Maternity Pay...

[Bethlouu]

Ive recently found out im pregnant but im currently on a 12 month fixed term contract, im 4 - 5 months into the contract at the moment and worked out id be about 8 months when my contract finishes. my question is am i entitled to maternity pay from them even though my contract will finish before i start maternity leave?
ive tried researching but some of the information on the net contridicts itself so im really clueless!

I'm no expert, but this may be something covered by Maternity Allowance. Have you tried HMRC's calculator?: www.gov.uk/pay-leave-for-parents

You will probably be entitled to maternity allowance.

I'm pretty sure you'll be entitled to Maternity Allowance but it might be something worth calling them and asking about. They are the only ones who can give you a concrete answer. I've always found them pretty helpful :)

Yeah ive done the maternity calculator, its just all very confusing! i know my employer said she is reviewing my contract next month and it could probably be renewed once its up but i dont know if shell change her mind once she finds out!

There's no need to mention anything to your employer yet.

How many weeks are you?

I'm 18 weeks and not officially told employer (although immediate manager knows).

If safe and appropriate to do so I would wait until after first scan by that time hopefully youl have confirmation of contract extension

im only 6-7 weeks so very early! but im one of those people that love to worry about minor things and i like to know whats happening lol. i was planning on telling her after my first scan.

I waited until the last moment to tell my employer for the same reason. You don't have to tell them until the end of your 25th week. There's no reason not to sign an extension if offered.

You need to have been employed for 26 continuous weeks at week 15 of your pregnancy (taken from MatB1 due date) for SMP to apply. If that is the case - which it sounds like it might be - then they have to pay it regardless of the nature of the contract iyswim.

If you aren't entitled due to not being there long enough you will be entitled to MA instead.

Congratulations

I agree with PP about the 26 weeks at week 15.

I was in the same position as you. I started a 12 month contract in march and found out I was pregnant in august. My son was due in April. I finished my contract 5 weeks before my due date. I was entitled through my employer 6 weeks at 90% wage and them SMP for the remaining 33 weeks. I contacted ACAS to confirm it, and I would recommend you do the same.

Thank you that is alot of help~! im due in april too

I think the issue can be that if your contract is not renewed you can be forced to start your maternity early at the point your contract ends. Hopefully they will renew it for you.

On the point bendingspoons makes, I don't know if you can be forced to start maternity straight away. It may depend on the employer. My employer asked me when I wanted to start my maternity and said I could start it straight away if I wanted. I chose 2 weeks before my due date, 3 weeks after I finished work.

In the end DS came 2 weeks late in may, so my maternity pay finished when he was 8 months old in January.

And my contract was never renewed 😩

im not so worried about taking maternity pay early as i would like to take it when im aorund 3 weeks away from my due date as i know women can get pretty uncomfortable at that stage, myself and my old employer are really close and she has already offered me a job if i dont for some reason stick with this one, my main concern really was entitlement to pay as i dont want to have to depend on my partner for anything

I think, but could be completely wrong, that they can't decide not to renew your fixed term contract just because you're pregnant. It would be extremely hard to prove though! I also thought you had to be employed 26 weeks by the time you're 25 (not 15) weeks pregnant to qualify for SMP. Again, I could be completely wrong!

I am the worrying type too, but in this situation you must do what's best for you. To me, that would seem to be waiting until you have your new contract and then informing them of your pregnancy. No one is going to frown on you not telling them until you've had your 12-week scan, but it's important to know what the latest is you can tell them to still qualify for SMP/MA - I think it's 25 weeks pregnant - you can legally wait until then anyway!

My headteacher asked me if I wanted to take on additional responsibilities next year the day after I found out I was pregnant. I felt a bit sneaky accepting it, but I'd have been a mug not to, especially if something had gone wrong with the pregnancy (33+3 and looking good so far!)

Good luck with everything!

Found this on gov.uk

I've just finished my nurse training, and found out I'm pregnant so need to find a job 😅

That's interesting Figment, so did you have a few weeks not working and not paid and then start maternity? It was something I looked into a few years ago but didn't end up taking the fixed term job for other reasons.

That's a pain the contract wasn't renewed.

Yes Bendingspoons, they legally had to pay me maternity, but didn't have to pay it as soon as I finished work. Like every other employee who was going on maternity, they gave me the choice of when I could start it. My contract ended in the middle of march, they paid me at the end of march for those weeks I did work, and then i started maternity in April and got paid that at the end of April (still waiting for DS to arrive though 😩). So whilst I was no longer an employee, I was still employed by them so they could pay me maternity, and didn't get my P45 until my maternity ended.

Thanks that's useful to know.