to ask what your maternity pay benefit/scheme is?

[Bluetinkerbell]

My contract states I get
6 weeks at 90% of my salary
after that SMP
:(

which means basically I can only stay off for about 8 weeks, we can't afford to manage it otherwise.
I would like to find out what other people are getting, so I can put it in a reasonable request at work to see if I can get a little more.

Thank you!

The form i filled was an MA1 i think. But the HR company i work for call it SMP regardless of whether they or the gov pay it. I presumed it was considered the same thing.

It defo said SMP on some of the forms they gave me to fill in and send back to the jobcentre.

smp is smp regardless of who pays it. ma is a seperate thing for people who dont qualify for smp and is paid by the gov and only the gov. cant remember the exact figures but you have to basicly be on minimum wage and earning less than something like £120 a week (perhaps a bit less) but more than £30 per week to get MA as opposed to smp.
basicly it goes like this, you ask your employer for smp they either pay it or fill out a declaration stating why they wont pay it you then apply to the gov for MA if you dont qualify for that ma automaticly send your application to income support (or what ever that benefit is called these days).

Sorry sock if i'm being dense. As i understood it i let my employer know i am pg, they inform me i haven't fulfilled the entitlement for them to cover SMP and to apply to the gov to cover it. I apply to the gov and because i have worked in the test period (for previous employers) and therefore earned over a certain amount they will cover the smp which is £135. If however i have not earned enough during the test period i can apply for MA which is lower.

yes you are correct i was distracted by cake whilst i was typing, smp is if you have earnt over the lower earnings limit (the figure that you pay ni at think its about £107 per week) your employer has to pay it if you have worked for them for long enough befor your due date if you havent worked for them for the 26 weeks but have been in continious employment or self employed or bankrupt company then hmrc take over payments. if you havent earnt over the lower earnings limit then its MA inless your a fisherman (obviously a lady fisherman) or a diplomat or based on a ship in frogin waters. but they are two different things ones classed as a benefit (even if its only dependant on your actual earnings savings ect matter not) but one is a actual statutary thing

incidently and few people know this if you have worked for more than one employers at the same time for the entire quallifying period AND both companys pay ni for you then you are legally entitled to claim and recive as many lots of smp as there are seperate ni contibutions. say you work 26 weeks for 5 companies in the qualifying period and all 5 pay ni for you then you can claim and recive 5 lots of smp.

and hahahaha i just realised i typed frog waters but i like that so im going to leave it frogs are great