Job ending just before maternity leave

[nInachu]

So my contract ends when I got on maternity leave, I will be getting my enhanced maternity pay but obviously no job to go back to.

I only wanted 9 months off, as the rest of the year is unpaid and my partner and I cant afford for me not to work.

Should I tell the job centre when my contracts ends? As I will be unemployed then, but I'll still be getting maternity money? Of should I wait till the 9 months are up? Obviously I will be looking to work but would like the back up just in case.

I don't think there would be any point applying for job seekers allowance as you can't be paid that on top of smp.
However once your smp runs out you could apply for contributions based JSA if you haven't found a job. Also child tax credits if your household income is low enough.
I guess you could speak to the job centre if you want help with looking for jobs/ updating your CV etc but I'm not sure what advice they offer.

Sorry what I meant to say was you can't claim JSA on mat leave as you presumably can't be available to work if you have a new baby, but once you are ready to look for a job then you could claim JSA. SMP pays more than JSA so worth staying on SMP as long as possible.
Contributions based JSA is only paid for 6 months. It might be best to check whether you could still apply for it even if you have had a gap from leaving employment to when you are ready to start job seeking.

Also check out the Maternity Action website . There is up to date information on there.

I was made redundant On ML - Once my SMP had ended (6 months then) I went to the Job centre and got JSA, i found a part time job within about 4 months

Thanks.