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Original poster

Maternity Pay

10 replies

amari17 · 07/04/2018 14:22

I know there are several maternity pay calculators however I am not very clear on what happens if baby is born early. Can anyone help ?

I started work 25th August 16
My due date was 1st June 17
I started maternity leave 10th May 17
Baby was born 17th May 17
I returned to work 29th June 17

Should I still receive smp ?

OP posts:
LIZS · 07/04/2018 14:34

I think it is based on your edd on your MatB1, in which case I think yes, but only just. The change if your baby is early is that it starts your maternity leave if you haven't already (ie. Were using up annual leave beforehand). Did you really return after 6 weeks? You would have received maternity allowance even if not smp.

Original poster
amari17 · 07/04/2018 15:02

Yes I returned after 6 weeks however I am a teacher so it was essentially the last day of term, so I actually started work in September. I did not receive SMP, and was paid something called family allowance which was just 500 pounds.

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WhatWouldTheDoctorDo · 07/04/2018 15:12

The baby being born early doesn't affect your entitlement. You need to have been employed for 26 weeks before your qualifying week which is 15 weeks before the week of your due date. So you may have just missed out. Your employer should be able to give you a breakdown of how they calculated your entitlement.

LIZS · 07/04/2018 15:14

It may be that they are counting to the Monday of the week of your edd in which case you would not have been employed long enough. I think you mean Maternity Allowance which would have been the situation if you did not qualify for smp. Have you asked your hr person to clarify the calculation?

Original poster
amari17 · 07/04/2018 15:25

Okay, so I have used the direct.gov.uk website, i put my due date as 1st june and my start day of work. According to that I am entitled to SMP. I had been using my daughters actual birth date which is 17th May, which means I just miss out on SMP. So just to clarify, since I submitted the MATb1 form at the required time with a due date of 1st June, that is the date my employers should have used ? So I should have received 90% pay for the first 6 weeks ?

OP posts:
Original poster
amari17 · 07/04/2018 15:26

LIZS my HR is awful, they have no clue.

OP posts:
MrsSquiggler · 07/04/2018 15:26

It's calculated based on your due date, so it doesn't make a difference that your baby was born early.

Based on your dates you did qualify for SMP. You needed to have worked for your employer since 27 August 2016 so you qualify with two days to spare.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/rights-at-work/parental-rights/maternity-pay-what-youre-entitled-to/

MrsSquiggler · 07/04/2018 15:39

Yes, you should have received 90% pay for the first 6 weeks.

It might be too late to enforce payment though. You would have needed to contact HMRC within 6 months of when your employer told you they wouldn't pay SMP.
HMRC Statutory Payments Disputes Team
Tel: 0300 056 0630

MrsSquiggler · 07/04/2018 15:39

Although hopefully your HR department would pay up voluntarily once they realised their mistake...

Original poster
amari17 · 07/04/2018 16:18

Thanks Mrs squiggler, I will get in contact with them.

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