Maternity Benefits

KittyBandit

Hi,

I am 21 weeks pregnant, and a PhD student in my final year in receipt of a Bursary! I am trying to work out what i am entitled to but seem to be finding i am not entitled to ANYTHING!

Firstly I looked into what my funding body has on offer, and because its the school and not the research council that pay it, I get nothing but a suspension of my funding and a suspension on my studies.

I then looked into maternity allowance, and apparently I am not entitled to that either, so i looked into working for the rest of the pregnancy to be entitled to it, and its seems i have to have worked for 26 weeks! (BOO ) Still need confirmation on this matter!

I know we are entitled to child tax credits, tax credits etc, but that works out at a fraction of what i was getting paid, and i was the highest earner in the household! My partner works, and in this tax year got and estimated 11,000!

I really don't know what else to look into, ESA, JSA! We are going to struggle to pay the bills if i cannot find anything! The other solution is that i go back and he takes maternity, but i dont even know if that law is in place, and whether i will be fit to go back to uni so soon after birth!

It is the most ridiculously unfair thing I have come across! Uni use us for their gain, they force us to undertake teaching responsibilities on top of the research, yet, because we are "Students" we get nothing! Im starting to feel like i cannot finish this PhD and keep this baby without having to file for bankruptcy! Which is sad because if it happens i hope i don't resent the child for it!

LL30

How old are you and your partner?

Vejovis

why would you resent the poor child? can't you just put your studies on hiatus until you are settled? i manage to run a household with two children for less than £11k, maybe you should look at your outgoings before blaming a child that didn't ask to come into the world.

DaisyFlower

How did you think you would finance having a child, sounds like you expected the state rather than youselves to fund your lifestyle choice.

karenx

It's right your not allowed any maternity benefits. Maternity pay and maternity allowance are for people in paid employment, you are not so your are not entitled. Jsa is for people actively seeking work - you are not. ESA is for sick people - you are not.
As has been said already, how did you expect to get through your pregnancy? Just expect to get benefits? How are you going to pay for child care too? You won't get help through tax credits as you aren't working

creditcardhelp11

ESA can be paid from six weeks before your baby is due until two weeks after your baby is born. However, unless you paid NI you will get Income Related ESA and your partners income would likely result in a nil award. You may be entitled to Housing Benefit and or Council Tax Benefit subject to your circumstances. Perhaps you should have planned better?

kingfisherblue

I've no idea about benefits that you might or might not be entitled to, but surely it was your choice to do a PhD, and your choice to have a baby? As it is, you now find yourself in a situation that means your income is quite low, but if you pop over to the Old Style Board, they can help you keep costs down. The Debtfree Wannabe Board doesn't just help people with debts, it helps anyone who wants to review their outgoings and see if they can be reduced.

You can also keep costs for the baby quite low. Look on Freecycle, Freegle or Gumtree for baby equipment - most will be fine of you wash an disinfect it. The only items I would definitely buy new are a cot mattress and a car seat, for safety reasons. Maybe proud grandparents will buy these for you.

Don't bother with any unnecessary baby equipment, as it only costs money that you don't really have at the moment. I managed perfectly well without a Moses basket for my first child (my SiL bought me one for my second, but even though he was premature and remains small for his age to this day, he had outgrown it by the time he was five months old). My three children were bathed in the kitchen sink - so much easier on your back! I also found a microwave steriliser was cheap but efficient. Mine was from Wilkinson's, but that's quite a few years ago now!

Don't bother with lots of clothes, and try to get above newborn size in case you have a bigger baby. Car boot sales are good for baby clothes and some equipment. I didn't bother faffing around with fancy outfits - babygrows are much easier, especially if you have a sicky baby like I did.

Save Tesco or Boots points and use them to buy nappies when they are on offer. be careful not to buy too many in smaller sizes, though, as babies grow quickly and you could end up with an expensive pile of nappies that you can't use. Some councils have inexpensive schemes where you use cloth nappies that are laundered for you. Mine brought one in a few years ago (too late for my kids) and it cost £3.50 at the time, which was cheaper than disposables.

Whatever you do, don't resent your child for any financial problems you might have. It isn't the baby's fault that you are expecting him/her. A child deserves to be born into a loving and caring family, not one that is resentful because they have been born, causing financial difficulty for the parents. Incidentally, I think that there are laws regarding returning to work after giving birth - I'm sure I read somewhere on MSE last year that the minimum time off is two weeks, or four weeks in some types of employment. Although that was about paid employment, I would imagine it is likely to be the same for PhD research work, as there may be insurance implications of you return too early. If you have a Caesarean, you may not be able to drive for six weeks, but I'm not sure if you could legally return to work at the same time as you might with a vaginal birth.

KittyBandit

PhD is my dream! I quit a £30,000 job to be poor and do it! I want this child, and no way did i even think that the university would not provide maternity pay, especially since ALL the research councils do! It ridiculous that i can be over worked by the university, forced to take on responsibly after responsibility, yet, be entitled to NOTHING! Its a cop out, not just for pregnant women/mothers but also disabled people! We are in a black hole when it comes to anything!!

We will probably cope financially. The whole situation is very unfair and sexist! If my husband quit his job, we would be better off than if he continued to work! IT IS RIDICULOUS!

I worked for 8 years before i started this phd, i paid quite a lot of national insurance contributions, i used private healthcare, never claimed benefits, of any kind, we didnt even claim tax credits, even though we were entitled to the full amount because my salary was not counted and i had a moral objection to ripping off the system, yet when it comes to needing help, im entitled to nothing! Yet a baby factory in the council estates can pop them out, and leach of the system! It should be there for people who need it, not people who refuse to help themselves!

Sorry for the rant! Im just angry with the whole thing! Im angry at myself for not getting tax credits, and saving them to use as maternity pay!

Anyway, i had a couple of questions if anyone can answer them?

- If i started work now, would i be entitled to maternity allowance?
- Has the paternity laws been introduced, so my husband can take the leave instead of me?
- How far do they backdate tax credits?

cazj80

Hi,

With regard to Maternity Allowance, I had to claim it for my firstborn, as although I was always employed, I started a new job and then found out I was pregnant, so wasn't eligible for SMP, so claimed Maternity Allowance instead. You have to have worked for 26 weeks out of a 66 week test period. I think, from memory, that this is 26 weeks out of the 66 weeks prior to the baby's birth. You can get all the information on it here: -

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Expectingorbringingupchildren/DG_10018869

Though if you're 21 weeks pregnant now, I don't think you'll get in 26 weeks employment before the baby is due.

With regard to tax credits, they currently can backdate 3 months (at least they could when we started claiming 2 years ago), however I think this is changing either next tax year or the one after. I'm not sure exactly when it is changing, but a quick search on these forums, or have a look at the info here:-

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcreditsbudget/index.htm

I don't know too much about the paternity laws, although I am on maternity leave at the moment, I get enhanced maternity pay so it was never worthwhile my husband going on paternity leave and only getting the SMP rate per week. There is more information here:-

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/whats_new_apr11_changes_to_paternity_leave.htm

Hope this all helps, and congratulations on your pregnancy. We have found life harder financially, but emotionally so rewarding, it really changes your priorities and makes you realise exactly what is important!

KittyBandit

karenx wrote: »

It's right your not allowed any maternity benefits. Maternity pay and maternity allowance are for people in paid employment, you are not so your are not entitled. Jsa is for people actively seeking work - you are not. ESA is for sick people - you are not.
As has been said already, how did you expect to get through your pregnancy? Just expect to get benefits? How are you going to pay for child care too? You won't get help through tax credits as you aren't working

Firstly unplanned accidents happen, what was i supposed to do abort it!! Secondly we were (are) entitled to tax credits, my husband works, and my salary is not counted, I could have claimed that, but i didnt! I will be looking to back date it though, forget being fair and noble!
It isnt right im not allowed maternity pay! I work my !!! off for the university, doing things that should be paid, but because of the recession, they are forcing us to do them for free as part of our scholarship! If i had been paid for teaching for the past 2 years, I would be entitled to SMP! If they follow research council guidelines id be entitled to maternity pay! If i was at a different university I would be entitled to maternity pay! They have the intelectual rights to MY WORK! Yet Im the one being skrewed! So please dont tell me im not entitled to maternity pay?!

LL30

Claim your tax credits asap and apply for the sure start maternity grant. Once baby is born, you'll get ctc too and cb. Do you rent? (Sorry, cba to go through all the thread to check!)

If you're not happy with the conditions you're working in, then don't go back. It sounds like you're very angry at the moment, and I can appreciate what you're saying, but it's not going to change anything. Don't waste your energies on a fruitless battle/vent, once baby is here, I can guarantee you won't care anyway x