DP and I are expecting our first child together in October. I am self employed and he is currently a coffee shop manager. My job is incredibly flexible and well paid (over double what DP earns) so I am hoping that, after a few weeks post birth, I can continue with my work. I qualify for 39 weeks Maternity Allowance but not SPL but DP does qualify for SPL. DP wants to leave his job in September as he's looking to start his own business and obviously focus on our new arrival too! We were looking in to SPL last night but there's lots of confusing info out there about it. It may be worth saying that we own our flat outright so we don't have rent/mortgage to pay each month and our bills etc are only about £300 each a month.
I guess my question is: can DP qualify for SPL if he is unemployed? He has worked for the requisite amount of time (25 weeks in the last 66 or something like that) and earns over the threshold too obviously. If not, could he claim SPL from his employer and then leave almost immediately after his notice period? We weren't sure if the employer pays for the SPL or if it comes from the government. We're not trying to scrounge obviously! I would be working and paying my taxes and DP being at home with me would help facilitate me working more.
Any advice would be gratefully received. I hope I have made sense in my post but let me know if I've missed out any glaring information!