been employed by your employer for a continuous period of at least 26 weeks into the qualifying week

The qualifying week is:

• the 15th week before the week in which the baby is due

This period must include:

• at least one day's employment in the qualifying week

Although continuous employment usually means employment by the same employer without a break, there are some circumstances when breaks in employment can be disregarded. The employment rule may be modified slightly if your baby is born prematurely.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Expectingorbringingupchildren/DG_175884