Furlough and maternity pay

[LauraG85]

Hi people,

Looking for a bit of advice please.

I am 18 weeks pregnant and currently working from home. My company is looking at furloughing me if the lockdown continues.

My concern is, as furlough is a 'leave of absence' would this effect the requirement to have 26 weeks of continuous employment with a company up to the 15 week before due date to qualify for SMP. I am asking on here as the company i work for aren't great with HR and are unfortunately looking at making redundancies.

I am sure this will have been taken into consideration with the present circumstances, i just wondered if anyone had any knowledge on the subject.

Thanks

Lx

Not at all. You're still employed, you will still accrue holidays and you will still have all your rights, you just won't be required to work for as long as the furlough lasts (minimum 3 weeks)

Even though you are furloughed, you are still on company payroll so it’s not an interruption to your employment. You can be on your mat leave and still be furloughed as well, which in this case government pays 80% of your maternity pay if your company has an enhanced package etc.

I asked my company this and they said it does not affect maternity benefits. Although I only get SMP, my 90% pay for the first 6 weeks will be based on my 80% pay amount which is a bit disappointing.