Job Retention Scheme and pregancy

[Reema123]

Hi Everyone, hope you are all staying indoor and safe..
I am 19 weeks pregnant and started new job in February 2020 (Long story). So with this new job retention scheme, i am confused and hoping you guys can clear my doubt. If my employer decides to put me on job retention scheme as i am a new joiner, what will happen to statutory maternity pay? once everything goes back to normal around end of May (hopefully) will i be back at work? with this job retention scheme will i still qualify for maternity pay? Am so confused and anxious

I think the government need to address maternity issues as there are a lot of people concerned about being on sick leave or isolating unpaid during their qualifying period. I doubt this is as high priority as other things at the moment, especially as those currently in their calculation weeks won't be going on maternity leave for a few months. But hopefully it's something they plan to look at.

Based on how things run normally, if you are eligible for SMP, then usually it is based on your calculation period (around 19–26 weeks, depending on your due date and how frequently you get paid), so it would probably be based on your 80% pay from the Job Retention Scheme.

To qualify for SMP, you need to have been working for your employer for at least 26 weeks before your due date, so do check. If you don't qualify for SMP, you would need to apply for SMA, which is £148.68 for the whole 39 weeks (rather than 90% pay for the first six weeks, then £148.68 for the next 33).