Maternity leave

[sparklyshoes16]

For the last ten years all my contracts have been temporary including my current job...usually a year or 18 months...I've got friends in a similar position who want to have a baby but don't want to go down the credit card route, excessive debt etc...DH and I have just bought our home and nearly finished doing it up (our savings have been wiped out due to an unexpected problem with damp and a total cheap overhaul of a house that hasn't been touched since the 60s)..we've managed to get on an even keel for debt and just about coping...I'm in my mid 30s and we want to have a baby...I'm on a maternity contract for a woman whose on her 3rd maternity cover...AIBU to feel like when is someone going to cover my maternity?

I've been looking for permanent jobs but they are few and far between and low paid. I'm on low pay now £15,000pa...was looking for something higher paid to try and put money a side and still pay our bills, DH wages on its own don't cover all our bills and mine certainly don't I'm on £15,000 less! DH luckily has a chance of a small bonus every year but not always guaranteed (3 figures) I've also noticed that more and more men are being taken on (I have no issue with men!!)...I went for an interview at a Primary school office... all men ranging between 20s and 40s and the woman in charge was in her 50s I thought to myself unusual in a Primary school especially Admin staff!

When I mentioned this the other day to a group of friends one said at her work her boss just can't afford to keep paying out maternity leave...yes it's illegal but if they take on anymore women who go on maternity it will break them...it's a small business they've started doing a scheme for older people to get back into work but according to my friend that's not the real reason they joined the scheme and lots of small businesses are going this way! This made me think what chance do I have to become a Mum, well paid and keep a job that I go back to?

Another year=another year of being entitled to maternity leave...another year my stats go down for becoming pregnant easily. Just fed up and want DH and I to become parents. Sorry for the rambling feeling really down about the way maternity pay works i.e. at least year in a contract before your entitled but pretty much impossible if you're on temporary/zero hours contracts.

The employer doesn't pay out for SMP, the government does. Where I work (charity, so may be different) they found they actually made a small profit on it and decided to top up SMP to 50% of normal wages.

If you are using the same agency, I think (but don't quote me) you effectively become their proxy employee - I temped for 2 years and has pension accruals and holiday pay.

School offices - always staffed by middle aged women like me in all the places I've worked. Men increasingly brought in as IT gurus and data analysts. Not that women don't have that skill set I hasten to add, but in these days of equality and diversity, numbers have to be balanced.

TBH women are usually the primary carer either for children or elderly parents. They can be a drain on a small company. You need to get yourself into a national - bank? local council? local rail company? local NHS trust?

What do you do OP?

The ‘cost’ to the employer is a red herring - as PP said the vast majority of SMP costs can be reclaimed, in some cases over 100%.

There are plenty of employers out there treating pregnant employees well and fairly.

As PP suggested you need to target more family friendly employers.

Ah ok this is new to me...What is SMP? How does it work...pretty much everywhere I've worked has had something in the contract say 1 year to work for the company before entitled for maternity pay...my contracts range between 6 months to a year longest was 18months but didn't feel ready for a baby back then as I'd just met my husband. Merry old goat going to pm you

How do you pm someone I'm on an iPhone?

If you are mid 30s now and want children I wouldn't leave it any longer. You will get maternity Allowance if you don't qualify for maternity pay.

Click on the three dots at the bottom on the post from the poster you want to PM and choose the PM option.

SMP is statutory maternity pay and you are entitled to it when working in a contract position provided you meet the criteria for eligibility which is the same for all employment.

Stautory maternity pay (Google it!) - usually you have to have worked somewhere for a few weeks before getting pregnant I think to be entitled (because 9 months of pregnancy means only 3 months beforehand? I'm a teacher on a permanent contract. But if you aren't entitled to smp the maternity allowance is what you'd get - paid by the govt.

As far as I remember the employer can claim back 92% of SMP (statutory maternity pay) . If it's monthly NO bill is below a certain amount, the employer can claim back 100% of SMP

Mmm...Merry for some reason I don't have 3 little dots.
Little grey a few of my friends are Teachers I think they get 6 months full and then 3 months
half pay? All on permanent contracts...just had a quick google on smp a little confusing will have read properly later.

If you have a fairly low paid job you might find maternity allowance isn't far off smp anyway

How long do you have to have been working to be entitled to SMP?

Ok I think what I'm trying to get my head round is what is the difference between Maternity pay, SMP and MA?

Don't quote me on it, but 15 weeks I believe

Even if you’re unemployed, you get SMP as a type of benefit.
The government pays you this if you are working. Some employers pay you more out of their pocket to top you up so you want to go back working for them afterwards, but they don’t have to. SMP has a sliding scale, x amount for 6 weeks, then another 6 months or so... I think if you want 12 months out of work, you receive nothing for the last 3 months.
Check the gov website for details

I work in a school. We get 6 weeks at 90% of normal salary, then the rest up to 9 months is SMP. If you stay off after up to 12 months it’s unpaid. That’s fairly standard for public sector I think.

Sparkley go to HMRC maternity section on their website. Their is a calculator on there. You type in the date of expected week of confinement that is on your matb1 form your doctor completed, on the calculator and it tells you if you are entitled to SMP or not. If you are not entitled to AMP then you might be entitled to maternity allowance

Not really answering your question OP but teachers don't get anything like 6 months full pay, they get 6 weeks full, 2 weeks at 90% and 12 at half pay before SMP.

Ok thank you for the replies...I'm still trying to work out how to pm someone but there is no option for this I don't have the three little dots option. I've switched from my iPhone to iPad and still the same.

I'm a teacher who has never had a permanent contract. I've just finished my maternity leave and I was paid by the Government. They take into account your wages and then that factors in how much they will pay you for your leave, up to a maximum of £142 a week i think.

Maternity pay=SMP (statutory maternity pay). You need to have worked for an employer for 26 weeks by the 25th week of pregnancy I.e. can't be pregnant before starting work with them. Once you qualify you get SMP even if on a fixed contract. Maternity Allowance is similar but doesn't have the 90% salary for 6 weeks at the start. It's what you claim if you don't qualify for SMP

Ok user sorry must have got totally wrong end stick I did think at the time that was a lot! Lol...again thanks for the advice all...it's been really helpful.

Maternity pay is contractual maternity pay that your employer promises to pay as per your employment contract. SMP is statutory maternity pay is the minimum amount that the government says your employer needs to pay. Maternity pay can be more than SMP but not less. MA is maternity allowance which is a benefit paid by DWP if you are not entitled to SMP.

To qualify forSMPyou must:

• earn on average at least £113 a week
• give thecorrect notice
• giveproof you’re pregnant
• have worked for your employercontinuouslyfor at least 26 weeks continuing into the ‘qualifying week’ - the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth

Slightly off topic, but could you get a lodger? That could generate a few extra k a year.

Also, as you've modernised a house, your equity should be much greater. If/when you remortgage you will have a better loan-to- value and your mortgage payments will be much lower. That could be another bit of money in the kitty.