Those of you who are pregnant in a new job?

[namechangerbat]

I start my new job tomorrow have been looking and applying and banging my head against a brick wall for months

am also 8 weeks PG

Not telling them yet obviously but trying to think forward to finances

I won't get SMP or mat pay from them but I can't work out if I will get Mat allowance? Did you?

yes, i think as long as you have been paying national insurance then you will get mat allowance. I found out i was pregnant two days before i started my new job and as i hadnt worked for them for 26 weeks before baby was born i got nothing from work but did get mat allowence as had been in work for 26 weeks before baby, just in another job.

I've not been paying NI properly as have been a student - and a SAHM. Does that mean I won't get MA?

You can get MA if you have completed 26 weeks work in the 66 weeks proior to your due date. It doesn't not have to be in just one job or continous, it can be a week here, there etc but have to be full weeks at a time and weeks on maternity leave or sick pay count
. I had a similar problem about getting a new job then finding I was pg and not being entitled to get SMP. I spoke with my local Citizens Advice who where very helpful. I think they said if you weren't entitled to MA or SMP there is something else you can apply to claim but is a bit more hit and miss! The DWP have a calculator so you can work out what you are entitled too if different situations; might have been ESA? Hope that helps!

Hi i'm confused about this - i was just googling it actually.

I thought SMP was the allowance you got from the gov - £127ish per week. Am i really wrong?

I started a new job last week and am 7 wks pregnant. Cant ask employer as i don't want them to know.

SMP (Statutory Maternity Pay) is paid by your employer. MA (Maternity Allowance) is paid by the DWP. If you do not qualify for SMP then your employer gives you an SMP1 form stating why they are not paying you and you send this to the DWP with your MATB1 form (supplied by midwife) and an MA claim form which you can obtain from local Jobcentre or benefits office.

Spuddybean, apologies if you have already googled this, but if not, this is an informative link form DirectGov.
www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Expectingorbringingupchildren/DG_10018869

Oh god how shit! I was talking to my mum today who runs a recruitment agency and she was saying they have women who they give SMP1 to (as they haven't worked there long enough) and she was under the impression the gov then paid the SMP.

So if you have worked consistently, just not for that employer do you just get MA? and is that only £30ish per week? I'm fucked!

Sorry - thank you by the way

Spuddybean , if you qualify, MA can be up to £128 a week I think, or 90% of your average earnings during the qualifying period.

oh really? thank you for letting me know. phew!

If you pay voluntary NI contributions will that help??

No - ma if you are employed is not based o n contributions (for self employed it iis)

Ma is based on your earnings. i earned £550 a month a now get

£124.10 a week, for 39 weeks - and was pregnant when i started my new job, fresh from university.

:) chill out!

AFAIK-

Maternity allowance is 39 weeks @~129 a week- paid through job centre.

SMP is 6 weeks @90% of your salary and the remaining 39 weeks @~129 (same as MA)- paid by employer but they can claim 92% of the cost of this back from the Government.

So, the difference in what you get is really just the first 6 weeks. Everything else is the same, you just get paid in a different way.

are there not two rates of MA depending on your earnings in the test period?

Yes, it's different rates for everyone on MA. It's 90% of your average earnings in the test period OR £129, whichever is lower.