Mumsnet Talk

Hello everyone!

I'm new to this website but am desperately in need of some advice.

I'm nearly 31 and getting married in September and looking to start a family soon after. I currently run a business with a friend but due to the economy being so bad things haven't been going all that well. We've been able to pay ourselves a decent wage and there are a few projects in the pipeline but no long term security. I have two interviews lined up for 'proper' jobs which would see my monthly income increase by around £250 a month if I'm successful but the main reason I'm applying for jobs is for maternity leave.

If I stay running the business I would only be able to get SMP and wouldn't be able to have a great deal of time off (maybe two months max). However, I LOVE running my business and don't want to get a 'proper' job. I feel as though I have to choose between having a family and doing what I love for a living.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Does anyone have any advice at all?

Many Thanks

You might only get SMP from a new job so wouldn't financially gain anything by leaving your current job.

You want a "proper" job so that you can claim ML <see Grevlings post>

No employer in their right mind would employ someone who intends to go on ML as soon as they are eligable Employers want staff who are committed, loyal and in for the long haul.

My advice is to build your current business up and then think about starting a family when you are secure enough in your own right.

How would you feel about taking on a woman in your business to find out she just wants to claim ML?

To be honest I'd be gutted and that's something else I need to consider as I'm not sure it is right to look for a job based on maternity leave alone. Just trying to get any advice and opinions on the subject at the moment to help me come to a decision.

Do you actually even know you'd get more than SMP from these jobs you're applying for?

I run my own business and have taken maternity leave with DS2 during that time. I slowed it down during my pregnancy, didn't look for new clients, kept existing ones, and took on no projects, only keeping existing clients happy. After a while I started building up again.

What is your business, could you not do that? I think you should focus on whatever you want to do long-term.

I am assuming you are running a limited company it you are able to take SMP from it? You arw awarw that you will be unlikely to just get another job with occupational maternity pay without completing some sort of minimum service? Many employers put that term in to stop people doing exactly what you're planning to do.

I really don't think you are in a bad position currently. You work for yourself but have a partner to share the load. With a bit of juggling this could work out much better for you than being an employee. You can work up to 10 keeping in touch (kit) days during your maternity leave and pay yourself for them. You can take these any time after compulsory maternity leave. Your partner, if he is an employee, can take additional paternity leave from when your child is 20 weeks old. He may even have an occupational scheme where he gets more than statutory pay during his leave. Presumably you both have annual leave as well that you could juggle around.

You could also have a phased return or come back on flexible terms. All things that are not guaranteed unless you're your own boss.

I am in a similar situation where I am contemplating having a second child. In order to do this in good conscience I could not take an employee job because it would mean leaving for mat leave before I had proved myself or built my reputation (takes at least 2 years ime) - so I am freelancing because i don't want a big gap between dc1 and a second child. It's precarious, there's no guarantee of work but it meets my lifestyle needs but also my professional ones because I can more varied, interesting work.

We all have to make compromises. It's what bring a parent is about.

Apologies for typos. Sausage fingers on phone.

Btw I am planning to take a minimal time off if I have a second child because I find being a SAHM does not suit me. Dh will take some paternity leave and I will work flexibly. Not every mother wants to take 6 months or a year off.

I would have thought that running your own business would give you more flexibilty in the long run. Also it might take years to get pregnant and you would be stuck Ina job you are half committed to when you could be building your own business so it would provide a better long term option.

Thank you for all your advice. I'm thinking my best bet is to stick with the business as that's what I want to do long-term.

There's far more mums who start their own business because it's bloody difficult to be an employee and a mum at the same time in some industries, than there are businesswomen who go back to employment for the convenience.

Think long term and build the business. There's not many jobs these days that pay much more than statutory minimum, and many that pay more also require you to return after ML for up to 18 months or risk having to repay all the extra money, so there's no free lunches out there.

Okay I have two views on this.

Firstly if you have a limited company AND work for another company as an employee then you can actually claim two lots of SMP (but no more). I know this because I did it myself quite unintentionally - was working for the NHS but didn't have enough qualifying service for the occupational maternity scheme - got SMP but also got SMP through my limited company so double the amount.

On the other hand, morally I think it's the wrong thing to do if you do it on purpose. I guess it's no skin off the company's nose if it's only SMP and they aren't shelling it out themselves but they would be taking you on to do a job and you would then be absent so you wouldn't be much use to them.

I wouldn't do it personally.

Hello everyone i am need to this forum. pls can someone advice me .
I am recently on my maternity leave and receiving my SMP. now 7months in whole . i lost my baby when she was 4mnths old. At the moment we relocated to new area so cant go back to my job. bcos of the situation i want to go back to work as soon i get another job. does it affect my SMP i really want to strt a new job as i am fed up staying at home . any advise will be welcomed.
Thanx

Sorry i mean i am new. pls ignore any grammatic error

Hi Twinchi, so sorry to hear that you lost your daughter. There are some very helpful women in the bereavement section of mumsnet who have experienced similar losses if you ever want to talk to them.

I don't know much about SMP etc but I think that if you get a job then you can't claim maternity pay any more because you would no longer be on maternity leave. But I'm sure someone who knows more about it will post at some point to give you a definitive answer. I hope you have got support in real life and that you find a new job soon.

Thanx reddaisy.for the advice,i will just keep searching for a job and hopefully will get one soon.cos i m really bored now.
thanx again!

To get SMP, you need to have been employed by the same employer continuously for at least 26 weeks into the 15th week before the week your baby is due (the qualifying week).

Do you really want to step away from your business for that long? Especially as one can never be sure when you may actually conceive.

I wonder how you would feel if you unknowingly employed someone in to your own company who's main reason for joining you was to go off on to maternity leave.