to ask you all where I stand with this.

[TotallyAndUtterlyPaninied]

This isn't really the right part I guess but I'm in a state and I want a quick response which I won't get on other parts of the site.

I go on maternity leave January 2010. My qualifying week for work is 14th November. They work out my mat pay from the 'pay received in the 8 weeks prior to your qualifying week'.

I didn't work August (I'm an hourly paid lecturer and obviously college isn't open in the summer) so I didn't get a wage in September. In October I got paid for the work I had done in September. Tomorrow I get paid for the work I did in October.

They have used September's pay slip (£0) and October's pay slip, divided it by two, for the two months, and then used that as my monthly wage for the year. So it's not a lot at all.

I can't survive on that, I'll lose my house.

Shouldn't they have used my actual hours worked for the 8 weeks up until my QW? Can I contest it? Is now a good time to get in the union?

September 2007

You get it in your second year- my first year was broken by leaving to have my DS (I only worked one morning a week at that time so just said I could only work from Sept- March and return the next year, no mat pay/leave, etc). So that chunk of time was just sort of deleted from my first year which meant I had to wait longer to apply for my Golden Hello. IYSWIM.

Saying that, even if this hadn't been the case and I'd simply applied at the end of my second year, I would still have received it in October pay packet as I had until Sept 25th 2009 to apply for it.

Hope that makes sense.

If they include it I'll be more than fine as it'll be nearly £400 a week for the first 6 weeks and then stat pay plus nearly £200 a week from the company so that's nearly as good as working! It'll cover the bills anyway so I'll be able to enjoy my maternity leave, also I'd get some pay during holidays which I don't normally get.

No idea why he's being so crap, it's UCU. Their general ethos is that they are there as a very, very last resort and really you should sort everything yourself.

I've read Mat Policy hundred times and it just doesn't mention anything on how the mat pay is calculated.

Thanks for being so patient with me.

Looks like there are three sets of rules here

1. The first 6 weeks is SMP higher rate- they don't set the rules, HRMC do. Any earnings paid that count for tax/NI purposes in the 8 week period you've calculated count for the calculation of SMP. SMP will be 90% of average earnings in this period. A quick call to the HRMC advice line will confirm this.

1. The bit where they pay SMP at the lower rate + top-up of company maternity pay. They can make up whatever rules they like for the company maternity pay & count/discount whatever pay they like, so long as they pay at least the SMP lower rate, as this is statutory. This calculation should be covered in the maternity policy, or HR should be able to give you a copy of the rules as to how it is calculated.

1. Then of course SMP for the remainder (if any?) of the 39wks at the lower rate of £117something I think it is now (or the 90% SMP rate used in the first 6 weeks, if this is lower)

hope this helps?

Hi all, they've accepted it and I'm getting the pay I'm so happy. I'll get 7 months mat leave! Thanks all.