am employed but off sick can i still claim maternity allowance

chloo

Hello

please excuse the bad punctuation my laptop is breaking

as the title really,

my EDD is 13/07/14 and as far as i can see my test period is from 07/04/13 until 12/07/14 and the 15th week before due date is 30/03/14.

as i understand i have to have worked 26 of the 66 weeks in this period i am panicking a bit because i have been signed off due to severe sickness from the 6/12/13 to current, this has been paid as ESA income related.

i am not entitled to SMP from my employer as i started at this job on the 19/11/13 and obviously went off sick pretty quickly. they dont pay sick pay either unless having worked there for a year.

the benefit office are saying that at 29 weeks pregnant they will sign me over to income support until the baby is 12 weeks old and i will get sure start maternity grant as well due to being on the 'right' benefit.

if anyone could help i would really appreciate it

many thanks

bll78

Hi,
Were you working for ANY employer before being signed off sick, and if so how long for? You will not be eligible for SMP from your employer but may be eligible for Maternity allowance if you have contributed enough over the last 66 weeks.
The rules for maternity allowance are in the test period you mentioned you have to

• employed or self-employed for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before the week your baby is due
• earning at least £30 a week over any 13-week period

The amount you get will depend on the amount of pay you have received, they ask for payslips from the test period so use the part when you were earning and not on ESA to get the maximum amount of Maternity allowance.

The link for the calculator is https://www.gov.uk/calculate-your-maternity-pay/y/
Hope it helps

bll78

Oh and if the above doesn't apply, you will go onto income support and get a £500 surestart maternity grant if this is your firstborn, or is twins or triplets and you've only had single births already.

chloo

brilliant thank you very much for your reply.

i was working in April 2013 until June 2013 and then end of july 2013 until October 2013 and then 19th November 2013 until present asides from being signed off sick on the 6th of December 2013 until present.

i think this means i am entitled is that your opinion too,

would i also be entitled to the five hundred pound grant at 29 weeks.

many thanks for your advice

pmlindyloo

chloo wrote: »

brilliant thank you very much for your reply.

i was working in April 2013 until June 2013 and then end of july 2013 until October 2013 and then 19th November 2013 until present asides from being signed off sick on the 6th of December 2013 until present.

i think this means i am entitled is that your opinion too,

would i also be entitled to the five hundred pound grant at 29 weeks.

many thanks for your advice

If you are entitled to Maternity Allowance then you can apply when you are 26 weeks pregnant and receive it 11 weeks before baby is born.

Now the difficult part!

To be eligible for the Sure Grant Maternity Grant you have to be receiving a qualifying benefit. See here:

https://www.gov.uk/sure-start-maternity-grant

Now at the moment you are on income based ESA so you would qualify. However, the grant is only awarded 11 weeks before baby is born (ie when you start receiving MA)

Maternity Allowance is taken fully into account as income for ESA purposes so you would not get any ESA, just your MA.

Now whether you might have some entitlement to claiming the grant because you are, in theory, still eligible for the ESA is a question I don't know the answer to - sorry.

Or maybe you can apply whilst you are still receiving the ESA?

In the event that no one can answer this question then you will need to ask Job Centre Plus.

chloo

thank you very much for your reply.

im not trying to be greedy but things are very tight as they are at the moment and it would be lovely to be able to buy a buggy and a cot without worrying.

the job center didnt seem to have an answer at all so thats why im picking your brains over here ha

thank you very much

pmlindyloo

Had another thought!

The grant can be paid up to 3 months after the baby is born.

Once the baby is born then you should be entitled to Child Tax Credits.

One of the qualifications for the grant is to be receiving child tax credits at a rate higher than the family element.

I am wondering, as a single parent, whether your child tax credits would entitle you to the grant after the baby was born.

There are some tax credits 'experts' on here.

Hopefully one of them will come along and see this post.

chloo

im not a single parent but good thinking thank you we are on a joint claim for esa income based, thank you for your brilliant idea though

chloo

Hello

thank you for your reply

i am living with my partner who is self employed but has no work at the moment.

i have a full time contract at 39 hours per week and yes i am still employed but not at work due to pregnancy complications lots of hospital admissions and sickness,

im not over 25 my partner is but im not,

yes that was there reason and they suggested applying for ESA while off sick which i have done as it gives us help with housing benefit and council tax while im sick and my partner is out of work.

thank you very much for your help

bll78

The best way to find out what you're entitled to AFTER the baby is born is to use the entitled to calculator. To make it work, enter your babies date of birth as 01/01/2013 (this way you'll get a full year assessment), calculate your income for what it will be in a full year so base it from April 2014 and enter what your wages will be (remembering for most of it you'll be on maternity allowance) so it may only be 4 months of wages, and an estimated annual income for your partner. This will calculate your eligibility to working tax credit and child tax credit, the results of this will answer the surestart maternity grant question. As long as you are employed i.e have a contract even though you are on mat leave you will get WTC for the period of your maternity leave as your joint working hours will be over 24 hours.
The tax credit claim will use last years figures but after the baby is born you need to make them aware of this years expected figures.
One point to be aware of is the calculator will assume you are on maternity allowance for 1 year when actually you'll only get it for 9 months, so it will calculate you getting £7,000+ a year of this, actually it's nearer £5,000 in the year. Don't worry this is not classed as income for tax credits so it won't effect your tax credit estimate.
Hope that all makes sense if not ask some more questions.

chloo

blondebubbles that is a very interesting link im having a meeting on Wednesday with them so i can ask for there decision and get the form that is needed and see if it makes any difference to my situation.

my partner has been applying for a few positions such as royal mail and hospital porter jobs but is worried about the drop in income as when he has a good amount of work in or is contracted on to jobs hes earning aprox 28k before tax these positions that we have looked at are offering around 15-18k salary.

is my employer being naughty not giving me the form for ssp, if so this cant reflect back on me can it.

many thanks