Confused about Maternity Allowance - can I work?

[Fagin99]

I go on maternity leave from my employer in March. Unfortunately, I haven't worked there long enough to qualify for SMP so I'll be claiming maternity allowance (MA).

I know I'm allowed to work 10 KIT days without it affecting the MA, but I was really hoping to try to work for myself in some capacity during my leave so that I don't have to return to my horrible employer and can eventually become freelance.

From what I've read, some sites suggest that as soon as you work more than 10 days while on MA, the MA will be stopped. Other sites suggest that you just wont be paid MA for the specific days that you work (beyond 10 KIT days) but it won't be stopped entirely. Does anyone know??

I'd hate to give up my MA, especially if freelance work only comes in occasionally, but equally don't want to miss this opportunity to set up on my own for the future! Thanks in advance x

You could work on a self employed basis without it affecting MA.

Hi @dementedpixie, many thanks for reply. I could be wrong, but I think that's only true for SMP, not MA? This is what I found online:

Can I do self-employed work while on Maternity Allowance? Ordinarily, you can work on a self-employed basis without it affecting your SMP/SAP/ShPP. However, this doesn't apply to those on MA. If you are on MA, you can only work up to 10 days (Keeping in Touch (KIT) days) without it affecting your pay.

Depending on the type of work you are doing how is anyone going to know how many days you’ve worked freelance?

Oops, think you are right

I've just been filling the form out myself, 10 days working then MA stops x

Will anyone know?