Employer wanting to cut my contract from 16 hour to 8 hour just as I'm about to apply for SMP! Please help with opinions :(

[Jessccj17]

I hope some lovely ladies can help me out :( I currently work in retail and a good few months ago before I found out I was pregnant (currently 23 weeks pregnant) I took on a temporary assistant manager post with a 16 hour contract in agreement that when an other member of staff finished uni she would take over the full time contract.. but as I said in between this I fell pregnant and continued to work very hard most weeks well over my 16 hours! But now as I'm about to apply for statutory maternity pay my employer had came to me saying my contract is going to be cut in the next few weeks to an 8 hour with shorter shifts and hours he tried to say it was in my favour as pregnancy gets harder but I can't help but feel I'm being short-changed in a way as this will affect my right to maternity pay and he's not really willing to listen to my concerns. The 16 hour contract is up on the 24th of June and by chance the earliest I can start ML is the 25th of June would it be in my best interest to start my ML then before he cuts my contract and it possibly messes everything up? I really don't intend on returning to the job once maternity is up as I have a 4 year old son as well and feel I get taken advantage of in this job and I can't see it working when I have 2 children that I need cared for to work shifts that never suit me.. sorry for the long winded post I just need opinions feel so clueless x

[LIZS]

It won't matter now for smp as the relevant weeks for the pay calculation have already passed.

[dementedpixie]

Your period to work out SMP is the 8 weeks prior to your qualifying week which is 15 weeks before estimated week of delivery i.e. your maternity pay will be calculated from the 8 weeks before week 25 of your pregnancy which means you only have a couple more weeks to go before your mat pay is calculated

[Palendrominca]

Disclaimer I am not an expert, hopefully somebody more qualified will come along to confirm (or deny) this, but from my understanding to be eligibility and the amount of SMP you receive is calculated using an average of a weeks pay in a reference period.

I believe that this reference period is the 8 weeks leading up to the 15th week before you are due, so I understand that it will be when you are between 17weeks pregnant -25 weeks pregnant. As you are already 23 weeks pregnant I don't think this reduction in hours would impact your SMP, especially as he can't reduce your hours until the 24th June (remember you are a protected worked so he would need a good reason to cut short your contract).

Hope that helps, and hopefully someone more knowledgeable will be along shortly.

[lougle]

The reference weeks for SMP calculation are weeks 17-25, so it won't make any difference to your SMP. Don't worry

[SingaSong12]

Maternity Avtion has some useful information
www.maternityaction.org.uk/advice-2/mums-dads-scenarios/pregnant-and-benefits/common-maternity-pay-questions/

[Jessccj17]

Thank you so much!! I was completely unaware that's when the period was so I was really worrying that it could affect my SMP but if the average is being taken now I should be fine to stay on that bit longer depending on how it goes if I do end up getting 8 hours a week it really isn't worth my while I might as well go on maternity leave.. thank you gorgeous clearing this up I can stop worrying now :)