Any nurses gone back from mat leave very pregnant again?

[User32123]

I’m on maternity leave from the nhs. I’m currently pregnant again. I’ll only be receiving SMP during my qualifying weeks. What can I expect my maternity pay to look like for this next baby. I get OMP at 8 weeks full pay then 18 weeks half pay plus the usual SMP or MA. But will this actually be full pay if I was on SMP only during qualifying weeks or does OMP actually mean full pay of my contracted hours despite this?

I know other nurses who have come back to work for just a few weeks between maternity leaves but I don’t know what their pay was like.

[User32123]

Anybody?

[User32123]

Moved over to this board to see I feel anyone can help. TIA

[User32123]

That should have said “to see if anyone can help”

[nerdsville]

If you're receiving SMP throughout your qualifying period then you'll earn enough to qualify for SMP for baby no 2 but it will affect how much you receive even after the first six weeks. You'll get the first six weeks at 90% of your average weekly earnings which based on weekly earnings of 145 is 130. Then the remaining 33 weeks is the lower of 90% of your earnings or flat rate SMP, so again, because your weekly earnings rate is 145 you'll be getting about 130 per week (90%). So you'll basically get 130 per week for the whole 39 weeks.

My understanding of NHS OMP is that it works the same way as local gov and teaching, in that it is calculated based on your contractual salary as at the day before your mat leave begins, rather than on your pay during the qualifying period so being on SMP during qualifying shouldn't impact this. I don't work in NHS payroll tho so can't say for definite - hopefully someone else will come along to confirm but you should check the maternity policy to be sure.

[User32123]

Thanks very much that makes a bit more sense now.

The OMP part is still concerning me because I know if I work overtime or weekends etc during my qualifying period then this boosts the OMP part of my maternity pay, so I presumed the reverse is true? But then this doesn’t seem right either...

[nerdsville]

Actually I'm going to stand corrected - I've just read the NHS terms and conditions of service (found it online) which states that full pay for OMP purposes is calculated on the average weekly earnings basis used for SMP, so unfortunately it is based on your earnings during the qualifying period. Apologies for my misunderstanding.

[welshweasel]

Your omp will be from you salary during you qualifying weeks so likely to be smp only.

[User32123]

poor planning (or lack of lol) on my side then

Looks like I’ll have to go back earlier than I planned

Thanks everyone

[Babyroobs]

At least with Nursing it may be easier to go back part time andcdo mainly weekends / nights to teduce childcare costs assuming your partner works tegular hours .

[Tobuyornot99]

Your OMP will be based on the qualifying weeks (I think it's something like weeks 20-25 of the pregnancy) so you'll need to hammer the unsocial in if possible.

[Catquest1]

Its been a while since I looked at the nhs policy but i have a funny feeling qualifying weeks are 17 to 25. Worth checking your trusts policy as it should state it in there