To not take maternity pay and keep working with a newborn?

[lostandconfused2]

I'm a journalist and I have two jobs, one five 9 hour days a week where I'm on £550 pw before tax, and another where I only write four 800 word articles a week for £850 pw.

I am 19 weeks pregnant and I have been asked by my five-day job to start filling out maternity forms. I will get six weeks at 90% of my weekly earnings, another 12 weeks of my normal salary plus any SMP due, eight weeks of 50% of my salary and then £148 a week for remaining 13 weeks.

But I will not be able to work for the other place during this time.

And so I'm wondering, with a newborn, will I be too tired to write four articles a week, which I could do while he naps or when I've got some childcare help? Or should I play it safe and just stick with the maternity pay? (I don't qualify for maternity with the higher earning place as it's a new job and they're in the US).

Just want some advice on what to do that is going to be the most practical? I'm just a bit worried as my rent is almost £1,000 a month.

I had a very difficult first baby. I could not have managed any work at all. I went back at 12 months and even then it was difficult as we woke frequently in the night and would often be awake for a few hours in the night.

My second was a more typical newborn and we were in a fairly good routine after a couple of months, and just a couple of night wakings. But I don’t think I could have managed working much in the first couple of months.

So yes I agree with a wait and see approach as you may well be able to work after a few months.

Do not underestimate your recovery time, even with an easy straightforward birth, your body needs to rest, you will need to spend the time to bond with the baby, you will simply feel very different than you do now. Also, without offending anyone, your brain will be rather foggy for a short while.
Writing articles is not that easy because you need the proper head space, it’s not just about find a few hours spare here and there.
Play it safe, take as much maternity leave as you safely can from a financial perspective.

After the mandatory 2 weeks she has to take from employer 2 then she can start working for them again after that while still getting maternity pay from employer 1

I don’t understand why employed people are allowed to freelance while claiming SMP from their employer, but self-employed people can only work 10 KIT days or lose their maternity allowance. It seems so unfair!

She wouldn't be freelance if she is employed by employer 2 already. She has 2 employers with 2 different periods of maternity leave

Pretty sure you can take maternity from one job and continue working the second with your normal pay. You just can't take maternity from one job and keep doing the work at that job.