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

I cannot stress enough to get your maternity allowance applied for ASAP mine took 2 weeks just to get a text message saying the form had been received and I’m on a wait of four weeks for confirmation I know I will qualify for it due to earnings but I was hoping to go off earlier than I anticipated due to sickness returning I wanted to start mine at week 38 but I’m looking to do so a bit quicker I’m wanting more like 36 weeks which probably won’t happen now!

Hi, You might also want to check when your maternity leave starts/started as your handbook seems to indicate that if you're absent for a pregnancy-related reasons (e.g. Hyperemesis) in the last four weeks before you were expected to give birth. It's not clear from your post but you said you were signed off sick before your official maternity leave date. Just thought I'd flag that to you in case it's relevant. Hope you get the maternity allowance sorted out and enjoy your pregnancy and maternity leave. If you need advice, ACAS is really good and confidential.

When you were signed off sick did you get your full (normal) pay or ssp which is presumably less?
If the second then it's right, as a pp explained ssp isn't enough per week to qualify for maternity.

However in my work you get full pay not ssp for the first 6 months off sick so just thought I'd check as if it was the same for you you would still be entitled to maternity pay. Also there is guidance about pregnancy related illness not being classed as normal sick leave - but I'm not sure if that's a national policy?

I can't apply until I have my MATB1 form back which by the sounds of it, she's yet to post but I will asap. Thank you x

That's poor practice on your end.

For anyone responsible for sending the payroll information to the outsourced provider please send a copy of the MATB1 form as soon as you receive it - we can then ensure the checks & calculations are done with any SMP1 form issued in plenty of time.

The biggest stress in my job is worrying about the employees on the other end of a useless client who sends info to us at the last possible minute without any thought of how it will impact their employees - no expectant mother should have given birth before finding out they're not eligible for SMP, it's a pittance anyway but they're relying on that money and it's an extra stress they don't need.

https://www.gov.uk/maternity-allowance/how-to-claim

Unfortunately they are correct, as SSP does drag down your overall earnings. The link above is to claim Maternity Allowance.

That's a very unfair system it should be your normal rate of pay if you are off sick especially if it's pregnancy related.

I am sorry you have been so unwell op. Can you perhaps see an employment advisor? The Citizens Advice Bureau have them. From the little I understand your company can either give you sick pay or start your maternity leave when you are off work for a prolonged pregnancy related illness, but obviously they have to keep you informed. What are your contact terms about sick pay? Just take all of your paperwork to an advisor and they might just find a way for you to get a little money back.

That's really unfair that being off sick for pregnancy related illness can then affect your claim for SMP.

Thanks again everyone.

I received SSP from the time I was signed off, the company doesn't pay sick leave.

I will contact CAB today and get some advice on what I can claim. This is all new to me as I've never had to claim anything.

Obviously she didn’t know and that is why she is asking online for advice. Glad you were the perfect, pregnant employee but unfortunately some women are not aware that sickness during affects SMP. This is an unfortunate situation, I have seen it at work and I work in HR but we do try and advise unwell women of what will happen to SMP should they take time off work.

The manager should also raise this with the employee when the sickness begins and let them know how it affects SMP. We have trained managers up at my work to be aware of this and have the correct conversations with employees - to minimise this sort of situation happening. Although OP should have looked into this herself there should have been some advice from the employer.

@elm26 Did they not send you a letter to let you know you would no longer qualify? Unfortunate that you had HP and were unable to work as it really is quite debilitating :(

That maternity policy says they will talk to you shortly before your leave starts about what happens during Maternity leave. Did they do that?

They should also have picked up that you wouldn't qualify for SMP before the birth of your baby; it's shocking that you had to chase them up about it.

Who said I was a perfect, pregnant employee lol pack it in.

DD was 3 months pregnant when I got pregnant with DS meaning that I was on SMP at the time. I had to read up again about my earnings to make sure I definitely qualified for SMP a second time round. You can’t just rely on your workplace to inform you on these things, you genuinely have to do your own research.

Yes the employer should have told the OP wayyy before payday arrived but she’s here now. All she can do is apply for maternity allowance and hope that she isn’t on UC too as she won’t receive additional money

I’d call Maternity Action as opposed to CAB. Maternity Action are amazing and helped me loads

This - at 18 weeks she wouldn't have known

If CAB or Maternity Action don't come through I used ACAS when I was pregnant with complicated questions around rights to SMP and they were really helpful (even though I've never been part of a union).

Don’t wait honestly phone midwife tell her it’s been misplaced you should get one the same day and the maternity allowance form get printed anywhere as again that’s a further delay (5 days) I’m coming 33 weeks and could cry tbh lol! I missed my 28 week appointment to get it from being on holiday so got it at 30 week appointment! And midwife said she would have given it from 25 weeks requested even without a appointment could kick myself Xx

You have my sympathies, I was also off with HG for the majority of my pregnancy but a HR advisor should have advised you of this during a sicknesses absence meeting (where they should have been looking at how they could support you). You should not have been blindsided like this. It's worth bringing this up.

I hope you manage to find out what else you might be entitled to via CAB. If not, you can do a calculation online yourself via the charity Turn2us - Turn2us Financial Advice .

I think you were poorly advised by HR. If you spent a lot of maternity leave off sick they should have advised you to start your maternity leave early. You can start it a certain number of weeks before due date and this might have kept you earning over the threshold depending on when you started taking sick leave. Would be worth looking into this if you have another pregnancy. This might only work in companies who pay decent sick pay though.

This wouldn't have made any difference as OP would still have earned too little in the relevant period (the 8 weeks between week 17 to 25 of pregnancy). Starting maternity leave early would not affect her maternity pay.

The earliest leave can start is 29 weeks. They can start her maternity leave early if she is off for a pregnancy related reason on the last 4 weeks of pregnancy

I've always found the maternity allowance people very helpful on phone. I think HR dropped the ball a bit on telling you so late. I have just gone back to work after mat leave; I knew I wasn't entitled to SMP as I joined while pregnant, but HR confirmed and sent me the form I needed to claim maternity allowance a few days after I contacted them with my Mat1B form.

I didn't receive any communication or letters once I was signed off sick. They didn't even acknowledge my sick certificates that I scanned in and emailed directly to my manager with my team lead CC'd in, this is not out of the ordinary for my company. Unfortunately, my manager is HR so any grievance we have with her also has to go through her which leaves a lot of us in an unfavourable position if we had a dispute or a complaint.

Nobody followed up with me at all.

I know I've been stupid, I've cried all evening and this morning worrying about it. Baby has her 10 day check at 12 with the midwife and as soon as that's done I will get this sorted.

I'm really sorry OP. SMP/MA is very complicated when it comes to issues like this so I'm not surprised.
MA is very similar in most cases and can be backdated up to a certain point so just get on it now and you'll be sorted.
Perhaps those judging on here could have a moment of empathy. If you have had to deal with SMP/MA at some point in your lives you'll know it's not exactly the most flush you'll be with cash, so imagine not getting it! And if you have enhanced mat pay, thank your lucky stars.

I’m sorry for the tough time you are having. I found the website below really helpful with maternity pay/allowance questions:

https://maternityaction.org.uk/advice/sickness-during-pregnancy-and-maternity-leave/