Maternity pay

[Kell91]

Anyone who received statutory maternity pay?? Did you manage to claim any extra help with tops up from tax credits while your income dropped for the 9 months?. It'll be around 10,000 a year less after the first 6 weeks of leave so we will be around £400 a month down from what I'd normally earn if not on leave.
My partner has a Job but he isn't really an high earner so we wouldnt really manage being £400 a month down every month tax credits calculator says we would get extra but not sure how accurate that is so thought I'd ask here we already receive £74 child tax a week and cb £140 a month.

I'm entitled to 39 weeks paid maternity leave by law I don't have to share my time of at all. Yes I should receive help and can while we're on reduced income it's not like we're raking it in just asking for help for a few months like others on reduced income do when they need to I've found information It can be topped up by tax credits they only take into account first 100 a week of so my income be only £400 a month in there calculations so we'd only be paid 1700 for the month which isn't enough to live on when we've paid rent council tax gas and electric electricity food clothes school dinners etc why shouldn't we get help we work out asses of rest of the time paying for people who don't work.

No op it's the other way round £100 a week of your maternity pay is not classed as income.

Oh ok thanks I must have misread.

Yes, legally, a parent is entitled to take up to 39 weeks paid mat leave. Either parent. However not all parents can afford to do so. It really isn't the States problem to fund you specifically to stay off for 9 months when the other parent can do it without financial consequences for you as a family.

Many many women return from mat leave earlier than 9-12mi the because that's what they have to do for affordability.

I cared for my 2 older daughters before I worked I got money of the government while my partner worked it topped up his income but now we both earn I cant take few more months out to enjoy my baby that seems backward to me. My partner doesn't mind going to work after a few paid weeks of. I want time to recover from the birth and bond without worrying about rushing back to work we both paid our taxes and national Insurance for people who don't work and get far more in benefits they we've ever had or will ever yet someone wants to begrudge a working mother time with her baby I'd rather pay my taxes to help those who have paid into the system have time of work to have a baby not the dossers who do fk all day in day out and I mean those who can work but refuse.

Did you say you work 1700-2200? Is that what you’ll be going back to? That sounds perfect surely, you’d get all the time with the children during the day and they’d be asleep for most of the time you work? I’d probably go back to work at 4m post birth if I had those hours, let DH deal with the difficult bedtimes!

I only see my 2 older daughters age 6 and 11 in the morning and afternoon for 2 hours a day during term time and on my 2 days of I only get all day within them during school holidays really I'd only be spending time with baby all day not my girls just how it is they know I work or I've hardly any money lol.

But that would have been the same hours you would see them if you hadn’t have had a baby and carried on in the same job at work? I thought you said you wanted the extended mat leave to bond with the baby, which you’ll have loads of if you work 1700-2200?

I could do I suppose it is the break from work to spend more time with all 3 as family that appeals to me il be picking them up and getting a good 6 hours a day with them for all those months il call tax credits before I make any decisions on when to go back if I can get the help I will take it who wouldn't.

Have you costed up your baby's childcare for when you do return? I'd imagine it's way more than the 400pcm you will be losing when on mat leave.

What's the plan then?

Try this universal credit calculator. It's more reliable than the online calculators. You might find yourself better off.

www.uc-advice.co.uk/calculate-your-entitlement

My partner is having our kids as he usually does while I work in the evenings he's done it for the past 12 month's he also have our baby when I return in Sept roughly for my 5-10 evenings I'm only taking only SMP runs out.

Thanks I'll look into it.

Op ignore the rude comments. I wouldn't want to live in a society where women can't be at least partially supported to spend time with their babies for the first 9/12 months. Am happy for our families taxes to help pay for that. And don't apply for UC they count all mat pay as income they don't ignore the first £100 a week. The middles classes were happy to claim £10/£20 a week tax credits 20 years ago before they were re classified as a "benefit".

I completely agree.
It's important work raising children and looking after babies in their first year especially.
It's easy to say go back to work if you are in a high paying comfortable job, but when you aren't then work actually isn't that attractive as compared to being home looking after your children.

Exactly those comments definitely comes form high earners. I'm usually manage on a grand a month with my partners money on top this time I'll be like 400 pound down while on SMP Thanks for that LilacPoppy.
I won't be applying if that's the case I knew universal credit was dodgy system lol.

My monthly wage will work out around £366 less a month once it drops to the standard £156 a week for 33 weeks coming in at only £5148 fof 33 weeks it really isn't a lot of money to get by on for 9 months. I'm glad some people still live in the real world and still understand maternity leave is just as important for lower earning families.

Support for women to look after their very young babies before returning to employment is surely exactly the safety net we should have.

Just to warn you any change in circumstances will trigger a move across to universal credit x

It isn't a change in circumstances its a drop in income.

Il put of claiming universal credit its a system designed to push people in poverty so many will starve and freeze to death this winter due to universal credit.

Actually for working parents who rent UC can actually be more beneficial. You get more help towards childcare and it’s updated every month rather than yearly like with tax credits. Less chance of an overpayment

Luckily I don't need to pay for childcare also they take into account maternity pay whereas tax credits don't.

I don't trust universal credit or this government they aren't doing enough to help with rising cost of living who is going to afford £125 a week energy bills only the well paid and rich that's who.

It can’t hurt to do one of the calculators to see if it will help. You can play around with the figures.