Maternity allowance

flamin_galah

I don't qualify for SMP but I should qualify for maternity allowance if the baby doesn't come early, but I'm after advice as to what happens if it does come early.

I registered as self employed in my 12th week of pregnancy, did some work but not enough to count towards the 13 weeks that they look at your income for. I started a job when I was 16 weeks pregnant, which should have started quite a few weeks earlier but my DBS was a long time in being processed. This job will take me as far up to the due date as I wish, and the pay will count for the 13 weeks of payslips needed.

By my calculations, I will need to work until I'm 38 weeks pregnant to get to the 26 qualifying weeks needs to claim maternity allowance. My job are happy for me to do this. But what happens if the baby comes before 38 weeks and so I haven't got the full 26 weeks? Will I miss out on maternity allowance? I can't find a straight answer out online, it just talks about maternity allowance being paid straight after a premature birth but I can't see any info about what happens if that cuts into your 26 qualifying weeks.

calcotti

Will you be claiming Universal Credit? If so, depending on your maximum UC entitlement, the Maternity Allowance may not be critical because if you are claiming UC the MA is fully taken into account as income when calculating the UC amount payable.

flamin_galah

No I'm not entitled to UC.

calcotti

flamin_galah wrote: »

No I'm not entitled to UC.

OK, thought it worth mentioning. I'm not familiar with the rules for MA. Hopefully someone else will be along later with advice.

poppy12345

I know nothing is straight forward regarding benefits but surely the answer is straight forward here. If the baby is early, you won't have worked enough of weeks to qualify, you're already cutting it very fine.



I'm sure someone with more knowledge will see this and reply. Weekends can often be quieter.

huckster

Why are you not untitled to claim Universal Credit ?

Who has told you this ?

flamin_galah

I know I'm not entitled to UC because my spouse works earns too much. I've already done entitled to.

pmlindyloo

You can claim Maternity allowance after the baby is born. It can be backdated for 3 months so if your baby is born early and you are not eligible for SMP you can still claim Maternity allowance.

When will my Maternity Allowance claim begin?
The earliest it can start to be paid is the 11th week before the baby is due.
If you claim late, you can get Maternity Allowance backdated for up to three months if you would have been entitled to it earlier. It does not matter why your claim is late. Request this when claiming.

calcotti

As you are registered as self employed it occurs to me that you may have the option to pay some early voluntary Class 2 NI contributions to make up for any shortfall (it’s only £3/week). Before claiming MA it may be worth ringing HMRC NI section to check your record for the relevant weeks and ask if this is possible.

flamin_galah

I know about the claiming time frames, and that it can be claimed if the baby is born early, but I can't find out any answers to what happens if the premature birth cuts into the required 26 weeks. The official hmrc document I downloaded said that early birth doesn't change the test period, but still didn't clarify the 26 week issue.

Calcotti - my self employment does count - I've already checked. It doesn't count for the 13 weeks for income assessment but that okay as my paid employment does. But from the date of my self employment starting, plus 26 weeks takes me to 38 weeks pregnant, which is when I have to stay in self or paid employment until. So if I give birth before 38 weeks, I'll not have 26 qualifying weeks. But then obviously, it's not like I can control when the baby is born, so I'm trying to find out what their policy would be in this instance.

I wouldn't be in this situation if my DBS hadn't taken so long. I was offered the job at 5 weeks pregnant (though I didn't know I was at the time), but the DBS took so long, I didn't start until I was 16 weeks gone. I phoned the DBS people several times, including individual constabularies, and no-one would help me hurry it along so I could start in time to qualify for mat allowance. They said it couldn't be fast tracked, and that it affecting mat allowance didn't qualify for financial hardship either.

pmlindyloo

I think this link might answer your question.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/maternity-benefits-technical-guidance/maternity-benefits-technical-guidance#premature-births

The qualifying conditions for MA depend on the date your baby is due not the date your baby is actually born. The week in which your baby is due is referred to as the EWC – expected week of childbirth.

Any help?