Maternity leave dilemma

[chineybumps]

Posting on AIBU because I have less than a week to tell my company that I'm pregnant yet again.

I've been on maternity leave since April 2021 and will be taking the full year. I had only been with the company since August 2020 so I only qualified for SMP and not the company's maternity sceme.

I'm pregnant again and will be due at the end of April so will be going straight on maternity leave again. This time I qualify for the company's maternity scheme which I've copied and pasted below.

• 8 weeks at 100% of your normal pay
• 8 weeks of Statutory Maternity Pay topped up to 50% of your average weekly
earnings if this is higher
• 23 weeks of statutory maternity pay
• The remaining 13 weeks would be taken as unpaid leave

I plan to leave work once my second maternity leave ends. I'm more than happy to just receive SMP from the beginning (it's really not much different from their policy anyway) as I don't want to have to pay any money back when I want to leave.

Now my question is, can I let them know this when I send them my MATB1 form letting them know I'm pregnant? I have to outline when I plan to go on maternity leave so in this email can I just say something like, 'Can I receive SMP from the beginning of my leave as opposed to the company's policy as I may consider leaving upon my return?' Or is it best not to mention leaving?

I recently saw a post saying a woman mentioned leaving before she started her maternity leave and her work paid her SMP in one huge chunk just so they could take her off their payroll and she got taxed MASSIVELY.

The other option is that I take the enhanced pay and take the annual leave I would have accumulated from 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 once my second maternity leave ends and use that to technically 'work' instead of paying the company back.

I've just read that back and I'm so confused so I hope others can understand my predicament😭 please help! What do I do?!

@bcc89 thank you, I definitely will do!

@HollieD31 soz that happened to you but that doesn't have anything to do with me. I've already said I'm selfish and would do what's in my best interest anyway. I don't need MN users to tell me that

[quote chineybumps]@bcc89 thank you, I definitely will do!

@HollieD31 soz that happened to you but that doesn't have anything to do with me. I've already said I'm selfish and would do what's in my best interest anyway. I don't need MN users to tell me that[/quote]
Nothing to do with you personally but everything to do with the mindset that this is acceptable. I used to wonder why small employers didn't want women of child bearing age...

@Joinedforthis2021 where have I said any of that? I'll be leaving because I'm not able to drop my hours and go part time in the company I work in. Are you going to be looking after my two kids whilst I'm working full time? I didn't think so.

I'm not interested in your opinion of me and if you're willing to bend yourself backwards for a company then good for you. As for me 'playing the victim,' you really have an agenda here wow. You seem very triggered so maybe you should leave this thread alone

@HollieD31 there's nothing wrong with this mindset and it is more than acceptable. It's not illegal to put yourself first in the workplace. Again, if you're happy to bend over backwards for a company then that's honestly great for you. I'm more than happy to look out for my best interests

It's not about bending over for company's. It more about consideration for your colleagues if you eventually return.

OP I can't add any more to the excellent advice you've already been given. But I will say that when I was sorting out my maternity allowance (finances and qualifying periods were a mess due to a mixture of employment and self employment), HMRC were really good and helped me wade through all the jargon to make it clearer what I needed to do. I think they have dedicated helplines just for maternity enquiries.

Good luck with this and with your pregnancy (26th April is a fab date, it's my birthday ).

Actually it might be DWP (Department for Work and Pensions) that you need, not HMRC. Sorry, it's been a while!

Firstly, nobody has your contract to check the details and ensure the calculations are correct. It would be best to inform your HR that you are pregnant now, and ask them for details of what your pay and holiday entitlements will be to complete both maternity leaves plus holidays. Ask them if there will be any money to repay should you decide to go part-time or to leave at the end of your second maternity leave. Ask politely for them to reply to confirm receipt and advise you when they will send a full response. You have to understand they will need time to calculate it all, check details and get back to you, so allow that time rather than alienate by pestering them and your manager too quickly. If you aren't sure it's all correct AFTER they respond then contact ACAS for help.

Secondly, you have stated you are on Universal Credit, so why on earth are you considering giving up your job when you are both on low income? Surely you would be sanctioned for 3 months universal credit payment for voluntarily giving your notice in? What if your DH is sacked, made redundant, dies, gets long-term sick or you separate, what is your full financial plan as a couple? You're reacting to pregnancy by thinking that's a pass to just staying home, but you are a parent now and there's a lot more to it than the first few months of baby care. Do not give up your job until you are certain that the two of you can actually afford to pay for your children in all eventualities.

@WhatWouldKalindaDo that's really helpful, thank you.

@JustUseTheDoorSanta honestly what are you even talking about?
You're reacting to pregnancy by thinking that's a pass to just staying home,
Some of the things you people say on here is so pathetic😂 I can't even take it seriously.
If you read the full thread before commenting this bs, you'd see that I'm leaving my role because my company won't let me reduce my hours to go part time. I'll be getting a part time role instead. Where did I say anything about staying home? Maybe try reading properly before you comment

@chineybumps - you are talking about reducing salary after giving up a job without a job to go to, when you are jointly already on a low income. You're taking offence instead of looking at the questions I've raised for your lack of planning; better to raise it now than ask why you were so stupid when you're whining about your universal credit sanction, lack of money for bills and how to cope with DH losing his job.

What job did you apply for? Full or part time?

I'm leaving my role because my company won't let me reduce my hours to go part time

out of interest OP, how do you know that this will still be the case after a second maternity leave? That's another reason for hanging onto your job for now. They might change their view.

@JustUseTheDoorSanta Where did I mention relying on this imaginary 'DH' and his salary? Where did I say we are jointly on a low income? Where did I ever mention anyone else in this equation apart from myself? Everyone on this thread has been more then helpful and here you are literally picking things out of your arse to chat shit. In the kindest way possible, please go away. Don't expect me to reply to you again

@JuergenSchwarzwald the company have said from the beginning that the role I work in will only be full time. They're not able to have any part time workers in my role so I highly doubt they'll reduce the hours for me just because I've had a baby. It's also based in another city so I'd need something more locally anyway

[quote chineybumps]@JustUseTheDoorSanta Where did I mention relying on this imaginary 'DH' and his salary? Where did I say we are jointly on a low income? Where did I ever mention anyone else in this equation apart from myself? Everyone on this thread has been more then helpful and here you are literally picking things out of your arse to chat shit. In the kindest way possible, please go away. Don't expect me to reply to you again[/quote]
You said you are on Universal Credit, check back and you'll see it there in black and white. That is only given to families with low income. You will be sanctioned if you give up your job voluntarily. You are imagining that I am being unkind, when this is something you need to know before you do something very stupid.

@JustUseTheDoorSanta you didn't answer the question to any of my three questions. I know I said I'm on Universal Credit, that's because I am. SMP doesn't pay enough to cover rent when you're private renting. It's not really rocket science. Goodbye now enjoy your day

@Joinedforthis2021

What job did you apply for? Full or part time?

This doesn't matter, everyone is entitled to apply for flexible working.

OP will not be sanctioned for resigning from her job in order to look after one (or more) child(ren) under 3.

Thankfully, even the DWP recognises that caring for 0-3 year olds is a valid occupation! You'd think mumsnetters would agree, but this is AIBU 🙄

@JustUseTheDoorSanta

You're the one being rather dim here. As far as I can see, OP hasn't mentioned a DH, you don't know her life at all. Secondly, even if she were to give up her job to look after 2 under 2s, she would not be sanctioned. However, she's simply leaving this role for another one, which is part time/more flexible. Again can't be sanctioned by UC for this. Or do you seriously think once you've given birth you're tied to your current role for life lest you be sanctioned by UC? You know you are allowed to change jobs, right?

And either way, she may very well only be on UC to top up her maternity pay as SMP is so little, which is what many women have to do including myself! A lot of them aren't on UC once back in work depending on their income. So you don't even know if she'll be on UC once working again.

@8dpwoah

Can't help really but did just want to say I had my SMP in a lump due to redundancy and HMRC were really good at sorting out the tax rebate for me (it was midway through the tax year). J did withdraw from the pension scheme a couple of months in advance because I knew I'd lose a load to that if I didn't, as I would have for student loan if handy already thankfully got rid of it. I think I only paid an extra £100 or so NI in the end so that was a loss I could swallow.

Not much help to your dilemma but did just want to say if you can avoid pension and student loan payout an SMP lump sum doesn't have to be a nightmare

One of many weirdnesses in our tax system. Income tax is treated cumulatively - or in other words there's a set amount of tax you'll end up paying on your income for the year based on a few different factors (and the tax rates and bands). So getting a large lump will have you paying extra tax - but you can get it back if you have lower (or no) earnings for the rest of the tax year. National Insurance, Pensions, Student loans and Court Orders don't work this way so any large lump sum will result in larger sums being paid in those (although SMP can't be used to pay a court order). Our tax and benefits systems are stupidly and needlessly complex.

Thank you! @AnotherEmma @Freecuthbert
I honestly fet like I was talking to a brick wall🤦‍♀️

Just an update to all those that have helped so far. I get paid four weekly and was due to get paid tomorrow and it turns out my SMP has stopped already🙃 I thought tomorrow would be the last payment but clearly not!

I've sent my MATB1 form and the company's pregnancy form over to HR and my line manager. I asked a couple of questions regarding what I can do with my annual leave and also asked how much money would need to be paid back to the company if I decided to leave as it's not written in the maternity policy.

I've also said I'd like my maternity leave to end so I can start my second maternity leave the end of January instead of April. As a pp mentioned, I'd be going three months without any SMP so why not start my maternity leave as early as possible so I'm still receiving something!

They can take up to 28 days to respond so let's hope they reply sooner rather than later as the 31st of Jan is only 25 days away, welp! Thanks for the help everyone X

I was told never to mention not returning when letting them know you're pregnant because you never know what might happen. Depressing thought but unfortunately true.

Surely you would be sanctioned for 3 months universal credit payment for voluntarily giving your notice in

Stop giving shit benefits advice. You clearly aren't familiar with the UC rules, so why are you commenting on that point.