Statutory maternity pay….

[Spanielsandlabs]

AIBU to ask whether you got a schedule of payments or anything? I go on maternity leave in 3 weeks and I have no idea whether I’ll be paid my maternity pay weekly/ monthly or had a breakdown of the figures month by month which I could really do with in order to budget.

Should I ask payroll or is this just not a done thing?

Also, did people cope okay on Statutory? Were you still contributing to household bills whilst on it?

You normally get it paid on your normal payday

And it will vary to start with as the first 6 weeks will be at 90% of wages and then will drop to the regular weekly amount

Mine came via my employer so was paid on my normal payday. I assume that's standard unless there's something unusual about your employment situation.

I've just started mine, I will be paid weekly as I'm on weekly pay, I'd assume that's how they'll pay you if your weekly or monthly pay.
It's 90% for the first 6 weeks then £156 for the next 33, I also got offered my holidays for the year either at the beginning or end of my leave, so that gives me an extra 30ish days.
They should really have had a chat with you about it

Should I ask payroll or is this just not a done thing?
You should have been told by your employer but it should be your normal payday.

Also, did people cope okay on Statutory? Were you still contributing to household bills whilst on it?
I had savings and lived on those.

Then because my partner got his full pay if he went on shared parental leave, I went back to work half way through and he took over.

No they don't give you a breakdown as standard (you could always ask?) but it is paid on nornal payday same as wages.

It will be paid in line with your normal payday. The main thing to note is however is that SMP is worked out weekly so you will get paid less on a 4 week month and more on a 5 week month whereas salary is divided equally.

Okay, thanks all. No, I haven't been told anything by my employer, hence feeling so clueless, I get paid monthly so I'll assume it'll be monthly then. I did find a maternity pay calculator thing online which gave me figures but it'd be nice to know how accurate it is.

Were you still contributing to household bills whilst on it?
Never mind what we did: everyone has different financial arrangements and needs. I had a massive savings pot so survived on statutory (self employed) without changing our lifestyle or switching bill payments. But that’s fairly rare. What’s going on with you and your partner, assuming you have one? Your pay is going to drop significantly: is your partner still expecting you to contribute 50/50 while also on low pay and taking care of a baby?

As others have said it will be on your normal pay day.

It is paid weekly, from the day after you finish, so finish Friday, your week will be Saturday to Friday, the amount of Fridays in the month will determine how many weeks you get paid for each month (assuming your on monthly pay).

You will need to speak to HR or Payroll as although you will get paid in your normal pay cycle, the actual figure you are paid each month may vary depending on the number of Sundays that fall in the month (depending on whether your payroll only pays SMP in full weeks or pays it part weekly)

They should give you a schedule of payments showing what your 90% looks like, when you go onto SMP, when payments end etc

In the weeks before going on mat leave I tried asking Payroll for a monthly breakdown of what my salary would be. They could only provide the suggested pre-Tax/NI figures but were reluctant to do so. So I'm just winging it tbh - luckily we have significant savings set aside so it's not too much of a hassle.

I work in HR and manage the maternity and paternity. I send a payment schedule which includes the actual breakdown of monies to be paid on mat leave. Don’t think it’s standard though to provide this.

I made my own spreadsheet ready for when I go off including all tax, NI payment etc. To see how much lower over my time our incomings will be to compare against our savings so we don’t lose our current living situation. It was pretty easy to do.

If you are paid monthly by your employer it will be paid monthly. Note SMP is calculated on completed weeks ending a Sunday so you might find some months are 5 weeks, some months are 4 weeks.

Paid on normal payday.
I didn't get a run down but it fluctuated, lowest being £450.

I've just received mine and start in 4 weeks. It's not standard though - I didn't get one at a previous employer so had no idea what I was going to be paid and when

Have been in HR for 22 years and it has always been a standard thing to provide in all the companies I've worked in

I actually got more than I expected because I ended up being owed income tax when I went onto the statutory minimum.