Advice on Maternity allowance

[hayleyjones2701]

Hi there,
I am looking for some advice,
I am currently on maternity allowance and I am thinking about not going back to my employers but people have been telling me that if I decide not to go back I have to pay the maternity allowance back? Can anyone shed some light on this please?

Thanks xx

I'm not an expert but my understanding is that if you have qualified for SMP or MA you don't have to pay back maternity allowance or statutory maternity pay if you don't return to work after maternity leave (but may have to pay back any other contractual maternity pay (ie extra to SMP/MA) you've received from the company IF you received anything and IF your contract/maternity leave policy states you will have to pay this back if you don't work X number of weeks on your return)

Always worth checking your contract or the maternity leave policy or speaking with your HR department. Also worth checking when the best time to hand your notice in will be. I expect there is somewhere you can phone to get more concrete advice or perhaps someone will be able to help more if this bumps the thread 😁

I would check with your HR. I decided not to go back to work after I had my son due to it not being beneficial money wise due to child care. I emailed HR and they advised for the company I was working for I didn't need to pay any money back and I was also entitled to 1 weeks wage and also holiday pay. Worked out good for me but I also know some people who have had to pay maternity back.

Just email HR and ask they will let you know. They didn't even say anything to my manager etc either so was a shock for my manager when I handed in my notice 4 wks before my maternity leave was due up

I'm pretty sure this would only apply you had been paid an enhanced SMP from your employer. MA is not paid by your employer, it is a government benefit so there'd be nothing for your enployer to recoup.

...Only apply if* you had been paid an enhanced SMP

Under no circumstances would you be asked (or forced) to pay back statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance. You can be made to pay back any further enhancement on statutory maternity pay if you do not return to work and this will be specified in your companies maternity policy.

So essentially if you got the bog standard, which 80% of us probably do, then, no, you can quit without debt.

If you google statutory maternity pay the government website is actually pretty straightforward and has good info.

MA is nothing to do with your employer. It's paid by the state. Don't ask HR, it'll only alert them to your plans. Remember also your employer will still need to pay you any accrued annual leave and bank holidays from your ML, even if you don't ever go back.

Thank you all so much for the advice it has been very helpful xx