Can i claim JSA after maternity leave?

Alibali

Hi all,

I am due my first baby in May 2012, sadly my contract with my current job is due to end at the end of March. My work have confirmed that if I take mat leave before the end of my contract they will pay me the full 9 months (at the standard government rate), however, this will run out end of Dec. What I want to know is will I be able to start claiming JSA at the end of my maternity pay?

As my husband is on a decent wage I would only be entitled to contributions based JSA for 6 months, I have worked without a break since i was 16 (am now 26) so NI contributions would not currently be an issue as I pay a decent whack in NI every month, however, my NI contributions will drastically reduce on maternity pay, therefore I am not sure if this will affect me being able to claim? It is highly unlikely that my contract will be extended (sadly) so I will not have left the job voluntarily.

Any advice would be most welcome.

Thanks x

Mel1979a

Yes you would still be entitled to the full 6 mionths of JSA. Same thing happened to me when i was pregnant with my first.

jojo_2012_2

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but if you work for them for 26 consecutive weeks you should be entitled to Statuatory Maternity Pay whether you chose to leave before the end of your contract or not. And if they're renewing some peoples contracts after that they won't be allowed to overlook you just because you're pregnant because that'd be sexual discrimination. What I'm getting at is, if this applies to you, you'd be entitled to work up until your due date therefore not having to worry about JSA until bubba is alot older than you would if you left before march.