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Original poster

Mat pay - is this "good"??

305 replies

newmummy21 · 14/07/2021 13:02

Just wanting to gauge what's typical, I guess, as this is the first time I've been on mat leave so I have no idea what's normal.

I usually earn 2,600 net in my job. Currently on mat leave and have lost £800 a month so taking home only 1,800 whilst on mat leave. This is a significant loss to our household income and my partner is having to do a lot of overtime to make up the shortfall. We also had to save like mad during my pregnancy to cover this, so we didn't struggle.

I mentioned this to a friend recently and she said "my god that's amazing mat pay, you have no idea how lucky you are, I had next to nothing... " etc,

So... is losing £800 a month really "amazing" for mat pay?? Confused

OP posts:
LAR96 · 14/07/2021 13:04

I will be on 700 a month of mat pay so you are very lucky!!

Ginmakesitallok · 14/07/2021 13:04

Not enough info to tell. How long will you get enhanced mat pay for?

MiloAndEddie · 14/07/2021 13:07

I got statutory which was 90% of my salary for 6 weeks then the statutory minimum which was about £130 a week.

Ginfilledcats · 14/07/2021 13:10

I work for the NHS and got 8 weeks full pay, 18 weeks half pay then maternity allowance for the remainder. MA was about £600 a month I think, and my salary is £50k, I lost about £2k a month when on maternity allowance which obviously was significant loss to us. Fortunately we had both saved money to use during this period.

So yeah, id say your May pay is quite good but it's all relative isn't it! A loss of income is still a loss of income however much you earn/lose

PurpleFlower1983 · 14/07/2021 13:10

It depends how long you get that for, if it’s 9-12 months then it’s amaxing. 4-6 months it’s pretty good.

LlamaGiles · 14/07/2021 13:16

I had 8 weeks 90% pay, 16 weeks 50% pay and then just SMP. I think what I got is middling in terms of different company policies, I knew some who got a lot more but some people who only got SMP. I lost about £15k as I took the full year. Crippling!

MargotHeggerty · 14/07/2021 13:21

Yes its good. 6 weeks at 90% and then smp for 8months then unpaid.. had dc in 2015

DataColour · 14/07/2021 13:24

I got full pay for 6 months, SMP for another 3 months and then no pay for 3 months - total of 12 months. University worker.

Inmypjsagain · 14/07/2021 13:24

I get SMP, so as others said, 90% of my salary for 6 weeks, statutory for 8 months (about £150 a week so £600) and then 3 months unpaid. So for 8 months i’ll be over £2,500 down a month, 3 months I won’t get anything if I dont go back to work.

So in comparison I think yours is good, but mat pay in general is pretty bad IMO. Statutory is less than minimum wage….

BarbaraofSeville · 14/07/2021 13:25

It's not the 'losing £800 pm' that she's calling amazing, more that you're keeping 70% of your salary and still taking home more than many people earn in a normal month.

Surely you knew that this wasn't the norm and a lot of people only get SMP of about £600 pm?

PurpleIsTheColour · 14/07/2021 13:25

I’m on just under 3k net and my mat leave will be the usual 90% pay for first 6 weeks and then SMP-so I’ll be basically losing just over 2k a month. Yes, I would say your package is great x

Getyourarseofffthequattro · 14/07/2021 13:26

it is amazing... i got SMP which was frankly shite! Saying that your mat pay is more than my actual wage so...

bettybyebye · 14/07/2021 13:26

As per Pps, if you get that for the whole time then that is good. I got 14 weeks full pay then the remaining time was statutory mat pay plus my car allowance.
What are you planning to do re childcare? If you’re struggling now on £800 per month less childcare is likely to be a lot more than that…

Buttons294749 · 14/07/2021 13:26

Depends how long it's for. I got 100% for 6 months then the statuary minimum thereafter

greenflamingo · 14/07/2021 13:27

I got stat minimum throughout.

RobinPenguins · 14/07/2021 13:29

Hell of a lot better than I got, which was SMP of 90% for 6 weeks then SMP of £140 up to week 39, plus 6 weeks of 100% to spread over that period.

I received thousands and thousands less than my usual pay over the time I was off.

70% of my normal pay would have been totally manageable, as it is we had to save for a long time before TTC to be able to afford mat leave.

MouldyPotato · 14/07/2021 13:37

How long for?

TherapistInATabard · 14/07/2021 13:39

Yes, it’s good.

ConsuelaHammock · 14/07/2021 13:43

It’s excellent.

noblegreenk · 14/07/2021 13:43

I got 90% salary for 18 weeks and then £120 per week. This was in 2018/19. I didn't last long on the £120pw as it was less than a quarter of my salary, so i went back to work when dd was 6 months old.

superduster · 14/07/2021 13:44

Most people get SMP or MA, so anything above that is good. First mat leave I got £138/week, second I got about £110/week (as I was working part time).

Bumblenums1234 · 14/07/2021 13:46

I got smp, I would have been very happy with your pay!

Moneypenny007 · 14/07/2021 13:47

In Ireland unless your employer tops you up its 245 per week for 26 weeks. You can do an additional 3 months unpaid if u really want.

LIZS · 14/07/2021 13:47

Most get less than £600 pm smp after first six weeks. It varies if company enhances it, you had a bonus or overtime in the qualifying weeks, or have benefits in kind or cash equivalent ( ie. car allowance) .

fuckingsickofcovid · 14/07/2021 13:47

I got £490 a month