Income Support / Maternity Allowance

[bunyanvillas]

I have been made redundant and am 21 weeks pregnant. I have a 3 year old at home and will find it difficult to find work that will pay for the childcare - and also to find an employer that will take me on in my current condition! I have been told that I will get neither income support NOR maternity allowance as "I am only pregnant" and "my husband works". No-one has asked me what our circumstances are or what my husband earns! Feeling quite depressed by it all. Is this really the way the system works? It just seems so unfair. I have worked hard and paid my taxes for 20 years and have never drawn any type of benefit. I fully intend to seek work as soon as the baby is old enough - and it's going to have to be full-time work so that I can afford the childcare! So why can I not get any help right now, just when I really need it? Seems so unfair. Anyone else have any experience of this?

If you do not qualify for statutory maternity pay then you should be eligible for Maternity allowance.
try this -www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/Customers/WorkingAgeBenefits/Dev_008115.xml.html

Yes, you really should qualify for Maternity allowance. I got this (was working as a supply teacher and not on a contract). I had to send evidence of about 12 weeks pay , but this was 12 weeks over a 9 month period - I could choose which 12 weeks and they didnt even have to be consecutive (this worked in my favour as a supply teacher can earn much more one week than another depending on how much work she gets!).

Maternity Allowance has nothing to do with how much your husband earns/ how much savings you have etc. its there to safeguard people in circumstances such as yours and mine and as long as you have been working fairly recently yo should qualify.