UC & maternity leave

[lucynlp]

hey, looking for advice please!!

i've been signed off work since i was 12 weeks pregnant due to hyperemesis. (so been on SSP, uc tops us up each month and partner works full time)

i'm going on maternity leave in january and i do not want to return back to my workplace as the managers are awful, too far away and childcare will be too expensive (i have a 20 month old currently)

i was wondering if i choose to NOT return back to work, will universal credit sanction me for this decision. i understand i will have no work related responsibilities since my LO will be under one.

just need any advice please!

I used to be a work coach. If you have a child under 1 then you have no work related commitments and shouldn’t have any contact with the job center or work coach until child is 1+ when you may have to attend a work focused interview to prepare you for work. If you have submitted your MATB1 then this switches off commitments so no, you shouldn’t be sanctioned.

As @RPH2023 says there are no work related requirements for the first year of the child's life. After that they start to ask you to do stuff with view to working once child is 3.

Should be no issue.

do i need to let UC know that i won't be returning after my MAT leave, it is due to end january 5th 2025.

Difficult one because technically, yes you should let them know if you already know you’re not going back, but it’s over a year away and who knows what might happen in that time. You could find another job for example. You are covered by your MATB1 so I would just enjoy your mat leave.

thank you so much! i have been so worried about this. do you know much about maternity allowance because rival not eligible for SMP from my work place due to being on sick pay etc.

is this something i need to apply for by myself or will my employer need to be involved?

im* not rival

No. I wouldn't worry until your ML ends, including any unpaid, at which point presumably you'll resign. If you resign at the end of paid ML then it would be as well to let them now via the journal but it won't change anything as far as work related requirements are concerned.

@lucynlp You’re welcome. Maternity allowance is something you have to apply for yourself and it’s deducted £1 for £1 from your UC entitlement. Very often it isn’t worth claiming because it’s classed as income so deducted from your award as wages would be.

https://www.gov.uk/maternity-allowance

@RPH2023 hiya, we've just been told my partner needs to attended a work focused interview when he is already in full time work. is there a reason for this?

The rules now are around earnings as multiples of National Living Wage so provided he is in full time salaried/waged work I cannot see the need for a Work Focused Interview. Have his earnings reduced or is it possibly and issue with earnings in self employment? - although they have other tools to manage issues there.

@Bromptotoo this month our employers have reported that he's earned £0 and ive earned £819. i am not currently in work and on ssp, so defo didn't get £819! and he of course got paid his usual amount. not £0. which means our payment from UC is abit more then usual.

this has happened in june&july 2023 and we called them and asked about it and all they said was it was a mistake on our employees side and didn't mention anything about paying the extra money back.

so im not sure if that's related to it. even tho in both off our 'work plans' we are both not needed to look for work or be involved with work activities since we both do work. i'm going on maternity leave next week aswell.

His employer needs to report the earnings correctly. Of course you will need to pay it back once corrected. If earnings are reported late and then fall into your next assessment period then two lots of his earnings will be taken into account and likely reduce your Uc for next month to very little or nothing. The reason he has been called for a work focused appointment is because it looks like he's not worked the past month if no earnings have been reported.

As @Babyroobs says, reason for the WFI is that his earnings appear to be nil. It may be that if he contacts them via the Journal and explains the employer has messed up and he actually earned £X then they might cancel it. Otherwise he needs to attend with his paperwork etc showing what's happened.

@Quackidy I’m not sure without knowing your exact circumstances but it’s likely there’s been a change that has triggered a move to a different work group. He would probably have been in light touch as he’s working full time but if something has happened, ie, earnings reduced then that might have moved him into the work focussed group.

@RPH2023 our work plans are still the same, to not look for work or be involved in work related activities. would they have changed it automatically?

this has happened before but with no appointment needed after like i said, they told me on the phone that it was to do with our employer.

i'm now worried we will get sanctioned.. especially since we can not afford to since my circumstances with my work & maternity allowance 🤦🏻‍♀️

@RPH2023 he also has asked to reschedule since he isn't available for the appointment since he will be at work

@Quackidy

If your partners earnings have been reported as nil then this would flag up on the system that his circumstances have changed and he may not be working, therefore moving him to a different work group. It’s an automated system based on what earnings are reported so he will need to contact UC, either Case Manager or Work Coach, via the journal to let them know there’s been an issue with your employer reporting earnings. You shouldn’t be sanctioned as you haven’t done anything to warrant one. He is still working, it’s just an error which needs correcting. He should contact his employer also to make sure it they correct it.

@RPH2023 thank you so much, i have told them on the journal now. i think it has to be because he was paid a few days earlier then usual due to the holidays.

so sorry for bothering you so much! i appreciate you though!

@Quackidy You’re welcome, no worries at all. Hope you get it sorted quickly.

@RPH2023 so sorry omg

about the maternity allowance, would i 100% be better off on just UC and not applying for MA since i don't think i have contributed enough for the full payment anyway. will UC help if i am not on anything with MA or SMP.

@Quackidy Universal Credit is reduced £/£ for MA whereas SMP is treated as earnings so you get a Work Allowance and then UC is tapered off.

Obviously worth claiming MA if you'll be better off - you need to work out what you'd get. Some people also prefer to have benefits that pay fortnightly as it helps cash flow and budgeting.

@Bromptotoo i have no idea on how to check how much i'll be able to claim through MA.

all i have read is that it is based on NI contributions which i haven't put a lot towards since i have only just started paying tax & ni since this is my first proper job.

@Quackidy There is a calculating tool for MA on the .gov website:

https://www.gov.uk/maternity-paternity-pay-leave

The Working Families website has a decent primer on how it works:

https://workingfamilies.org.uk/articles/maternity-allowance/

@Bromptotoo i've received confirmation from my payroll that i am on maternity leave as of yday, but they have put down my 52 week leave ends on the 6/10/2024 which isn't 52 weeks 🤷🏻‍♀️ i have emailed them and asked. am i wrong to think 52 weeks from now is 6/1/2025 lol