When is maternity pay calculated?

[smellimelli]

I'm currently on maternity leave which ends on 26th October 2011 (this is AML).

When do I need to be "earning" to qualify for maternity pay? I've heard different things......

You have to be employed when you get pg (but not necessarily earning so you could still be on ml) and SMP is calculated as 90% of the average gross earnings for 8 weeks before 26th week of pg for first 6 weeksinfo here. A discretionary scheme may vary terms but SMP is the minimum

You need to be earning over the LEL threshold for NI to qualify for SMP (it is roughly £100/week before tax I think).