My employer isn't paying me SMP..why???

[Ttc321]

Hi all any advice would be helpful
I started this job on 31st March 2017 this year, I am going on my maternity leave 9th October and my due date is 28th December, I have received a letter today saying I'm not entitled to SMP but gave me a form to send to the job centre to see if I can get Maternity Allowance. I'm just wondering why I can't get SMP and confused about the whole situation.
I'm 21, i worked for a different employer for over a year previous to this job.

Have you looked up how many weeks you need to have been working there to be eligible?

The form from your current employer should explicitly state why you are not entitled to SMP from them. When this happened to me I just printed out the forms for Maternity Allowance and filled it out, there was a section for those ineligible for SMP. After I sent it in it took about 6 weeks then I got confirmation of Maternity Allowance which wasn't much different to SMP.

You have to be working for your employer 2 weeks before you got pregnant basically. I think it's something like having worked for 28 weeks when you're 26 weeks pregnant.

Have you read this link?

Have they given you formal notification why you are not eligible for SMP?

According to that link you need to have been working for them continuously for 26 weeks at 15 weeks before your due date. You weren't quite. Missed it be a week or two, but as PP said the allowance isn't a dissimilar amount.

From the govt guidelines it says:

"(To qualify for SMP you must) have worked for your employer continuously for at least 26 weeks up to the ‘qualifying week’ - the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth."

If I can do my sums right then the 15th week for you begins on 14th Sept, and 26 weeks before that is 26th March, which is before you started work with your current employer. So you're not eligible for SMP from them because you didn't start work soon enough before you got pregnant.

Govt guidelines here: www.gov.uk/maternity-pay-leave/eligibility