For those who have received Maternity Allowance and Contractual Maternity Pay (not SMP) how did it work for you?

[Rainbowhairdontcare]

I just called the MA hotline and asked for an update about my claim, there's a massive backlog so I'm looking for further 4 weeks of waiting at the very least. They asked for my last day of work which was last Friday. When I submitted my claim I left that blank because I didn't think it mattered and really didn't know when my last day would be.

My contractual maternity pay will be paid exactly the same way as my salary (12 weeks) could this cause any possible confusion with my MA claim? Once those 12 weeks have passed I'll only have the MA as income.

You may struggle to find someone as most contractual maternity policies have the same qualifying period as SMP. So most people who get MA won't be eligible for their employer's scheme. It shouldn't cause any confusion with MA but you'll have to manage that gap. Did they give you an indication of how long the backlog was? I've been told between 8-12 weeks.

I was told 12 weeks total. We originally thought I'd only get MA, but thanks to my employer's generosity I'll be able to afford the whole year rather than just 9 months.

Because as far as I'm aware I'll still get my full 39 weeks of MA, which means I'll end up having about 5-6 months of full pay.

Hello,

Sorry to be nosey, just wondered how the maternity allowance worked out? I get a small amount of contractual pay but no SMP from work and have been advised that receiving this contractual maternity pay means I am unable to qualify for maternity allowance.