Enhanced Occupational Maternity Pay

[Lexio17]

Hi everyone! I'm a new mum to be, and new on Mumsnet, discovered I'm 4 weeks pregnant 2 days ago. It was a surprise and of course we are ecstatic with the news. However on reading my work contract, i have discovered I am not eligible for enhanced (occupational) maternity pay (on top of SMP) as I haven't worked there long enough.

We are shocked and worried at these news, and the money worries are taking over!

Me question is, anyone else out there who has been through this? Did your ask your employer if they would make an exception (and did it work)?

We are worried I can't take my full 52 weeks maternity leave, only on my husbands salary... And advice?

Thank you!!

Congratulations!

The majority of businesses only pay SMP so not being eligible for enhanced pay is not unusual.

You need to try to cut your outgoings as far as possible as soon as you can, this way you can save some money during your pregnancy and means it won't be such a shock when you drop down to maternity pay.

Also remember that following your maternity leave, if you choose to return to work full time childcare can be over £1000 a month so you'll need money to cover this as well.

If you look at your income and expenditure there will be plenty of things you can save money on, and lots of people return to work after 9 months rather than taking the final 3 months of unpaid maternity leave.

If you are on a low income then you may be able to claim means tested benefits like Universal credit to top up your household income whilst you just receive smp. You will also get £20.70 child benefit a week once the baby is born as ;long as neither of you earn over 50k at which point it reduces on a taper. Otherwise it's just a case of going back to work when you need to. I went back to work very part time when mine were four and five months old as I lived in a country where there was no such thing as maternity pay ! If you go back to work early it's likely you may be entitled to help with childcare costs through Uc. In the meantime as above just budget and save. You have less costs when on mat leave and newborns actually need very little despite what the ads will tell you. Equipment and clothing can be found barely used in charity shops, freecycle and NCT events.

You cut back in spending now and start saving hard as a matter of urgency!

Babies don't need to cost a lot of money at all, do not get sucked in with buying things new. A second hand pram is great as a lot of the time you realise that the big chunky pram isn't used for long and end up with a buggy by the time they are a year old!

Ikea does inexpensive cots and high chairs etc. Don't get sucked in by romance and marketing.

SMP only here, I took 8 months due to funds. Not sure how but you do manage, we certainly saved £50 a week on fuel costs for me which went on food instead. Not as much eating out. Babies aren't really all that expensive, but we did have to strictly budget in advance as SMP is less than half of my usual weekly wage.