Maternity Allowance back to back

[MrsB2018x]

Hi

Has anyone ever claimed maternity allowance then not returned to work and been able to claim it again? I am essentially still employed even though I had to claim MA with not being there long. I plan to not return and on the MA calculator it asks if I was employed for 26 weeks which I have been but it doesn't ask if I was earning a salary or MA.

Hope this makes sense.

Thabks
X

I think the amount paid depends on the amount earned in the qualifying period, so if you weren't earning you may not be paid.

Who gets Maternity Allowance?
You may be able to get it for 39 weeks if:

you’re employed but you can’t claim Statutory Maternity Pay
you’re self-employed and paying Class 2 National Insurance contributions, including voluntary NICs
you’ve recently stopped working.
In the 66 weeks before your baby’s due:

you must have been employed or self-employed for at least 26 weeks, and
you must have earned £30 or more a week for at least 13 of those weeks – the weeks don’t have to be together.

If you meet the above criteria you should qualify for 90% of your average earnings in the qualifying period for 39 weeks,up to approx £150/week. Even if this is very low it's worth doing anyway as you get national insurance credits against your name which contribute towards your entitlement to a state pension.

Yeah I'm employed but I'm only earning money from the government as I'm off with my 7 month old still and on maternity allowance. I'll try and get through to them tomorrow to clear it up but the hold times are insane at the moment so thought maybe someone else may have been through the same. Thank you for your reply. X

Check your company maternity policy. I am also pregnant while on maternity leave. Our mat pay is calculated based on average earnings between pregnancy week 17 and 25. I’m cutting my maternity shirt at 11 months then taking 4 weeks leave (weeks 17-20) so I qualify for full mat pay again. You might be able to get more than MA

Thank you. I'm not planning on returning now as Id not long started when I found out I was pregnant and don't want to go back pregnant already 😳 it'd be very uncomfortable and I doubt any nurseries will be open for a while so wouldn't have childcare. X