Help with understanding maternity pay - fixed term contract

[CheeeseOnToast]

Hi there

I hope someone can help shed some light. DP and I have decided that we?d like to start TTC. The only problem is my job and I?m worried that I wouldn?t be eligible for maternity pay etc.

I?m on a fixed term contract, and the six month contract I?m on is due to expire in February. I?ve had verbal assurances that it will definitely get extended until 2 April (when someone else leaves - it's a very long story, lots of people out on maternity leave in my team, too long and confusing to put in here) but I?m covering someone?s maternity leave and she?s likely to want the whole year (she left in November, which is when I started).

As I?m a fixed term contractor, would I get the top-up maternity pay from them? Presumably not, unless I?m a permanent employee? So where does that leave me, if, say, they extend my contact until November 2011 (when the person i'm covering for returns) will they just not renew the contract? and then what happens if I'm pregnant?

Sorry I?m probably not explaining this very well. I suppose essentially I?m asking whether I?d get maternity pay without a permanent job. To which I think the answer is no. So what do people do? Will I get basic maternity pay?

Very confused can anyone give me an idea?

I was planning on looking for a new job in the new year anyway so it might not even be relevant, but I want to know if it will really mess us up financially if we go for it now and I get pregnant in the next few months (I know it's unlikely, could take a while, but need to know where I stand beforehand). The place I currently work is very, very good for maternity pay and ideally I?d love to get a permanent job there. But because it?s got such good provision, they only really tend to employ temporary maternity leave cover rather than recruit for new positions as they don?t tend to come up very often.

Can anyone help? Or perhaps guide me somewhere online to find out more? I couldn?t find anything on the direct.gov site about fixed term contract workers.

[fluffles]

sorry, i can't help but i will be watching with interest because i too have struggled to get any answers on this topic.

i don't want to get pregnant on this contract (ends in july and i'm due to go high altitude trekking in october) but want to ttc after that and may well be on another fixed contract.

[CheeeseOnToast]

(Hi Fluffles!)

[peppapighastakenovermylife]

It is complicated. Depends on when you start and how pregnant you are when you are working with them.

Check the HMRC site for more details. However usually if you were not pregnant at the start of your contract and work for them during the qualifying period (which is around 26 - 28 weeks pregnant if I remember correctly) then they pay you maternity pay. It doesnt matter if your contract ends between 28 weeks and the birth or during your mat leave.

If this is not the case you can apply for maternity allowance through the job centre. It is something like you have to show you worked for 6 months in the 15 months before your baby was born (or something like that) but I think you only get SMP (about £500 a month) for 9 months.

Your employer may have an enhanced maternity pay scheme but usually you have to have worked for them for at least a year before the baby is due to get this. Up to the company though what they offer and how much.

[peppapighastakenovermylife]

For example it worked out quite well for me with one pregnancy. I was employed during the 26 - 28 week period (or whatever it was!) but my contract ended when I was around 34 weeks pregnant. I was still entitled to maternity pay for 6 months from them (was 6 months at the time) despite the fact my job no longer existed.

[peppapighastakenovermylife]

Fixed term, temporary etc should not affect how much you get - it all depends on how long you have been there.

So imagine

Employee A (permanent) - pregnant at start of contract or very soon into it. Does not qualify for advanced package.

Employee B (fixed term) - pregnant after contract started, had worked for them for 6 months before getting pregnant, works in qualifying period but contract ends at 8 months pregnant - does qualify for advanced package

[noodleone]

Hi CheeeseOnToast (great name by the way). The Citizens Advice Bureau will be able to provide free advice on this if you can give them a copy of your contract and due date. My pregnancy brain couldn't cope with the calculations but they were great at helping me work it all out.

[CheeeseOnToast]

Wow this is really helpful, thanks both. I will have a close look at the HMRC website and digest everything that's been said by peppapig and noodle

From what you've said Peppa it sounds like if i got pregnant in the next few months it would be fine, if I could keep hush until the April date has passed and then i would be there for the qualifying period. I think. Will have think it through properly.

Very exciting

[level]

Hi CheeseOnToast.

In terms of maternity pay, there is statutory maternity pay and contractual maternity pay.

Companies do not have to pay additional monies (contractual maternity pay) but a lot choose to do so. Often a company operates these payments as a type of loan. They make the woman come back to work for a certain period before the loan is written off. The argument for this is that it encourages women to return after maternity leave (for our own benefit apparently!).

In terms of your contractual rights as a fixed term worker - you should not be treated less favourably than full time workers unless there is a good reason to do so. A good reason might be not offering a car for a short fixed term contract when it would cost the company a lot of money to take out a short lease. In this situation, the company should consider offering a payment in lieu to compensate for the lack of car.

In respect of contractual maternity pay, there is an argument that fixed term workers should be offering the same rights in respect of any contractual maternity pay as full time workers. However, if the company operates a loan type arrangmeent they could argue that as you would not return (due to the expiry of your contract) the purpose of the scheme (encouraging you to return) could not be met therefore there is no good reason to offer you the enhancement.

For a definitive answer I'd have to see the terms of any enhanced scheme.

Re statutory maternity pay, I've simplified it a small amount, but essentially to qualify for statutory maternity pay you need:

1. To be an employee (as opposed to a self employed contractor or other type of worker)
   
2. To have been employed with the company for 26 weeks at 15 weeks before your due date (nb you need to still be employed at the 15th week before).
   
3. To be earning more than about £95 a week.
   
4. To have done some administrative things such as telling your employer you are pregnant and when you want to start your leave.
   

Once you hit the above, the company has to pay the entirity of the SMP even if you leave/are made redundant etc.

If your fixed term contract expires on 2 April 2011, you would have to be 15 weeks or less off having the baby to be entitled to SMP i.e the baby must be due no later than about 2 July 2011. To be due on 2 July you would have to have got preganant a couple of months ago.

If your fixed term contract expires on 2 November 2011, you need to be due no later than 15 weeks after this date to be entitled to SMP i.e mid February 2012. To be due before mid Feb 2012 you need to be pregnant by mid May (ish!).

If you need more detailed info just ask - although I'll probably have to wait until I'm in work (I'm an employment solicitor) when I have access to materials to give you an entirely accurate answer.

[CheeeseOnToast]

That's really useful information, thanks level

I'll have a think, i'm sure there are a few more questions, but thanks so much you've been really helpful!

The thing I'm worrying about slightly is that because I'm covering a role that's available due to someone being on maternity leave, if they only have to give 6 weeks notice to start back to work, what if they decide to put me on a rolling contract which is updated say every month, then if i do get pregnant can they just not renew it, and get out of paying SMP? What happens if I leave before the baby's born, by say 3 months or something?

Hope that makes sense, I think I'm even confusing myself confused]

[louby86]

Hi CheeseOnToast I'm a personnel manager for a very large company so hopefully I'll be able to clear up some of the things you've just asked about.....

If you have been employed on any contract in the same company for longer than 6 months then you are entitled to the same maternity benefits as a permanent employee with the same amount of service. It is illegal for them to not renew your contract because you are pregnant. If you leave before the baby is born it depends on the EWC week you have been given by the midwife.....you can choose to take maternity from 11 weeks before the EWC at most companies so it may work in your favour to take early maternity leave rather than leave to early to be entitled to anything.

Hope this helps!

[CheeeseOnToast]

Very useful, thanks louby. One small question - would work experience count as a 'contract'? It's paid - albeit very minimally - but technically I'd imagine it is a contract? Or am I wrong? I did work experience for a time, then I got a temp contract of four months, then straight after I got a contract of six months (due to end in February). I think that's right - I must check.

noodleone i have been hunting through the CAB website but have only found a policy document which is very difficult to read through - did you actually go and speak to someone?

Think we're just going to go for it - sounds like it'll work itself out. We'll be able to cope if we need to. Aagghhh!!

[louby86]

Well your 4 month contract and then 6 month contract together mean you're ok for maternity pay; the work experience would only count in a case where you were taken on as an employee of the company!

Good luck with everything! Everyone finds a way to cope with the money side of things!

[CheeeseOnToast]

Thanks Louby! I hadn't really thought that the four month contract would form part of it but it makes sense that it would.

Do you know where would be best to get all this in a leaflet or document? Just in case I need it, if work get a bit funny?

Thanks again

[louby86]

You can get all the information on government websites, MN should have a link somewhere about rights. Also there should be a union for the place you work that can send you the relevant info too which would be worth asking for. Because I work in retail our union is Usdaw and I can get that info sent to you just as a guideline if that helps?

[CheeeseOnToast]

Thanks Louby, I work in a different sector though, but good idea, I'll find out who our union is and check with them. Thanks so much, you've been really helpful and generous

Thanks also to everyone else who has responded!

[Cheeser]

It's CheeeseOnToast here (I don't know how to revert back from my namechange )...

Louby - or anyone else who have helped me before or might want to help now - I have another question...

I sent an email to our union (even though I'm not a member they helped me anyway) and asked them what my company's policy is re giving me the same mat pay etc as a permanent member of staff. They said I needed to check with HR... I said to the union rep I was concerned about confidentiality and worried about asking this - even if I stress it's a hypothetical question - then surely when they come to renew my contract (which they will be doing in May) they will remember I asked about Mat pay and not extend it?

I'm really worried, I don't know what to do. To make it worse, DP and I have actually started TTC so I could already be pregnant (unlikely, but still). What should I do? Email work and ask, or just wing it?! I'm scared they'll say I won't get anything, and then I'll have to look for a new job or put off TTC, presuming it's not too late

The union lady said I needed to ask my main HR contact. It's not a massive company, so it will be the same person who will be processing my contract renewal as the one I'll have to ask about this.

Please help me

I may also post separately in employment or legal matters or something, if I do I'll post the link here

[thegauntlet]

I am watching this thread with interest, not wanting to hijack it... but wondered- I am just back to work after maternity leave to finish my fixed term contract, I think that I am pg ( TTC definitely- in the tww) I have 25 weeks work... ie, i am not working the '26-28 week qualifying period' can maternity leave count for being 'employed' if i have to claim MA from the job centre?

btw... cheesy... u said " if it is not too late " it shud have been IF IT IS NOT TOO LATE

[daisydaisy11]

Hi,

Was wondering if someone here can advise me on this.

I have worked in a UK University on a fixed term contract for just over 4 years now.

My contract is due to expire at the end of July (after being renewed once) and I have just found out I am 5 weeks pregnant. I.e due to give birth about 9 weeks after getting made redundant. Is my employer obliged to pay me anything? I've seen talk about the answer being yes if I am still working at 26 weeks (which I would be) but I've also come across sites which says that my employer doesn't owe me anything as my contract finished before I am due.

IF my employer is obliged to pay me, is this subject to another position within the same institution being found for me? I don't imagine that other departments are going to want to recruit and train a heavily preganant lady only to have to organize maternity cover soon after.

I also don't expect a brand new employer (i.e outside my Uni) will employ me with a bulging tummy (I wouldn't blame them).

As I see it, I have 2 options:

1. Quit now and try to get some other employment before I start showing (rather deceitful -not sure of the implications of withholding this information). This also means that I would have to confess to my new employer almost as soon as I start.
   

1. I stay put and hope for the best. There was no indication as yet that my contract would be renewed again (I myself wanted to move on to a permanent position so I could avoid just this kind of trouble with fixed term contracts). I feel there might be even less chance of a renewal if I were to reveal my pregnancy.
   

I don't really know who to ask about this in my Uni -besides not wanting to let people know this early on. Can someone please advise me?
I am getting lost with all the conflicting info on the internet and don't know if it applies to a UK University (actually Scottish).

Thanks