Pease help me with maternity pay eligibility!

[Kikirikiki]

Thanks in advance. Maths is not my strong point but I do make a mean taramasalata...

I'm covering maternity leave for a collague, at a college that employed me a few months before getting pregnant. My due date is October 2 and my contract ends on June 30th. I understand that to be eligible you have to be employed 15 weeks before the due date. So it seems that on the last week of my employment I will be 26 weeks, but I don't know if I got this right.
My boss is a nice man and might be able to get me an extra day to qualify but it may take days to get in contact with him, he's often away from his desk and I want to say it to him in person rather than by email.

I need your wisdom please!

I make it that you'll be 25.5 weeks when you finish, so should be eligible for SMP, assuming you had worked there for long enough before you got pregnant.

you will be elegible for SMP if you've been working there from the week before your got pregnant until 15 weeks before baby is due and you have been earning more than £130 a week for that time.

if you've been earning less, you need to have been employed for 26 weeks out of 66 weeks before your baby is due, and have earned at least £30 a week, you can apply for maternity allowance instead.

hth.

Thank you both very much, the job is part time and pays around 550 per month so hopefully that will be enough...

I was more worried about the dates, stared in October and that's a good few months before getting pregnant so thank you again!

Stared in October sounds like I was playing some weird stalking game with the place- I meant started (the job).

As long as you were employed before you were pregnant you'll be fine.

The best thing to do is go on the HMRC website and use the SMP calculator. This is what all Payroll depts should use to calculate if an employee is eligable (Its what I use at work).

Here is the link www.hmrc.gov.uk/calcs/smp.htm . It will ask you your due date, and ask you about when you get paid and how much etc. If you follow the steps you should be ok.

Sorry Ivy but the earnings for employers to pay SMP is £97 per week if your baby is due on or before 16/07/11, and £102 per week for babies due 17/07/11 to 14/07/12

is it? :o really? that means my employer actually fobbed me off short! unless it was more before that?! I was told £130, which I didn't make...

thanks for that link Nicky, I'll try that asap!

..."an error has occured" says the website so l might have to wait till thursday when my boss will hopefuly has good news. But your answers have given me a lot of hope already, thanks ever so much!

will hopefully HAVE good news, oh dear