First child on the way, what are we entitled to?
Jaffabfc
Posts: 31 Forumite
Afternoon,
Myself and the girlfriend can not find the information anywhere on the internet, the only info we have is word of mouth so any help would be brilliant.
We are expecting our first child and want to know what benefits we are entitled to, this is our situation.
I work full time, receiving just below 30k per year.
My girlfriend works for an agency who gives her possibly 1-2 shifts every 3 weeks as a carer which is possibly 24 hours per month of work at a total of £150, this sometimes will raise to a possible 10-15 shifts a month at approx £750 a month, at the moment she is not getting any work what so ever.
What benefits would we be entitled to? as regards to maternity pay etc.
Would it be better for her to finish work altogether and claim some kind of benefit.
We are unsure as to how stable the agency she works for are at the moment as they have had some problems paying people on time and make excuses of there was a system error, rumours are its a financial problem. She is on a zero hour contract as well which doesnt help with maternity pay from the agency.
Any help would be grateful.
Myself and the girlfriend can not find the information anywhere on the internet, the only info we have is word of mouth so any help would be brilliant.
We are expecting our first child and want to know what benefits we are entitled to, this is our situation.
I work full time, receiving just below 30k per year.
My girlfriend works for an agency who gives her possibly 1-2 shifts every 3 weeks as a carer which is possibly 24 hours per month of work at a total of £150, this sometimes will raise to a possible 10-15 shifts a month at approx £750 a month, at the moment she is not getting any work what so ever.
What benefits would we be entitled to? as regards to maternity pay etc.
Would it be better for her to finish work altogether and claim some kind of benefit.
We are unsure as to how stable the agency she works for are at the moment as they have had some problems paying people on time and make excuses of there was a system error, rumours are its a financial problem. She is on a zero hour contract as well which doesnt help with maternity pay from the agency.
Any help would be grateful.
0
Comments
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She should use this for maternity - https://www.gov.uk/pay-leave-for-parents
Based on your income alone, there would not be much benefit entitlement. You’d get child benefit of £20.70 per week.
There may be more help available with childcare if your partner returns to work at least 16hrs per week after maternity.0 -
That website is not useful to us, it works out that you will get £140 or average weekly wage (or something like that) and which ever is the lowest.
The thing is her wage would be the lowest but that would be about 30-50 on average surely this isnt right.
Basically from what i have been told, it would be better her finishing work and claiming the governments £140 (approx) a week instead of what she would get while working. Also get the start package.
After reading other posts on similar topics, i would just like to say we are not trying to fiddle the system or take as much as possible from tax payers as we do work and have worked all our adult lives without claiming anything.0 -
When is baby due? On the information given it's unlikely she will qualify for full maternity allowance. Have you used the MA calculator on the gov website to check?
Has she thought about signing up with other agencies?0 -
That website is not useful to us, it works out that you will get £140 or average weekly wage (or something like that) and which ever is the lowest.
The thing is her wage would be the lowest but that would be about 30-50 on average surely this isnt right.
Basically from what i have been told, it would be better her finishing work and claiming the governments £140 (approx) a week instead of what she would get while working. Also get the start package.
After reading other posts on similar topics, i would just like to say we are not trying to fiddle the system or take as much as possible from tax payers as we do work and have worked all our adult lives without claiming anything.
Maternity allowance (which is the government payment) is not automatically £140 per week. It’s £140 per week or 90% of average earnings, whichever is less.
The government isn’t going to pay more than your earnings would.0 -
OP, have you had a look at this?
https://www.gov.uk/maternity-allowance
Your partner will need to check to see if she is eligible (page 3), and the possible payment amounts are on page 2. She might be entitled toi a small amount if she qualifies, but on so few hours a month, it won't be £140 a week. If she is in a union (and all carers should be, for their own protection), they can help her to work it out. Unfortunately, I doubt if she is.0 -
The baby is due in May. And I have done the calculator on the gov website but doesn't make sense.
Surely there is a minimum the government will give you. If she gets 50 a week from work the government would only give her that a week anyway?
Would I be able to claim tax credits and maybe she could income support and maternity or something:-/0 -
I read you can work 24 hours a week and get an income top up to 40 hours curtesy of the UK taxpayers. A bonus would be this 24 hour rule give you massive street cred in Devon.Afternoon,
Myself and the girlfriend can not find the information anywhere on the internet, the only info we have is word of mouth so any help would be brilliant.
We are expecting our first child and want to know what benefits we are entitled to, this is our situation.
I work full time, receiving just below 30k per year.
My girlfriend works for an agency who gives her possibly 1-2 shifts every 3 weeks as a carer which is possibly 24 hours per month of work at a total of £150, this sometimes will raise to a possible 10-15 shifts a month at approx £750 a month, at the moment she is not getting any work what so ever.
What benefits would we be entitled to? as regards to maternity pay etc.
Would it be better for her to finish work altogether and claim some kind of benefit.
We are unsure as to how stable the agency she works for are at the moment as they have had some problems paying people on time and make excuses of there was a system error, rumours are its a financial problem. She is on a zero hour contract as well which doesnt help with maternity pay from the agency.
Any help would be grateful.0 -
The baby is due in May. And I have done the calculator on the gov website but doesn't make sense.
Surely there is a minimum the government will give you. If she gets 50 a week from work the government would only give her that a week anyway?
Would I be able to claim tax credits and maybe she could income support and maternity or something:-/
Your income is too high for tax credits (unless you have to pay for childcare once the baby is born) and can only be claimed after the birth. Income Support is for single parents or carers. She is not a single parent, though, as she has a partner - you. You are expected to support your family.
I'm not sure why you think that the government should give her more money. If she had worked longer hours, or taken a second job, then she would probably be entitled to more. You don't mention any disability or other reason that she couldn't work more hours, so I don't see any other benefits available.
Did you read the link that I posted earlier? Have you and your partner worked out how much she might be entitled to?0 -
The baby is due in May. And I have done the calculator on the gov website but doesn't make sense.
Surely there is a minimum the government will give you. If she gets 50 a week from work the government would only give her that a week anyway?
Would I be able to claim tax credits and maybe she could income support and maternity or something:-/
Why doesn’t it make sense?
The idea of maternity pay/allowance is to replace some or all your income. As she is on a very low income, any maternity will be low.
As said before, your income is too high for any other benefits expect child benefit.
If you think you may struggle financially then perhaps post elsewhere for other money saving tips.0 -
You and your girlfriend live together?
As she earns so little, presumably you support her.
It will be the same after the baby is born except that she'll be entitled to Child Benefit?0
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