Another NHS Maternity pay query - any help?

[shockerama]

Hi-

have another thread going but massive shock to find out last week that I'm pregnant and possible about 24 weeks already (will have a scan to determine exactly on tuesday)

Obviously I'm in a blind panic about finances and trying to work out entitlement - I work for the NHS and have 4 yrs continuous service.

I know ill get 90% for 8 weeks then half pay + SMP (how much is SMP?) for a further 18 weeks- when I go into half pay, is my student loan and pension reduced? (if not then ill be 'hit' financially quite a bit)

I currently pick up approx £1666 per month after all deductions - am I likely to notice a massive reduction in pay?

Also I have approx 4 weeks of annual leave left to take between now and March 31st- can I take this say in august and then commence maternity leave- or do I have to take it at the end?
I plan to go back to work once I go down to SMP only. Otherwise we will all starve.

already have two children age 12 and 9 (Ds1 13 in sept, Ds2 10 in july)

this is a massive shock- completely 'failed' by Depo - appeared to not work at all. marvellous- just when life was getting easier

Ok don't panic! First of all yes you can take your annual leave before you go on maternity leave. Your pension contributions are earnings based so yes they will go down when your pay goes down. Don't know about your loan - but ring the student loan company and ask them. SMP is £136.78 a week apparently. So 50% of your net will be what £800 and then you'll get another £500 of so if SMP. So not too bad really.

Actually thinking about your annual leave I might be wrong on that - they may allow you to take the leave you've accrued between april and August only. But if that's the case the other gets added on to the end of your mat leave and of course it's paid at full rate.

The leave thing depends in your manager/Trust. I took all my leave then effectively started mat leave day before dd born. It would make sense for them to do this otherwise the have to pay for it in the next financial year along with that years annual leave.

And yes, student loan take a % of pay over 15k so you shouldn't pay anything for that 18 wk period

You're probably already aware, but you need to get a MatB form from your midwife or GP as soon as possible after your scan as you need to get it to your manager by the 25th week. They have to acknowledge this in writing within 28 days I think with confirmation of how you need to take your annual leave.
Having said that how the rules are implemented will depend on your manager/HR so they may cut you some slack given that you've only just found out.

Have left you a suggestion on your other thread re: spreading pay, but re: annual leave, my boss is letting me take my accrued leave at a rate of two days per week so that I can go back part-time but not have to pay childcare on those days.

May be worth thinking about, although obviously may not be possible depending on your job/situation and not a just a paper pusher like me

i had to physically ring the student loans company and tell them as my nhs employer continued to take it, even though i was inly on sat pay. ( only in nhs 5 months before i found out and long enough to qualify for nhs maternity pay.
I was allowed to accrue holiday through out my mat leave.
my employer topped up my pension so it didnt drop.
how long have you been on Depo? have you felt movement yet?!

if you contact student loans they should defer your loan. they did for me, anyway. I sent them a copy of the summary of my pay for the forthcoming year which my trust sent me.

Half pay plus smp not too bad iirc. If for example you earn 2000 before deductions now you'll get 1000 half pay plus 500ish smp which is then subject to usual deductions. so less but not horrific.

don't forget to top up your pension when you go back to work, otherwise it suffers quite a bit.

congrats by the way .

Thats great- ill contact SLC tomorrow first thing to see if I can defer- that will be great help.

Thanks for advice - Im going to see if my employer will let me go back still at 37.5 hours but over either 3 or 4 days. ( I work 9-5 currently 5 days per week- will kill me in nursery fees)

anyone give me an idiots guide to how childcare vouchers work? Im braindead

If you on the pre 2008 NHS pension scheme your pension will not be affected by the mat leave and I don't think top ups are allowed anymore. Not sure about the new version though.
You need to talk to HR about the chilcare voucher, but most NHS employers seem to be in one of the schemes. Our HR does a large info pack with loads of stuff about local child care which includes this sort of thing. - would be worth seeing if yours does something similar.

Also worth seeing if they have a subsidised nursery and getting your name down early if interested as they often have a very long waiting list.

NHS up here uses Edenred, their website is www.mychildcarevouchers.co.uk, really helpful. Even if your trust don't use the same firm, the explanations are still good.

I work for the NHS and am currently on mat leave which i started in october. I had to take all my annual leabe before starting mat leave so i finished work at 33 weeks and my mat leave officially started at 38 weeks. When i go back i have to take any accrued annual leave before starting back so i will be having august off as annual leave and start work again in september.

Money wise, i think i've been paid about £100 less than i normally would be. I start my SMP next month and will be paid £600 per month. I don't know how much of this will be taxed/ pensioned etc. Plus i have deferred my student loans!