To still feel a bit like I got shafted?

[Toastandcrumpets]

When I left work to go on maternity leave, I received my maternity pay in one lump sum. This meant my tax payments, NI contributions, pension and student loan were all crazy high. I got some tax back but not the rest.

It meant for nine months maternity leave I had less than four thousand pounds.

I still feel annoyed!

Sounds like they made you a Leaver and as such you came off the payroll.

Definitely look into getting some of the student loan payments back. Setbacks like this are really upsetting..

People who don't understand how deductions on pay work really shouldn't comment as though they do, it's not helpful and very frustrating. Many PP have explained that although income tax would balance out over the year or be reclaimable, other deductions are not. It also means that NI payments will not have been made for all the months that the OP would have been on mat leave for. Possibly not an issue for many but can affect access to pension and benefits.

@chocolatebiccy

Thresholds for many deductions don't easily carry over / balance out. If they are front loaded, they can absolutely trigger excess deductions that are hard to redress.

What details do you have to support your post?

I am so grateful for recent posts.

I have read through my posts and I still refute that i was rude. Yes, some posts were short, but that’s because I was wrangling a one year old.

It is so wrong to aggressively question someone or make out they did something wrong or bad or foolish. I couldn’t have carried on in that role due to relocation and as it was just took it as a stop gap between permanent positions. Lockdown then happened and so I wasn’t going to not have a baby - but I did miss out on enhanced maternity pay. That was OK, but then to lose even more due to pension and NI and student loan contributions was very annoying.

With that being said. It was annoying. It didn’t warrant the unpleasantness here.

OP

you are absolutely right, and well done for standing your ground.

People on Mumsnet are so quick to try and find a reason why the OP fucked op, why it's their own fault, to pick holes in their posts these days.

It's a bloody shame and I bet makes many people posting for help, slink off even more upset / vulnerable than in the first place ☹️☹️☹️

You can claim student loan repaymehts back at the end of the tax year if you over pay them.

Yes, I realise that, although the practicalities of doing so when getting through to them is a bit of a minefield is difficult.

But I don’t need to now. I’m back at work. I needed the money a few months ago, not now.

Statutory maternity pay is about £130 a week isn’t it? So that over 9 months is only just over £5k, pay your 20% tax (plus 10% NI) and it’s just less than £4k, not sure you were much worse off than you would’ve been if you’d received it monthly?

You weren't going to work for them any longer and they wanted you off their books. Not much you can do

@MiloAndEddie

Statutory maternity pay is about £130 a week isn’t it? So that over 9 months is only just over £5k, pay your 20% tax (plus 10% NI) and it’s just less than £4k, not sure you were much worse off than you would’ve been if you’d received it monthly?

Where do you get that OP would be required to pay tax on that sum, @MiloAndEddie ?

@MiloAndEddie

Statutory maternity pay is about £130 a week isn’t it? So that over 9 months is only just over £5k, pay your 20% tax (plus 10% NI) and it’s just less than £4k, not sure you were much worse off than you would’ve been if you’d received it monthly?

SMP is 90% of your earnings for the first six weeks. That would have been nearly four thousand pounds for me, plus the remaining 33 weeks at £151.97. I did therefore lose quite a lot due to being paid in this way.

I am also not suggesting I do anything. I’m simply saying that it stings a bit.

I’m sorry you had a tough break OP. It can be difficult to get over sometimes, particularly when it comes at a vulnerable time.

I was made forced out of a job due to pregnancy and am still bitter about it even 15 years later.

I’m glad to hear things are better now.

@iwishiwasafish

I’m sorry you had a tough break OP. It can be difficult to get over sometimes, particularly when it comes at a vulnerable time.

I was made forced out of a job due to pregnancy and am still bitter about it even 15 years later.

I’m glad to hear things are better now.

I’m sorry that happened to you. Thank you for understanding.

To all of those confused.

NI and student loans contributions are calculated per pay packet and you pay whenever you go over the threshold amount.

SMP is below the weekly threshold amount so you wouldn’t pay any NI or contributions to student loans if paid weekly. If paid in one go, you appear to have earned 6k in a month and pay a lot of NI and Student Loan contributions. You cannot claim the NI back.

This system is why all temporary, zero hours contracted and seasonal workers pay more NI than permanently employed staff with consistent hours, for the same wage.

I wrote to the government about it in 2018 and received a letter in response saying that they knew about this but had no plans to change the system. They literally don’t give a damn that all supply teachers, supply workers in the NHS, zero-hours workers in all industries pay more NI than permanent staff and they get away with it because barely anybody realises. I did because as a supply teacher I paid £700 more NI in a year than I would have if I was permanently employed with my wage split over 12 months.

OP the only way you can claim any student loans contributions back is if you’re under the threshold for paying anything for the whole year (I.e. if you earned less than 21k if that’s your threshold for starting to pay). If you did you can call them up and get it reimbursed. You can also do the same in the tax year you return to work if you earn under the 21k threshold but contributions are still taken from your salary.

@Toastandcrumpets You were shafted regarding NI. NI comes into play when you earn around £800 per month, or about £180 per week, depending on if monthly/weekly pay. If you received all your SMP in one month, all of it over £800 would be subject to NI, whereas if you had received it on a monthly basis you wouldn’t have paid NI on the first £800 per month.

It happened to me in a relief position post. I hadn’t been receiving holiday pay (which I was legally entitled to), so had to fight for it. I won, but as all my holiday pay (3 years worth) was paid in one month I had to pay several £100s pounds NI. If I had received the holiday pay when I should have I would have paid very little (if any) NI. It’s not fair, but like me there’s nothing you can do about it now.

@Toastandcrumpets sorry you are getting all this crap. Mumsnet isn’t always the best place to post in situations like yours. I know, as it’s happened to me as well! Lot of posters seem to think that people like you are trying to get out of paying your dues and not that you have been treated unfairly. I’m sure they would all like to lose out on money unfairly too!

I’m really grateful for your kindness. Thank you