So angry! How unfair is this !!!

[SilverFox90]

So I went on maternity in March and only receive statutory maternity pay, so £600pm.
Now the government have decided that anyone who went on maternity on or after 25th April can be furloughed and receive 80% of their normal wage !

How is that fair. I’m here struggling and others will be receiving 80% of their normal pay ! 😡

Anyone else in the same position or think that this is wrong ?
Okay, good for those who are lucky enough to be receiving it but why give one without the other.

Is your employer forcing you on furlough? I worked until I went into labour and went back full time when the baby was 2 weeks old (as did not even had 6 weeks on 90% pay in those days as I did not have 2 years of service (then a requirement) with that employer) and that worked fine as obviously no lack of pay - I took the 2 weeks off having a baby as fully paid annual leave.

However if your employer is forcing you on to furlough that is a different matter.

So where does it end then? Do you expect everyone who is on maternity leave, even those who started last year to be furloughed instead?

Spend time with your child, keeping safe and well, rather than dwelling on something out of your control.

Better to be on maternity leave than having to worry about the lack of childcare.

Yea but you obviously budgeted for £600 a month when you were planning having a child so I don't see what difference it makes.

I do hope you were just as indignant and angry on behalf of the 3.5 million women born in the 1950s

Only 350,000 of us actually but your concern is appreciated.

Also, is someone seriously questioning a neighbour getting payment for their partner dying?! They have to live the rest of their lives without someone, which could have been completely avoidable had our government acted appropriately. I hope the post was someone just being sarcastic.. I can't find it.

Most companies have a 'death in service' policy. NHS workers have always been entitled to this. I don't know if the 60k is instead of the current death in service entitlement, or on top of (sincerely hope it's on top of) But if it's instead of, then a lot of families will actually be losing out financially - the DIS is 2x annual salary, so my DH would be down 20k by that measure.

Presumably you have planned and accounted for the lull in your income due to having a baby (congrats by the way

Those furloughed haven’t... so, no unfair?

Someone will always feel hard done by when a change is made. Just one of those things look forward to your child and forget it, nothing you can do.

There’s got to be a cut off somewhere. Someone is always going to lose out. Obviously it’s awful for you, I’m sorry about that,

It's annoying but it is what it is, that's life unfortunately.

Some have done quite well from the lockdown, furloughed with employers topping up wages and able to sit at home safe, others have gone to work because they have to and paid with their lives.

It's not a fair world and this time you lost out. It's a shame for you but try not to dwell on it too much.

Enjoy your baby💐

Those going from maternity to furlough, will need to go back to work when furlough ends.

Works at my place were furloughed for 3 weeks and now starting to go back.

So would you be happy, potentially going back to work in 3 weeks?

If so, speak to your employer.

But getting pissy because some people are getting something you arent and because you arent profiting from the pandemic, is unreasonable.

But if you decided to end your mat leave and take furlough pay... what happens when furlough ends?you'd have to go back to work.. what happens if the business goes under and because your furloughed.. yoite made redundant..

*you're

Poor OP.

20,000 people dead and counting and if only you’d fallen pregnant a month later.

There is some seriously fucked up thinking in MN at the minute.

Furloughing is temporary. I would bet a large proportion of furloughed employees will be made redundant after the government assistance stops. Many are using this period to upskill, revamp CVs and apply for the few new jobs that are being posted. If you are on mat leave you have some measure of protection against redundancy.

🍪

OP are you sure?

This is what the guidance says:

Returning from family related statutory leave
Family related statutory leave includes maternity leave, paternity leave, shared parental leave, adoption leave, parental bereavement leave and unpaid parental leave.

In line with other employees, if you are a full or part time employee furloughed on return from family related statutory leave your employer should calculate the grant against your salary, before tax, not the pay you received whilst on family related statutory leave.

And from maternity action
Can I be put on furlough during my maternity leave?
Government guidance says that women can be on furlough AND maternity leave in order for employers to recoup the costs of occupational maternity pay. However, you are only entitled to your statutory or occupational maternity pay during your maternity leave as there is no entitlement to normal remuneration (salary) during maternity leave.
If you want to receive 80% of pay on furlough you will need to give notice to end your maternity leave. You must take a minimum of 2 weeks’ compulsory maternity leave. You should bear in mind that the furlough scheme could end at any time and if you have given notice to end your maternity leave you cannot go back onto maternity leave.

If your pay varies, and you are furloughed on your return from statutory leave your employer should calculate the grant using either the:

same month’s earnings from the previous year
average monthly earnings for the 2019 - 2020 tax year

Thank you @ploopsie

I'm due to go on maternity 8th May and have worked for my company for near 11 years and I've not been told I'll be getting the furloughed amount....

I must be daft because I can’t see anybody getting 80% salary whilst on mat leave? The way I read is that if you were furloughed before 25 April and going on mat leave after your normal salary will be used to calculate your average weekly earnings which will determine how much your first payment (6 weeks at 90% of salary) will be. Your furloughed salary might also take your average earnings below the lower earnings limit making you ineligible for SMP but eligible for SMA (whereby you won’t get 6 weeks of 90% of your average weekly earnings) so by using your full salary to calculate your average weekly earnings you won’t lose out. So OP sorry I’m not of much help but I don’t think anyone will get more than they would have pre-furlough? Or there is new guidance out that I can’t see? Last one I can see updated 24th April.

So weird to have this described as 'just one of those things' as if legal employment norms grow on trees, unquestionable as apples.

At least you have an income.

I know people who don't qualify for any government support and are not being paid anything now.

Loopholes in the govt support mean some people are literally not receiving any income now.

Very unfair.

Sunflower is right.

You can be furloughed on maternity leave to help the employer regain some of the cost, but you'd still only be entitled to your SSP.

IF you wanted the 80% furlough pay, you'd need to give notice to end your maternity leave and then return when your employer ended furlough with no right to start your maternity leave again.

This is maybe naive of me but I’m stunned at how many companies seem to not offer any kind of enhanced maternity pay. That’s really shocking to me!

@Bringringbring12 just going to leave you this to read. It’s a fallacy that a decent job with decent pay will automatically have a decent maternity package. Most of our current younger female colleagues who take maternity leave drop from a full top end salary to SMP of less than £600 a month whilst trying to pay back training loans of over £1000 a month - before living costs. It’s not possible to go back to work without passing a medical, it’s not possible to go back to work and come home each night to breastfeed your baby, and it’s not possible to do any other job except the one we are highly qualified to do. Other factors (training bonds, seniority systems, etc) hold us with our respective employers, but even if you were prepared to ditch your hard earned seniority and pay off your training bond (of anywhere up to £100000) it would be no better anywhere else, because all the employers in the industry are equally stingy. I think you are a bit deluded if you think a well paid job will protect you from ‘just SMP.’

It’s not that shocking when you consider that paid maternity leave of any kind only started in 1999.