Anyone else starting maternity leave and feeling hard done by with the furlough scheme going on?

[NemophilistRebel]

Are there any other pregnant women feeling a bit rubbish about starting maternity leave soon on SMP only to find their colleagues are furloughed on 80% pay ?

Yes and I did wonder what our rights are and if we would be eligible for anything? Not sure who to contact to find out

If you would normally just be on SMP for Mat leave, and that was what you had been planning for all along, well why would you ever expect anything more?

Yes, I've also wondered about this. Don't actually go on leave until mid May, but I would feel a bit pants if this happened

As @youngerthanyellow said, why would you expect anything different as you were going onto SMP anyway?

I feel like I'm missing something here...?

What am I missing? Youre getting what you were expecting aren't you?

So you’re resentful of your colleagues getting only 80% of their pay through no fault of their own even though you’re absolutely no worse off than you would have been anyway?
Ffs get some perspective.

Without wanting to sound harsh, trying to profit from the hideous situation we are all in is not what this country needs right now.

Seriously? That’s disgusting.

Do you feel hard done by ? Not quite so special? Why would you worry , what others are doing ?

Why would I feel hard done by for getting something I was expecting to receive anyway?

So why worry what someone else is getting . I'm confused.

What a selfish attitude... maybe you should be thinking about whether you will have a job to go back to ... many of us being furloughed now are probably going to be without any form of employment in 3-4 months time.

At least being on maternity will hopefully give you a bit of protection. Firstly as no need to work, so easier to isolate yourself. And secondly due to discrimination laws hopefully you won't be first in line for permanent redundancy.

Wow some harsh responses on here. It's pretty scary thinking about giving birth in the middle of a pandemic, I don't think the OP needs nastiness.

I'm also due to have my baby soon/go on maternity leave and I did wonder if we were entitled to furlough because we are being told to isolate prior to birth.
Not because I was wanting to "cash in" on the horrific time we are all having, it was just a random question while I was sat here trying to distract myself from worrying about going into hospital to have my baby in the middle of all this.
And yes, I know there are many many people a whole lot worse off than me, and I feel desperately sorry for all those people. I also know 98% of the population is worried at the moment.

But the OP doesn’t appear to be worried about having a baby in the middle of a pandemic (which I fully appreciate must be a very frightening thought), she is thinking about how much money she might be missing by not being on furlough .

Would you rather they all lost their homes and couldn't eat? What a nasty nasty post.

Just wow

Think you’re a bit off the mark op. Although I can see why it’s irked you should this pandemic not have happened you would have been getting SMP anyway? I say this as some who started their mat leave 6 days before lock down and has just had their second to last week of full pay before it decreases quite rapidly.

Op are you misplacing other fears onto this?

Furloughing is- to give it its real name- a coronavirus job retention scheme.

It is to stop employers making staff redundant by giving them taxpayers money to pay their staff during a pandemic.

It is not an opportunity to spend taxpayers money giving people on MAT leave extra money on top of what they are entitled to in terms of maternity pay.

If you want to be furloughed, you could bring your mat leave to an end and ask your employer to furlough you too- bet not many people do as it means you'll need to come straight back to work at the end of furlough.

I've just been furloughed. I might not have a job when it's all over, I might be made redundant. I didn't choose this.

You chose to have a baby so get over yourself.

Oooohhh I understand your thinking now! In your mind they're sat at home without working and getting paid 80% of wages, and you're going to be looking after a baby on SMP pay. I genuinely couldnt follow your train of thought because it's so vastly different to what the majority of people will be thinking!!

So your 'hard done by' because you're not on reduced wages, worrying about money, not knowing if you'll end up getting laid off in the end anyway, rather than doing what you were going to do, having had time to save up and prepare, and spending time with your baby?

Wow.

Only thing that slightly irked me is that I have to go on SSP for 3 weeks before starting my holiday/maternity pay, which means a loss of about £500 just before baby is due. But that’s how it is, and my biggest worry is having a baby in this situation, with hospitals being how they are, and my mental health deteriorating by the day due to the isolation and financial worry/stress!

Give notice to end maternity leave early and go on furlough then

Hang on, so you're getting the exact same SMP that you were expecting to get at this stage, with or without coronavirus, having had ample time to prepare and save? Literally nothing has changed for you.

Your colleagues are suddenly getting 20% less pay with relatively little warning and will no doubt be worrying about paying bills and whether they will even have a job to go back to when the furlough ends.

But you're the one who's hard done by?