Question about maternity pay!

[Alb1]

Just wondering if anyone nos about maternity pay, I'm 8 weeks pregnant now an thinkin of lookin for a different job, but if I move now will I still be entitled to SMP? I can't return to my current job after maternity leave as me an OH both work long shifts in the same place n till 2am so we wudnt have child care for evening and nights, so I feel bad making my employer paying my SMP when I don't intend to go back there (it's a new small business and she's been really good to me)

If it's a small business then the government pays them 104% of the SMP.

If you switch jobs while pregnant you won't be entitled to SMP, but you will qualify for Maternity Allowance which is the same except you don't get the first 6 weeks at 90%.

I think you'd be better staying in your job and deciding whether to get another after the baby arrives. Being pregnant isn't the time to put yourself through applications and interviews etc if you don't need to!

You might find they accommodate you when you go back even if it's a small business, I work for a large company and we have a really good flexible family working policy. You probs won't have the same but worth looking into regardless

The company will get the smp from the government so it doesn't cost them. You have to be employed from the week before you got pregnant I think to get smp, but as long as you've been working you can get maternity allowance which is the same per week as smp but you don't get the first 6 weeks at 90%.

If you move now, you won't be entitled to claim SMP from your employer - you have to have been working for them for 26 weeks before the 25th week of pregnancy - i.e. you have to be pregnant before you start a job. However, you would be entitled to claim Maternity Allowance from the JobCentre, so your money will be OK whether you stay in your current job or get a new one.

Your employer will be able to claim 104% of your SMP through her monthly submission to HMRC, so she will actually get more money than she is giving you.

She will, however, remain liable for your holiday pay - so if you decided not to come back after 1 year on mat leave, she would owe you a years holiday pay.

Thanks guys, makes it a lot clearer! We only opened in November so we don't have any policies or anythin like that yet, only jus got contracts so there's no way of checking what the boss plans to do yet. But there's a while to figure it out I guess!