NHS (AfC) maternity pay

[WorldAtlasOfTea]

This is going to completely out me, so bit of a name change! Contemplating TTC DC2.

Does anyone know what the rules are for getting NHS enhanced maternity pay?

Situation is thus...

• Currently on a 0.8 FTE maternity cover contract, which runs until end Dec. Have been there since April.
• From Nov, plan is to be full time doing another maternity cover for 12 months (MATB1 not yet handed in, so this isn't on paper yet, and I'm not sure whether this will be a different contract or a variation of the one I'm on - same job, same department, but covering for a different person).
• From Feb, I'll be permanent 0.6 FTE. (Have been interviewed / verbally offered this job - again, same department, who will have some extra long term money next year so can keep me. Hoping to up the hours, but for now it's 0.6, so at the end of the second mat cover, that's what I'll drop back to).

So, any ideas? For the purpose of budgeting? The rules are normally that you have to have been there for 12 months before EWC to get enhanced pay, but would that have to be on one contract? Or would continuous employment in the same role (but with money coming from different sources) be sufficient? And if I were to get enhanced mat pay, is the calculation of what your pay is based on the same period as SMP is based on?

If anyone has any experience / links I'd much appreciate it. All I can find is the standard rules which don't seem to deal with varying contracts.

Are all the contracts with the same trust? Im a doctor in rotational training with a new contract every 6 months and it wasnt a prob as all the same trust.

You need to have a look at the agenda for change handbook, explains it all very clearly. Continuous employment rather than the length of most recent contract is what's important.

It's continuous employment within the nhs. I've recently changed trusts and had to look into this as my manager was saying I needed 2 years in my current role to get it... basically scaremongering to prevent me ttc later this year. But it 1 years continuous service in the nhs as a whole.

Sorry to have not replied - name changing on phone is a bit of a PITA!

But thanks for the replies. I'm now sure that I'll get something more than SMP.

If I were to go off on maternity leave say 6 weeks before the end of my full-time contract, does anyone know what pay I would get? Half of my full time pay (i.e. half the pay I'd be on when pregnant) or half of my 0.6 FTE pay (i.e. half the pay I'd be on if I were at work instead of being maternity leave)?