Just been told I'm not entitled to maternity pay at my work after my baby has been born?

[elm26]

Hello

I emailed my manager today as have received no maternity pay today (it's our payday).

Why wasn't I told this when I handed in my MATB1 form at 18 weeks pregnant??

I'm completely blindsided.

She said the following;

"To qualify for SMP, you must have been earning on average an amount which at least equals the lower earnings limit which applies on the Saturday at the end of your qualifying week. The lower earnings limit (LEL) is the amount you have to earn before you are treated as paying National Insurance contributions.

The accountants have advised your average weekly earnings were not high enough to qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay.
I have a form that will be sent by recorded post together with your MATB1 which I am obliged to return so you may make an application for Maternity Allowance."

I was signed off sick for most of my pregnancy due to Hyperemesis, is this what she means regarding my average weekly earnings were not high enough?

Please help, I'm so anxious now and haven't told DH yet 😢 why wasn't this discussed with me before?!

Is this correct? I have no idea about these things.

Thanks in advance x

You need to have earnt atleast the minimum amount per week in the 8 week qualifying period. It’s just as much on you to have looked in to this unfortunately OP.

https://www.gov.uk/employers-maternity-pay-leave/eligibility-and-proof-of-pregnancy

It appears to be correct. More info here:

https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/smp-how-it-worked-out

Not sure why it wasn't raised - did you ask at any point?

You're expected to know this sort of stuff and double check it. Sorry op. That's awful.

I gave her my matb1 form and we had the meeting, this wasn't mentioned 😔

Look at Maternity Allowance which often provides a small income for mums in a situation like this, or who are.made redundant or move jobs when pregnant.

It's similar to SMP but you don't get the 6 weeks at 90% pay, just either £156ish pw or 90% pay if lower for 39 weeks.

But when you gave her the form you hadn’t completed the qualifying period yet so she couldn’t have told you anything as she didn’t no you wouldn’t qualify.

I think it sounds like she didn't know either - her reply sounds like something she's been given straight from payroll. She may well not have known at the point you gave her your MatB1

Look into maternity allowance. It’s not as much but at least it’s something

https://www.gov.uk/maternity-allowance

You might still be able to qualify for maternity allowance. Basically the same as SMP but without the 6 weeks at 90% pay

You need to have ear t more than £123 per week in your qualifying week which is the 15th week before the expected date of childbirth ( week 25 of pregnancy). However if you were on SSP that week you would have been earning £109.40 per which is below the eligibility level.
They have to let you know not more than 7 days after they have made their decision about whether you are eligible.
You may be eligible for maternity alliwance as you early over £30 per week and it is £178.48 per week.

It’s not really for them to mention, it’s for you to check.

I would assume it wasn’t raised as it should be in their maternity policy - did you read it? I assume they are following that. I’m seem odd that they haven’t returned your MATB1 sooner. The form I assume is for maternity allowance, these are on the gov website and you can fill it in online yourself

I gave her my matb1 form and we had the meeting, this wasn't mentioned 😔
Yes, it wasn't mentioned, by either of you. It's not their fault.

Not sure why you didn’t do your own research and check up on these things? They’re really important.

You can apply for Maternity Allowance once they send you the relevant documents but if you receive UC, then this gets deducted pound for pound. As opposed to SMP which you still receive a bit extra on top of your UC

Maternity Allowance (provided you meet the relevant criteria) pays the same as SMP apart from the during the first 6 weeks (SMP is 90% of earning for the first 6 weeks, MA is the flat rate throughout).

Try using this calculator to work out your entitlement:

www.gov.uk/maternity-paternity-pay-leave

If you were paid Statutory Sick Pay for a large chunk of your pregnancy then it's likely that's the reason you don't hit the earnings threshold for SMP. I hope you get it sorted quickly OP.

Also, they don’t HAVE to let you know as the responsibility is on you but not sure why they’ve left it until your first expected pay to say something.

Both of my pregnancies (I have a 13m old and 24m old) SMP was confirmed shortly before I went on maternity leave. My manager and I had a good chat about everything as we were both new about understanding how it all worked. Didn’t you give your employee handbook/GOV website a read to understand how it all works?

A similar thing happened to me, I earned enough in my qualifying week and was employed and supposed to get maternity pay but my employer never paid it and I couldn’t qualify for maternity allowance. I ended up having to work from when my baby was 4wks. It was a tough time. I hope you qualify for maternity allowance so you can spend a little more time at home.

I don’t know how any of this works but just wanted to say @elm26 sorry. Nobody needs a surprise like this regardless of how it came to be.

For practical advice… panic, calm down, tell your partner, take some advice from people who have relevant information, ignore the ones who are kicking you while you’re down, and make a plan.

"Is this correct? I have no idea about these things."

Unfortunately, it is correct. It's your maternity pay, the expectation is that parents will check these things themselves.

Once you have the form you need to apply for Maternity Allowance. Hopefully it will go through quickly for you.

That reply is copy and pasted straight from payroll.

I wouldn’t blame your line manager- it’s probably only been flagged when whoever was doing payroll went to process your payment. She wouldn’t have known when you completed your maternity forms.

There is an onus on you as the applicant to check that you’ve met the threshold for entitlement.

It’s crap that you have to go to the hassle of applying for maternity benefit, but at least that safety net is there.

Of course it's their fault!!
The weeks that are counted for SMP are weeks 17-25 of pregnancy so after that point they would have known she didn't qualify for it.

You can apply for maternity allowance and use payslips for months where you earned the most to maximise what you get

The employer will be sending the SMP1 form to say she doesn't qualify for SMP. She needs this to apply for MA

I had this when I had my last baby 10 years ago. I only worked part time due to having an older dc and in a minimum wage job my employer wouldn't pay smp so I had to claim maternity allowance for 9 months. it all worked out OK and wasn't all that much difference between the smp & mat allowance for me to be honest and all was fine. just claim maternity allowance op you'll be fine.

Ignore the people kicking you when you are down. I am not surprised you didn't read all the small print, especially when you were that ill.

You are a little worse off, but as previous posts have pointed out all is not lost as you can still get some maternity pay.

Here is some advice for your situation: maternityaction.org.uk/advice/sickness-during-pregnancy-and-maternity-leave/

And enjoy your baby. They are all that matters really although I hope the lost money doesn't affect you too much.

Congratulations on your baby.

The employer is supposed to notify you that you don't qualify for SMP. At this point they are supposed to send you the SMP1 form.

They are supposed to notify you within 7 days of making their decision. When did you notify them you were taking maternity leave? Did they ever confirm you would get SMP?