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 know it’s not the same thing, it’s a similar thing like I said - suddenly finding out you won’t get maternity pay at the end of pregnancy/when you have a new baby. Similar - not the same but similar.

I did challenge it, at the time, but current rules would not have applied as it was a long time ago. The employer should have paid it, and didn’t. Same way as the employer in my case should have paid the tax and national insurance they deducted from my payslips to HMRC. But didn’t. Believe me I went down every road I could find to try and get some money back, even ending up in court but turns out, I never got a penny of maternity pay and whilst I was fighting it and looking after my newborn I also had to get a job because I had zero income and had to eat.

OP - this info below is on the link that I posted up thread about claiming MA.

If you’re employed or have recently stopped working - You’ll get £172.48 a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings (whichever is less) for 39 weeks if you’re employed or have recently stopped working.
You can get Maternity Allowance for up to 39 weeks. This means if you take the full 52 weeks Statutory Maternity Leave, your final 13 weeks will be unpaid.

https://www.gov.uk/maternity-paternity-pay-leave - calculator also on the above link

You should be able to back date the claim for 3 months, if you should have been receiving it earlier.

I would do the claim as soon as you can. Overall you shouldn't lose out financially if you get this done ASAP.

I know that already, but maybe you were aiming that at the poster I was replying to.

Sorry quoted wrong person!

OP please don't think you've been stupid - this is an unnecessarily complicated area of entitlement, you've been ill and your employer has, to put it at its highest, been unhelpful. Please do get in touch with ACAS or CAB or any of the other organisations suggested and they will be able to provide specific help. And try not to worry about it (easier said than done, I know!) - it'll all get sorted out but in the meantime, I know it's stressful.

I don't know if this has already been mentioned, because I have not read all comments

Sickness related to pregnancy, I thought that this was not counted under the normal workplace sickness counting & payment system, or am I incorrect ? If so, you should have received full pay when Op was off sick due to pregnancy & also able to receive maternity pay

Suggest discussing with Pregnancy & Screwed or ACAS ?

What a horrible shock for you OP. I think you need to apply for the Maternity Allowance asap. Apart from 6 weeks at 90 percent pay I think it is about the same amount.

They can't be penalised for being off/the amount of time they are off but they can still only be paid SSP. There isn't a legal right to full pay even if it's pregnancy related illness.

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

According to this you could have asked to use annual leave instead of sick leave in the relevant period for calculating SMP and that could have bumped up your weekly average pay.

I didn’t say “hard cut off”. Those are your words.

What is the matter with you that you think you can tell me off and then tell me to leave the forum? Are you so bored? Honestly. Sanctimonious.

How very helpful and smug of you

You’ve had some good practical advice but I wanted to say please don’t feel stupid. You were extremely poorly during pregnancy and now you have a tiny newborn human. Cut yourself some slack, you weren’t to know! Please be kind to yourself.

😂

I simply pointed out that the two week cut off you had advised in your answer wasn’t fact and it can vary from company to company. You then made a comment about me taking to you like shit when all the posts I can see talking to people like shit are from you.

Just wanted to reach out and say I’m so sorry and I completely understand how debilitating HG is. I could barely watch tv without vomiting, never mind stay on top of complex admin tasks. Your focus is entirely on surviving each day, and that’s what you did! I’m so sorry you have to face this now after all that.
Sending you all the best and I really hope you can get some support sorted. X

I’m so sorry but this is as much on you as it is on them. You need to do your homework when it comes to things like this. Apply for Mat Allowance and see what happens.

I would also contact ‘Pregnant then Screwed. https://pregnantthenscrewed.com/

they are a tremendous resource for pregnant women having issues with / because of their employment

You should have been advised you did not qualify and provided with an SMP1 form.

i suggest you contact ACAS, they cannot advise on a specific case but can confirm the statutory requirements and the recourse you have if they are not followed.

https://www.gov.uk/maternity-pay-leave/eligibility

Sorry you are having to deal with this on top of adjusting to a new baby. Regardless of statutory requirements this is a failure by your employer in terms of best practice and their duty of responsibility to your well-being.

Your employer is supposed to confirm your maternity leave entitlement in writing to you, did they do that?

Normally when confirming this they would confirm pay entitlement as of course they would know what you qualify for as they have your length of service.

You may qualify for universal credit. Check the online calculator, definitely worth a try. Good luck x

Oh I'm sorry that's crap 😔 what a shock for you. Do apply for maternity allowance, child benefit and universal credit even.