Money and maternity leave

[Summer1986]

Posting to tap into the wisdom of mumsnetters who probably have more of a clue that I do!

1st baby is due July and I'm trying to get organised financially to work out where I can make some savings and whether I can afford 12 months off or will need to return to work sooner...

The organisation I work for offers 8 weeks at full pay, it's not clear if this is before or after tax.

Is SMP taxable and would I be expected to pay NI and pension contributions whilst I'm on mat leave?

Anyone who is in a union-is it advisable to suspend my union payments whilst on mat leave or keep paying?

Currently go to a dentist that does both private and NHS work, am a private patient with a monthly dental plan, if I suspend this whilst on mat leave does my dentist have to allow me to become an NHS patient as my care will be covered by maternity exemption?

I currently donate around £15 a month to two charities on a direct debit, was thinking of cancelling these whilst on mat leave.....is that the done thing or a bit mean?

Thanks in advance for any info people can share

You'll pay tax on your earnings if you meet the threshold for paying it. I wouldn't advise ceasing pension payments as you'll need those later! I'd cease paying into a union, I did it for years and then when I needed them, they were useless. Wish I'd never bothered. The guy feel asleep in my restructure meeting!

I continue to give to charity but personal choice. Perhaps if you spend more than £15 A month getting to work, you van justify the small expense as you'll save on travel costs?

I'm an NHS patient so can't help you eurgh dentists

Occupational and statutory maternity pay are subject to tax and NI. They aren't always pensionable.
I don't know about union contributions, I imagine you need to check with them.
Check with your HR department about pension. Your employer would normally continue making their contribution but I think it's up to you if you do.

Your private dentist will continue to treat you as a private dentist. Only NHS dentists will give you free treatment, so you'd need to find a new dentist and register with them...they often have long waiting lists.

Entirely up to you about the charities. It's a voluntary thing but if money is tight, you could always resume when you go back to work

My private dentist has done NHS treatments for me in the past, so I think you'd be able to stay registered with them and just receive NHS treatment. I also have a dental plan through work and I think I will cancel and do the same as you 😊 Not too sure about the tax/NI but more than likely the SMP of £148 a week won't be enough to meet many of the thresholds?

I’m in a similar situation. I get 8 weeks full pay, 18 weeks half pay + SMP, 13 weeks SMP and 13 weeks unpaid. That totals 52 weeks/1 year. I can either get paid as per the breakdown or spread the money over 9 or 12 months. It may be worth asking if you can do that. I have opted for 9 months off so I can still live comfortably, but with the annual leave they’re allowing me to carry over and what I’ll accrue on maternity leave I think I’ll probably end up with about 11 months off anyway when I tag it on the end. That’s with an NHS employer.

I also pay into a union (Unison) and what I pay is dependent on my earnings. I’m currently waiting to hear back from my rep on how I go about reducing my subs as I’ll be bringing home less money on maternity leave. I’m not going to cancel my union membership as anything could happen whilst I’m off and I may still need union advice.

My pension is also a percentage of my earnings so that will reduce too.

I believe everything is still taxable, but only once I’ve gone over the tax free limit based on my tax code.

I also pay a charity but it’s onky £1 per week so I’ll probably keep that as it is. I will be cancelling my gym membership whilst I’m not working though, doubt I’ll have time to get my moneys worth out of it every month.

I forgot to add I’m also with a private dentist. Luckily I only go once a year and my next appointment is due just before I stop working, so paying for it won’t be a problem. Then the next appointment will be when I’m back at work anyway.

I had to pay the same pension contributions when on smp. Mine is 9.3% (nhs) and 9.3% when your on just smp stings a bit! I would keep union as coming back to work is the difficult bit if you want to change your hours.
You continue to pay tax and ni but when just on smp you'll be below the threshold. As it works out you pay too much tax overall you'll almost definately get a rebate unless you have equal payments over the period of your leave.
I kept my dentist as NHS dentists are like goldust round here.

I felt it important to keep union payments going, but cancelled my work savings plan. I have made use of union few times during maternity leave, especially when negotiating flexible hours on my return.

Thanks for the info everyone.
I am also an NHS employee.
I'm going to enquire with payroll about equal payments over the period of leave, I'd like a year off but don't know if it's financially viable yet.

Very jealous reading about maternity benefits here. My baby is due in 3 weeks and I have 1 week left at work. I'm Head of English in a school and the maternity policy is rubbish - 2 weeks full pay, 4 weeks 90% pay then only 12 weeks half pay. SMP will obviously be in addition to this, but a huge cut in comparison to what I'm used to.

I'm in engineering ... I get SMP and nothing else

MrsP, SMP is not always in addition. It sometimes makes up the half pay etc. Double check the policy!

MrsP that maternity pay policy is still amazing! The majority of companies pay SMP only, so 90% pay for 6 weeks then £140.98 for 33 weeks!

All payments are taxable but when you’re on the basic SMP this is usually below the threshold. I received around £600/month plus £82 child benefit if you can claim that.

SMP does suck but better than USA!

Don’t forget about using up your hols OP. NHS usually gives a generous amount that you’re able to carry over so you can use that at the start & end to get a period of full pay.

I’m taking 3 weeks holiday at the beginning.

If we want to compare, I get maternity allowance so no 90% period, just straight on to 140p/w, which sucks.

Another NHS employee here!

So grateful for their maternity package but agree.. the 9.3% pension payment is going to sting a little.

Hi I’m a nhs employee and I’ve read the maternity leave and tbh it doesn’t make much sense. Need someone to dummy it down for me haha. I’m currently 7 weeks. And just looking at it. I’ve been working there for around 18 months now. Will be 25 months when I give birth. I currently work under a manager but am moving to a different role with a new manager. Could anyone dum it down for me about how much i would get say from 6 months (least) to a year (most). Am a band 2

Gem I don't know if it varies from one NHS trust to another or if it's standardised.
My policy states 8 weeks full pay, followed by 18 weeks at half pay plus SMP then 13 weeks SMP only. The final 13 weeks if taken are unpaid. SMP is about £140 a week or 90% of your weekly pay (whichever is lowest).
I seem to recall if you are a shift worker there are some rules about how they calculate your average pay including unsocial hours but I havnt looked into it too much as I work fixed hours mon-fri.

I work for NHS Digital (so not a trust) and mine is exactly the same as summer says.

I believe it's the same for all NHS employees as it's in the NHS Employers policies.

If you've been there 25 months then you're entitled to the highest level of maternity leave, as described by Summer

@summer1986 that makes more sense thankyou very much x