Resignation, Redundancy and SMP

[BananaKid]

Hi,
I am in a bit of a predicament and wanted to know what people thought and what advice I could get... It?s a complicated one so here goes:

I am pregnant and my due date based on my first scan is: 24/03/2011 :).
I have been working in my current job in the NHS for just under a year (it?ll be a year in mid-October). The organisation is going through a major restructure process which means I could lose my job anytime from April 2011. Due to only having worked in the company for a year, I don?t think I would be eligible for any redundancy pay. I have been offered Mutually Agreed Resignation (MAR) which would mean I could leave with 3 months severance pay if I leave by the end of November.

From my calculations:
My eligibility date for SMP (15 weeks before birth): 05/12/2010
My SMP payments start date (11 weeks before birth): 02/01/2010

Here are my questions:

• Does resigning as opposed to being made redundant affect my eligibility for SMP?
• If I don?t take the MAR but am made redundant sometime after 05/12/2010 will I still get SMP?
• If I take the MAR and leave before 05/12/2010 I understand I would not get any SMP?, but if I am able to agree a leaving date after 05/12/2010 does that mean I could get my severance pay as well as SMP?:o

Do I have to inform my employer that I am pregnant before going for MAR (if I do)?

• If I have to tell my employer that I am pregnant before taking MAR, I would have to tell them before I have received my MATB1 (I cannot get this until 31/10/2010 at the earliest), however I have to let the company know I am opting for MAR by 08/10/2010 ? what do I do?

Thanks in advance
BananaKid

I'd give the Citizen's Advice Bureau a call on Monday. I'm pretty sure that resignation, even by MAR leaves you illegible for SMP, but you'd need to check that.

May I suggest you post this on the Employment Issues (i think its called) section - under employment and childcare. There are a few very helpful people who are professionals in this kind of thing (flowerybeanbag was very helpful to me)

Estya, your right, I didnt see that section, Ill close this one and put my questions there instead.

Thanks for the advice pinkgrasshopper, I hadnt thought about CAB. Ill definitely do that too.

Check out the eligabilty requirements for Maternity Allowance even though you might not be working in the 15th week you can still claim MA if you worked in the 60 or 66 weeks before your due date.
(With Maternity Allowance you can get a max of £124.00 per week - you don't get the 6 weeks of 90% pay like with SMP - Depending on the requirements you may be better grabbing the 3 months pay and just get used to having very little money a few months earlier :) )

Check out the direct.gov.uk website for more info on SMP and MA

Congrats on your pregnancy :)