Mat B 1

[MidnightBreeze]

Just wanted to find out when I can ask my doctor for my Mat B 1?
I'm not seeing my midwife until 3rd of January when il be 25.4 Weeks and my employer wants it by December.
I am currently 17.4 Weeks.

Once you've had your 20 week scan you can just call your doctors and request your matb1. The midwife can leave it at the desk for you. Your employer does need it by week 25 of pregnancy to sort maternity leave.

You can get it any time after you are 20 weeks pregnant but your employer doesn't actually need it at that point. Contact your midwife if you want it before your appointment.

That's not strictly true. They need notification of your maternity leave start date by 25 weeks but the matb1 isn't required at that point despite what they may say

And it's needed for pay not leave.

You need to give your employer proof of the pregnancy to get SMP. You don’t need it for maternity leave.

Within 21 days of your SMP start date (or as soon as possible if the baby’s born early) give your employer either:

• a letter from your doctor or midwife
• your MATB1 certificate - doctors and midwives will give you this no more than 20 weeks before the due date

You can request your MAT-B1 form from your midwife anytime after 20 weeks pregnant. Your employer will need it to sort out your maternity pay but you won't be able to actually make your claim for SMP (or MA depending on your entitlement) until you're 26 weeks pregnant.

Thanks all! I thought it was 26 Weeks for some reason.

How do I claim for Maternity Allowance as il have only been with my company for 25 weeks & 6 days (absolute joke, they won't pay me SMP, all because of ONE day)

To claim maternity allowance, you first need to get your employer to provide you with a form stating they aren't paying your maternity pay. There's a standard form, your HR/payroll team should know about it.

Then you need to apply to the job centre/DWP for maternity allowance by filling in and posting an incredibly long form (21 pages!).

There's really good info on the .gov.uk website:

www.gov.uk/maternity-allowance/how-to-claim

I applied 4 weeks ago and have had my documents returned but no confirmation that they are going to pay it as yet!

Good luck!

To be fair it's not your employer's fault that they can't pay you SMP, it's the government that set the rules. There isn't really much difference between SMP and Maternity Allowance, apart from the first 6 weeks, but after that the amount is exactly the same.

If it's any consolation I'm in the same boat - if I'd started my job a few days earlier or got pregnant a few days later, I would be able to get SMP, but as it is I'm not eligible and have to claim Maternity Allowance instead.

You'll have to take in your MAT-B1 form (the sooner the better) and they'll issue you with a form called an SMP-1 form which in your case will state that your company will not pay you SMP because you haven't worked their long enough.

Then go onto the Maternity Allowance page on the gov.uk website and print out the form. Fill it in and send it to them with your MAT-B1 and SMP-1 form. You'll also need to send 3 payslips (it will explain about that in the text before the form).

They can take a while to get back to you so send it as soon as you hit 26 weeks

Sorry it may be more than 3 payslips depending on the frequency of your pay (weekly/2 weekly/monthly etc)