When do I qualify for NHS maternity pay?

CG500

Hi there,

I am a student nurse who undertook her training a little later in life. I qualify as a nurse next year and since I've held off starting a family whilst at university, plan to start a family soon after qualifying.

How long do I have to have been employed as a nurse before I fall pregnant to qualify for maternity pay? I've had a look online but the information is confusing me.

I will be returning to work to undertake my career as a nurse properly, once my maternity leave finishes. My urgency to have a child so soon after university is simply due to my biological clock.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

MonkeyDr

EDITED as was incorrect, sorry.

google the nhs employers handbook and it's in there.

To qualify for occupational mat pay you have to have 12 months continuous nhs service 11 weeks before due date. So worked roughly 6 months before getting pregnant.

If you change trusts within the nhs that doesn't matter so much - if you change trusts while pregnant you have to claim maternity allowance from the dwp rather than getting the statutory component direct from your employer, but you get the occupational component either way, and the numbers work out the same.