How does maternity pay work if you dont return to work?

[YummyMummy1208]

I am going on maternity leave in 3 months and as far as work are concerned i will be returning after 6 to 9 months, however, as i am emmigrating a few months after im due to return i wont actually be going back but dont plan to let them know untila few months before my return date?! confusing i know but i was wondering how maternity pay would work - i mean, they have to pay it, but once i have told them i wont be returning, say 4 months after leaving, when will or are they legally supposed to stop paying me maternity pay??

[Habbibu]

AFAIK, you're entitled to SMP (for 9 months) if you meet the criteria if you're not returning - this is what happened to me - but not to any additional benefits your employer may offer. So there's nothing to be gained by not telling them you're not coming back, I think, and if you do want a reference from them in the future, you might be best keeping on good terms and informing them of your intentions.

How SMP works if you emigrate I don't know, however.

[iskra]

AFAIK, if you get more than the statuary & you don't return to work, you have to pay it back to your employer.

[YummyMummy1208]

due to my situation (which i wont bore you with on here!) at work and the reasons they got me to fill the job in the first place i do not feel comfortable telling them before i leave and our emmigration status has not yet even been confirmed, we wont have our visas until jan/feb next year and so our emmigration workers do not suggest telling empolyers until we receive this.
this is why i will be waiting until next year to tell them, and i am sure we will all still remain on good terms as its a close knit business and im sure they will all understand my situation.
I was just concerned, once i tell my employer for example i am emigrating at the end of May, should they then continue to pay me up to the date i leave or do they stop paying me immediately meaning i would have to switch to government paid maternity pay?
its a question that no one seems to know the answer to but thought id put it out there to see!

[emmyloo2]

I am in a similar situation in that I will be leaving the UK during my maternity leave.

I don't have to pay back my maternity leave if I don't return to work. I get 10 weeks full pay and 16 weeks 1/2 pay on top of SMP. Don't have to pay any of it back. It's an entitlement. That might be just my firm's policy but I have had this confirmed.

You can spend your maternity leave wherever you like so it shouldn't affect you receiving SMP. I don't plan on telling my company I am not returning until around the 6 month mark.

[YummyMummy1208]

iskra but i believe that depends on your company policy and i dont think our policy works that way although i do plan to find out. as my friend has that policy running at her company and told me to check it out.

Im pretty sure our company doesnt work this way as its a small firm who can claim 100% of maternity pay costs back from the government anyway so its no loss to them really.

[Habbibu]

Oh, fair enough. The SMP is paid via your employer, so there's no difference there, it's just that if you receive additional maternity benefits from your employer, you will have to pay them back. As I said, I don't know if you still get SMP once you leave the UK.

[YummyMummy1208]

emmyloo2

Thats some good maternity pay ur company give! 10 weeks full pay! we get the basic 6 weeks @ 90% and then £123 or something similar for the next 33.

Its pretty hard for me to ask them what happens if i dont return as they are relying on me returning and will have a heart attack if they think i may not be, altho i know once theyhave someone replacing my job it will be easier to take the news as the world would be getting by just fine without me by that point so im holiding out until later to tell them!

[Pavlov]

As already said but habbibu and iskra you are legally entitled to the SMP they will be paying you regardless of whether or not you return to work.

If you get company maternity pay on top of that, there is normally a set period that you need to return to work for, or else you will have to pay the company maternity element back if you don't tell them. Or, you tell them and they do not pay it in the first place. It would be worth reading through your company maternity policy if you get this and see what that period is, not sure if it is fixed for all companies or for them to set.

For example, I get (some) company maternity pay on top of SMP. I need to return to work for a period of 3 months before I am able to leave, or else pay it back. It has been known in my place of work for employees to return to work for that period of 3 months, use any holiday they have accrued up to the point they wish to leave, at the end and just work that time (one person actually returned, worked for 2 weeks, suffered from PND and was signed off the the rest of her return to work period, but she was legitimately unwell, not blagging for the free money).

If you are returning for 4 months, does not matter, if you do not get CMP it does matter when you tell them.

[YummyMummy1208]

no im not planning on still receiving smp once emmigrating, i will be elligible in canada for a few months after arriving and will try and claim that otherwise we will have our savings to survive on for the first few months over there.

Its just that gap between telling them i wont be returning and me leaving.

what generally happens if you dont return to work - does your employer just continue to pay for 9 months?

[Habbibu]

Your employer should have policy documents for mat leave - can you not just ask for a copy?

[Pavlov]

You do not legally have to tell your employer if you intend to return to work until 28 days prior to the anticipated return date, so, if you are nervous, don't tell them. But if you do tell them, they have to pay you til the end of your Ordinary Maternity Leave period.

[MumNWLondon]

SMP doesn't matter whether you go back.

Company maternity pay will vary company by company. Some companies will require you to repay, others will not.

You can get an idea by asking what happens if you go back part time. Some companies will require you to repay 1/5 etc if you go back 4 days whereas others will not.

[superpenguin]

as others have said, you will get your SMP no matter what even if you don't return that is yours to keep.
see this page on the DirectGov website

If your company pays maternity pay above the minmum level required by the govt, they might ask you to pay back the difference if you don't return. But that depends on the company, every company has a different policy.

You don't have to explain your situation to them or ask any specific questions but you can just ask them for a written copy of their maternity policy.