Dealing with SMP! - How Are We Going to Cope!?

[BabyQuin2020]

Hi All,

Me and my Husband are expecting our first baby in May 2020 and from the little information I have been given so far by my Employer, it looks like I will only receive SMP. This will work out at a £1300 pay cut each month for me alone! .

SMP won't even cover my half of our rent let alone any other household or personal bills. I am even thinking i will need to SORN my car!.

Has anyone got any tips of how is best to plan for SMP and manage the situation?.

I can't help but feel that I am being punished for having a baby with this mega pay cut.

TIA

xx

@hauntedvagina Thanks, funnily enough me and my Husband discussed this last night actually! Great minds.

As soon as my work have sat down with me to go through all my pay and how it works etc, I will ask the question about KIT days. Do you know if it is a 'thing' like SMP or is it at the Companies discretion?. x

@tisonlymeagain I understand and can relate, as much as we are excited for our little bean to arrive, i'll be honest, I am terrified about the prospect of not earning! xx I just don't see how the Government can expect you to live on as little as they offer on SMP.

As soon as my work have sat down with me to go through all my pay and how it works etc, I will ask the question about KIT days.

It’s a “thing” in that it’s covered by legislation, but there are rules and KIT days have to be agreed with your employer. You can’t just do what you like.

I just don't see how the Government can expect you to live on as little as they offer on SMP.

They don’t. They give you £20 on top as child benefit. They expect you to plan for your lifestyle choices and to be supported by a partner.

Best to do KIT days when you’re in nil pay else you won’t maximise your income (SMP is topped up to your full day rate if you work a day You aren’t paid on top.)

This is why when you are on maternity leave you need to pool your resources not still expect the mum to carry on paying half the bills and any child related costs, which some partners seem to expect.

If I remember correctly if you want to have the whole 12 months leave there will be some months where you don’t get paid at all

As soon as my work have sat down with me to go through all my pay and how it works etc, I will ask the question about KIT days. Do you know if it is a 'thing' like SMP or is it at the Companies discretion?. x

I have had a mat leave at a FTSE 250 and a mat leave at a small business with less than 10 employees, both have paid me for KIT days and have paid me at my usual day rate.

Just to reassure you, I took off over a year when I had my first child and the return to work was traumatic, I don't really feel that I ever fitted in with the business again. The second time round I took off six months and worked a day every other week during my mat leave. I found retuning to work so much easier, please don't feel that you're doing yourself or your baby an injustice by taking a shorter leave period.

SMP is topped up to your full day rate if you work a day You aren’t paid on top this is up to the employer - they can either pay the top up or pay a full days wage.

Get saving now OP. Be ruthless. Cut out everything that you physically can now.

My pay cut on SMP was a grand a month. I did have an enhanced package though, so wasn't too bad. I went back after six months after both my DC were born because we couldn't afford more than that.

If you do your tax through PAYE, then you will automatically be given any tax back if you're earning less. I got tax back in the SMP months which helped. I also didn't spend as much money every month after having the baby because I wasn't out in the car so much, buying lunch or just popping to the shop etc.

Like others have said, start looking into child care costs now because THAT is a real eye opener. Four days a week for my eldest was £500 per month. I'm currently paying around £500 per month for wrap around care for two children. So it's not even like it will necessarily stop when your DC are in school!

They don’t expect you to live on it OP, they expect you to save accordingly and for your dh to step up as such! Smp is a gesture as such, I actually ended up with DOUBLE SMP as I had two jobs before I went on mat leaves 🤷‍♀️

You need to start to put money away now to supplement your SMP, that is what most people do. You also need to look at finances from a joint point of view as you will be a family unit.

You need to look at areas where you can cut back, takeaway lunches, teas, coffees etc, nails, haircuts, phone, gym, hobbies, tv packages (ignore anything not applicable).

I stopped getting my hair done every 8 weeks once the baby came along. I bought clothes for the baby rather than myself. Your priorities will change and so will your spending habits.

when I was married, XH and I paid everything 50/50 until we had a child and then it became impossible to do so as I wasn't earning enough money. We saw ourselves as a family with pooled finances and it wasn't a question of who paid for what. He didn't see himself as supporting me as I was at home looking after his child.

You get SMP for 39 weeks then unpaid leave for a further 13 weeks. You will accrue holiday pay during this time so you could ask your firm to pay that to you over 2-3 months to enable you to take more time off.

I don't see people being harsh to you, I see people giving you a reality check. You can't expect the government to pay you a full time wage to have a baby as a child is a lifestyle choice and it is up to the parents to ensure that they can afford to have one. They say that in reality, nobody can afford to have a baby, yet millions of people do every year. A friend of mine went back to work when the baby was 6 weeks old because they had a huge mortgage to pay and she was a high earner.

Most employers do just pay SMP and it is taxed as any other income is. If your income drops and you have overpaid tax, then as others have said you may get a tax refund each month.

Look around for good condition second hand baby equipment (facebook, ebay etc) buy basic baby clothing from supermarkets like Asda which are cheap. Charity shops are great for toys and books as they grow up. It doesn't have to cost a fortune to have a baby.