To request she's fired.

[Twocatsonebaby]

So I'm 37 weeks pregnant. Came off maternity last November and took holiday which I was entitled to until early December. I was 24 weeks pregnant when I found out I was carrying ds. As soon as I had my midwife appointment I handed in my matb1. In which my HR manager lost it. Not once. Not twice. But today I'm picking up my third to send it off as an emergency to my main head office.
Filled in my paperwork, it's not been sent off.
I've been underpaid during the SMP qualifying period and there's no evidence of the backdated pay I got on my payslips. Which I'm now worried could put me in trouble in terms of tax.
She wouldn't give me my backdated pay for months and each month I was underpaid I had to pay my bills off a credit card. It's mounted up and I'm in trouble.
My pay came in January thankfully.
So I told her at 33 weeks I wanted to take holiday until 35 weeks and then start maternity leave. This covers me to be entitled to SMP again. But wait, she underpaid me! So I won't be getting SMP!

I phoned head office today to try and sort it to find out they didn't even know I'm pregnant! I won't be getting paid at all next week. I'm struggling enough as it is. So I can't pay my rent etc. An ds is due at the end of the month. I'm fucked.

Ive been told to write it down, send off another matb1 directly to them and write down all my greivences. Which includes forcing me to take an antenatal appointment unpaid (I couldn't rebook my gtt and they refused me on it several times). Which I'm now told by my midwife it is illegal.

Should I also request some sort of compensation for this? I'm with a union. But this isn't the first time I've been screwed around and HR should've sent off the paperwork months ago. It's discrimination. Could I also request for her to be let go?
If I can't be paid I'm going to have to ask to be let go as I'd get jsa. Which is better than £0.
I'm so worried because I'm in trouble with my credit card due to being underpaid and unexpectant bills came out. I can't pay my rent. I don't know how they expect me to live.
Is it also worth me phoning acas?

OP you not having your mat1b will not mean you won't get paid.

If you speak to someone senior enough at your company, CEO Finance Director and HR Director then they will be able to provide you with an advance.

Explain your situation and please let them know about the MAT1B - they can advance you money. You need to ask and give them reasons and then if they need to take time to rectify what has happened then they can.

Please contact your Head Office and explain the urgency and request to speak to someone senior today.

Trust me on this, it seems you work for a large business if there is even a Head Office. Someone senior has the ability to advance you money.

OP please ring your business as that way they can still arrange to sort out a transfer today or then get you funds first thing tomorrow.

Speak to someone senior enough.

You can follow up with ACAS and the Union obviously but if you need money now then you need to ask direct.

You should not need to go through anyone else, you are pregnant, you are stressed, you have had an awful time with your brother.

Please please contact someone very senior and let them know you need to speak to them urgently.

Also it would be entirely unreasonable for your employer not to pay your SMP if they have lost your Mat1B form twice.

You can also get a replacement Mat1B form from your GP.

You can just get a duplicate.

This time thought make sure you take a photography, photocopy or scan of the form.

I did visit my GP, I was told they could not issue me with a matb1. Very unhelpful.
I have phoned my union and I'm awaiting a phone call back.
I've also sent the email.
Thanks all x

I have taken it to head office but I want to take this higher.. I don't think it'll be sorted. Is there anyone else I could speak to being as though I work for a huge supermarket chain :/

Which chain? / check the directory and work up until you find the director and cc them in

Did they say they couldn’t issue one or they didn’t have one?

I know my area has none at the moment a problem with the delivery or something

Agree with others -collect evidence, send to the head office, grievance and hope it gets sorted asap. Also contact your union and ask for a caseworker - someone should be able to help you do all this. Ask the union about their hardship funds - they might be able to help you with money temporarily. Let the head office know how much you are owed and how much interest that has incurred.

How is there anything higher than Head Office? You can Google for the CEO email address and email them?

You can start a tribunal claim online for unlawful deduction from wages and maternity discrimination, but it will take days to reach the company and ACAS will step in first.

You need to speak to your union pronto! And maybe your bank and landlord. You're unlikely to be chucked out for one late rent payment but if your landlord is aware it might be late then it helps.

And your DP needs to get chasing the jsa and also ask for an emergency payment as the rent is due and you have no income. Has he got a new job lined up yet?

After she lost your first matb you should have known to take a copy. I thought everyone copied important paperwork now. You can get free scanning apps. Even a photo better than nowt. Not much use now but hey ho.

HR often disorganised and incompetent IME. Union will sort. Ywbu to request she is fired.

I was guessing It was a supermarket.
My guess is Asda.
My friend had a terrible time and lost out on so much money.

Sounds like you’re panicking and going round in circles because of that.

Try and separate it all out.

Why will another lost MATB1 lead to no pay next week? I don’t understand why it’s related to your wages? If it really is, then you need to have a timeline written out about dates of issue of the last 2 mat1b’s and when you discovered their loss etc, and use that to get in touch with someone senior in your company to get them to help.

What do you mean that you’ve taken it to the head office but want to take it higher? What is higher than the head office? And why exactly are you wanting to continue escalating this?

You sound like you are after vengeance rather than someone to fix the immediate problems you have. Which is not going to help you if your home is really at risk.

Focus on the priorities. Any complaints will have to go through your company’s grievance procedure and can be done after you get your wages and maternity leave sorted. If you prioritise ‘trying to get her fired’ people are a lot less likely to want to help you with the practical problems you have, as it sounds like you’re really wanting to involve them in a personal axe to grind.

Keep your own behaviour professional and you make it clear who is in the right straight from the off.

www.gov.uk/maternity-pay-leave/how-to-claim - you don't need a MATB1 to claim SMP, GP or maternity can write a letter, some might accept a photocopy of the front of your handheld notes, in this situation they bloody should, the point of it is to prove you are pregnant...

Sorry OP if it is a large supermarket gain there will be someone who knows how to process pay correctly.

You have not let us know who you actually contacted on head office.

The copy of the mat1 b can be sorted separately please don't worry about it.

Please go back to head office and insist you speak to someone - the head of finance or HR or contact the CEO's office.

Did you speak to anyone in Head Office today at Director level?

Please try not to stress.

If you really can't do this do you have an family member or friend who could enquire in your behalf.

Do you have an idea as to how much money you need? You need to ask for an advance on your pay and then give them time to go through your pay situation.

You need to engage with head office asap Concentrate on getting it sorted first.

Okay, there is no record at head office that I'm even pregnant. Let alone maternity and my holiday was paid in a lump sum last paycheck. Which Is why I'm put down as a sort of absence. Which leads me to believe I will not be paid at all.
I've had a call back from the union for my area. As my rep is away. Turns out the rep at the office who deals with the store is also away. (it's not going well is it?) but someone decided to step in and offer me advice. The advice was to email head office which I'd already been told to do and tell them I needed the money and they should work out how much they owe me and get it sorted. I should have another call Monday when the rep is back.
As for the doctors, apparently only my midwife can organise and supply my matb1.

I did ask the man from the union about taking it higher and he told me basically not to bother unless it isn't sorted next week. So at the moment I'm stuck.

Dp had to send off another income allowance form off last week. Told it'd take 10 days they've got til next Tuesday. If its not in his bank account I'm going to make him scream at them. We've been waiting since January.

Sorry OP just for clarification have you actually spoken to someone at Head Office today?

If so what was their position and when did they say they would get back in touch with you?

Surely there must now be someone at Head Office who knows you are pregnant as you have been in touch right? By phone and email? Right?

Again by all means use your union but if you urgently need money then you need to speak to someone who can authorise money to be paid.

Of course your gp can provide a mat1b form - some women have gp led care.

Anyhow you can follow up with mat1b later for now you need money.

Do you have any wider family members or friends you can ask for money until this is sorted????

OP I'd definitely email the CEO (there's a website somewhere to find the address) - having worked in a number of supermarket head offices any complaints that go to the CEOs office get to someone who can resolve them pretty swiftly as they then have the fear of having to report back to the CEO!

There's also the option of going to the press team and telling them you're going to your local paper if it looks like it's not getting resolved quickly. In my job I hate people doing this (as we have to deal with it) but it does prompt a resolution rather than them risk the headline 'supermarket chain leaves pregnant employee destitute'.

Gosh I wouldn't advise op to go to the press - imagine being inundated at 37 to 38 weeks pregnant. I guess she could consider to use it as a threat/tactic later.

I wonder how the OP's manager waved her off to her mat leave without realising that her pay was a disaster.

OP I really hope this is sorted for you.

All the very best.

Again I really think someone senior can sort this, especially a large employer.

Yes not the press themselves, the press office - threat of going to local press would mean they had to look into it just in case. But agree that going to CEO or head of HR would be better.

Have spoken to head office. Their advice was to send off a matb1 directly to them which I couldn't get hold of today and to also write an email of grievances. Which I did. An it's a hefty email.
The man from the union told me to send another email basically saying how incompetent my HR manager is (which I'm not going to do) and tell them to request payment. That's why I say. Who is above head office and should I contact them? As an email of grievances when even they don't know what HR have done (cause she's never in).