Employer has been paying me maternity pay but now says I'm not entitled

[CupCupGoose]

But I know I am! They've been paying me for 4 weeks as they hadn't worked it out properly but now their accountant has come back saying I didn't earn enough in the qualifying weeks. I've checked and checked again and I definitely have! So now they are saying I have to pay it back.

Does anyone have any advice? I gave my matb1 in on time and I've not received any letters ect from them so I don't even know what info they are working my entitlement out from.

Ask them to justify how they are working it out, and from what date.

I did but they've just sent a blank form

Do you have a union?

A blank form! Send it back and insist they fill it in, they’re the ones that have to justify their decision, not you.

Contact acas if you need support

Have you got an HR department to contact?

It's just a small business with a few people working there.

Can you post your relevant earnings, someone will be able to confirm that you've calculated it correctly

If they think they you don't qualify for SMP then they need to fill in an SMP1 form stating the reasons. They can explain their reasoning and HMRC will adjudicate if there is still a dispute. If you're not eligible for SMP then check your eligibility for MA asap.

You may also want to seek advice on if you have any additional rights as they have made a mistake. They should have told you within 28 days of you giving notice if you weren't eligible for SMP.

Thank you, all your messages are really helpful. My earnings for the qualifying period were £1338.60 my due date was 17.02.20. I get paid monthly.

I know it's an obvious question but have you worked there long enough to qualify.

I'd send he blank form back and ask them to give you the figures they've based their decision on.

Have you done the calculation on the government website? I’ve obviously guessed some things but its states you’re entitled to SMP.

I've told them I want the form filled in. And I've worked there nearly 2 years. I've done the calculations on the government website multiple times. I'm getting someone else to fill them in for me to double check but I know I'm right.

I can't afford to pay the money back in one go. This is just what I need after having a baby 4 days ago!

They contacted you within 4 days of giving birth, because they made a mistake?! WTF!!

Do you have any salary sacrifice deduction eg. pension, childcare vouchers etc that would bring your earnings under the threshold? SMP is calculated based on the earnings for National Insurance purposes, so post any salary sacrifice deductions, rather than your total pay.

Might not be relevant to your situation but it is a possible explanation as to why they're saying you didn't earn enough.

No, no salary deductions. So it's definitely not that either.

4 days after giving birth?? Fuck. Send your manager a WTF message, Shut it all contact down for a week and see if theyve sorted it out by then. If not contact ACAS for free qualified advice.

They arent going to sort it though because as far as they are concerned, I owe them money. I'll wait for this form to be filled in and go from there.

But they were the ones who paid you the money, so they need to justify why they now consider this to have been a mistake.

And they’ve got a Goddamned nerve contacting you with days of the birth. That’s shocking.

Don't get into any conversation about paying them back the money until they have provided you with an SMP1 form to allow you to claim maternity allowance.

The SMP1 form literally just has a box they'll tick saying 'your earnings are not high enough' so you will still need to ask them for a breakdown of their calculation in order to understand how they've managed to come to this conclusion.

The form has the HMRC dispute team number on it too, so if you still disagree with their calculations then that's your first point of call, to appeal the decision re SMP.

Bear in mind maternity allowance can only be backdated 3 months, so don't let this drag out (even though you've got more important things, like an adorable newborn, to focus on!)

What have they paid you so far? Is it SMP or is there some company/occupational pay involved too? Are they saying you're not entitled to either?

I'd also tell them to fuck off with any conversations about repaying anything until the SMP/mat allowance situation has been sorted out.

Basically they've just been paying me £120 a week as a guess until the accountant worked out what I was actually entitled to. Even though this was lower than I knew I was entitled to, I didn't mind as they said they'd backdate any pay owed. There's no paperwork or any proof of what they've paid me as I get paid cash (not cash in hand, I get payslips ect, my boss hasn't caught up to the 21st century yet) so the accountant has only just got back to let them know that they think I didn't earn enough, even though I gave my matb1 in 17 weeks ago. Hope that makes sense.

And it's just smp that they've paid. No extras.

It's possible that your employer has given the accountant the wrong information, I'd guess the accountant works it out all the time so is less likely to have made a mistake.

If you don't think you're going to get anywhere with the employer I'd put in writing to them that you are referring it ot HMRC to resolve and get your complaint it asap