Agency worker maternity pay

[Bullzeye]

Hi all, I currently work for an agency as a supply teaching assistant. I started in September, beginning of term and have been booked for the whole academic year in the same school 3 days a week.

I am wanting to have my second child and don't know what rights I have in terms of getting statutory mat leave. Google states I must work for the same agency for 26 weeks before becoming pregnant and earning £123 a week.

I don't work half terms and school holidays so earn £0 during this time.

Would I still be entitled to SMP?

It's £123 a week averaged over your qualifying weeks. So if your qualifying weeks were e.g. over the summer holidays it would be tricky. How much do you earn a week?

I earn 270 a week (£90 per day)

So you should be fine as long as you are earning your normal wage for at least 4 weeks of your 8 qualifying weeks (which are weeks 18 - 25).

The only time it will be a problem is if you are pregnant between weeks 18 - 25 and those weeks fall over the summer holidays, or if you have a few weeks of no bookings adjacent to some of the shorter school holidays.

Thank you, it's so complex to get head around! A shame that it's so different for agency workers when we do the same as every other TA