Shared Parental Leave/Pay - self employed & employed

[amywhattodo]

Reposting as have further clarity on my situation as discovered my partner is entitled to Occupational SHPP in his employment contract.

im 22 weeks pregnant
I have been self-employed with my own business and paying myself through that (approx £350 / £500 per month) for the past 1.5 years .
My company is just me, and i've been paying myself, so i've done all the work and services myself.

Only 1 month ago, I have started working on a PAYE job for more money and security to come back to once the baby is born.

My partner is in full time employment with a PAYE employer for 2 years and it states in his contract he can get Occupational SHPP.

I need my partner to be with the baby (but be paid by his work) as I am not entitled to maternity pay obviously after just 1 month and will need to get back into work shortly after the baby is born to release some financial burden so will curtail my maternity leave earlier that a year.

What is the eligibility for shared parental leave here? Is he entitled to his occupational SHPP given i have been self employed in my own business for the majority of 26 weeks?

Really appreciate if someone could help, its really confusing.

My husband is employed and I am self-employed. Our situation is similar and I have been equally confused!

The main points:

1. You must take at least 2 weeks Maternity Leave.
2. All the leave you take is deducted from the 52 weeks Parental Leave.
3. For your partner to claim Shared Parental Pay, you must take at least 2 weeks Maternity Allowance.
4. All the Allowance/Pay you take is deducted from the 39 weeks Shared Parental Pay.

Enhanced pay: If your partner gets enhanced pay, to get maximum amount you need to "curtail" Maternity Leave/Allowance at 2 weeks. There seems to be no expectation of how much self-employed work you do return to.
Curtailing leave/pay: There appears to be no set form nor system for this and apparently it requires 8 weeks notice given to your local job centre...
Specific to you returning to work: I don't think you can curtail the Maternity Allowance while staying on Maternity Leave. This means less Shared Parental Leave/Pay at the higher amount, if applicable.

These are the websites I have found useful:

1. www.gov.uk/maternity-allowance (check if eligible)
2. www.theguardian.com/careers/2017/aug/07/advice-maternity-leave-freelancer-self-employed (specific to self-employed)
3. www.maternityaction.org.uk/advice/shared-parental-leave-and-pay/ (covers examples)
4. www.gov.uk/government/publications/maternity-allowance-claim-form (the form you need, and instructions to help fill in).

Note: The following is my understanding, working with my husband's policy and his HR department. The other main resource is your partner's policy documents and HR department.

Thanks for this :)
I am on paye now, but will use both the self empoyment and paye for the maternity allowance assessment.

Just wondering how did they assess your maternity allowance via self employment ? @KailynA

You know, at no point does the MAT1A form ask for you to actually calculate it or provide any evidence of weekly earnings. They have my tax return from last year, but no details of what I earnt each week.

In general:

1. The maximum is £156.66 per week (Class 2 NI payments for at least 13 of the 66 weeks before the baby is due and earnings over £174.07 a week).
2. The least is £27 per week (No Class 2 NI payments, earnings over £30 a week).
3. You can opt to pay more Class 2 NI at £3.15 a week.
4. For average weekly earnings under £174.07, you get 90% of the amount.
5. Your earnings are averaged over any 13 weeks in your test period. You can pick to maximise your payment (no idea how they get this information...)

The test period calculator is here:
secure.dwp.gov.uk/check-your-maternity-allowance-dates/date-baby-due/

The vaguely useful guidance is here:
www.gov.uk/maternity-allowance/what-youll-get

The detailed guidance is here:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/maternity-benefits-technical-guidance/maternity-benefits-technical-guidance *

*Note, they quote the old maximum allowance of £139.58 a week and at the very end of a very long page mention "uprating"...

I sent the form off last week, so we shall see what happens next...

@KailynA haha that is all very odd - how do they know what you made per week!
My business is a start up so my earnings range anything from £300 - £900 per month for those dates they require. But using my PAYE job to supplement too.
How did you ensure you paid enough national insurance contributions four company?
I believe i filed my corporation tax with HMRC in May 2022, but that filing wasn't even for the dates they require so v. confused.

Last year I chose to pay Class 2 NI contributions for the pension credit. Because of my due date it means I should have enough weeks contributions in the last 66 weeks to not have to pay more. They will offer you the chance to pay it if you do not have enough, apparently.

You can see your NI record here:
www.gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record

But mine isn't showing 20/21 or 21/22 yet.