Do you get universal credit whilst on maternity leave?

[user6776]

I have a joint claim with my DP and we get a small amount of UC each month after earnings.

I'm due to go on maternity leave in a few months. Will the deductions off earnings be less once my wage reduces or do you literally just get the £170 a week and nothing else?

I can't seem to find a definitive answer on Google!

If your earnings go down because you are on mat leave then your UC will go up. For each pound you lose of pay, your UC will go up by 55p.

Will you be getting SMP? Maternity Allowance?

@TwilightSkies Yeah, after 3 months

Why would you be waiting 3 months for maternity pay?

Which one though ?
SMP is treated the same as earnings.
MA is deducted from Uc pound for pound. Sorry i should have thought to ask which one in my earlier post.

If you go on entitled to calculator you can input your expected joint earnings and it will tell you if any what you will get.

I get enhanced pay for the first 3 months from my employer then it will be SMP after that for 6, then the last 3 months is nothing @Babyroobs

If you are getting it now, most likely your uc will go up. We don’t qualify for any, so i’m on smp only.

Ok so smp is treated the same as earnings so when earnings go down, UC will go up but obviously you will still be worse off overall due to earnings being lower.

@Babyroobs What will happen for the last 3 months when only DP is earning ?

Your UC is likely to go up as SMP is treated like wages. I didn't qualify for UC pre maternity but I did when on the non enchanted bit of SMP! Also apply for the maternity grant if you have already

@dhxxx I don't think I'm eligible for the grant?

Is it not your first baby? If it's your first and you're on UC, you can apply

@dhxxx Ah no, it's my second!

You'll get even more Uc. Plus you will also have another child element added when your second child is born so the total amount before deductions will go up.

Is it possible to qualify for UC at the end of ML when on 0 pay even if you didn’t qualify for UC when working?

Yes it depends on joint earnings, obviously earnings are less if one partner has no earnings so a couple may qualify at that point but overall depends on lots of factors, whether you have rent to pay, how many kids you have etc.

Yes I did. I am the main earner so when I was on maternity pay, we qualified for UC due to my partners lower earnings. Nowhere near my actual pay of course but definitely helped!