Can I get self employed as well as employed maternity pay?

[Arxx]

I have a part time job which I’ve put in for a normal length of maternity leave from, I’ll receive SMP as well as my employer’s enhanced maternity pay for the first 3 months. I also have a self employed side business which I obviously won’t be able to keep going while I have the baby, I only want 2-3 months off from it though. Will I be able to apply for maternity allowance for the months I close? Everything I can see online seems to suggest I can but it almost seems too good to be true to be able to receive it twice 🤷🏻‍♀️

No, you are not able to claim SMP and MA at the same time.

You can get SMP from two jobs, but can't mix and match so to speak.

The relevant quote from the Working Families helpline is:

"If you are entitled to SMP from one employer, but not from another then you cannot claim MA in respect of the other job. This is because you are not allowed to claim both SMP and MA at the same time."

workingfamilies.org.uk/articles/maternity-leave-and-pay-if-you-have-more-than-one-employer/#:~:text=You%20do%20not%20have%20to,claim%20it%20from%20each%20employer.

@tweener ahh gutting.. oh well, just means I’ll have to open back up as soon as I can after

OP, do you pay yourself through payroll in your own business? I have my own business and another part time job, am paid through payroll in both and can claim SMP from
both. Do you have enough time to add yourself to payroll if not (I think your accountant can backdate your start date so you’re within the qualifying weeks as obviously you did work there then)? Worth speaking to an accountant!

If OP is self employed they cannot pay themselves through a payroll. If the OP has a limited company and therefore potentially a PAYE system, they are not self employed but are either an office holder or employed by the business, even if that business is owned by the OP.

Thanks @SkyBlue20 no I don’t pay myself through PAYE. I just have a small business on the side and do my own books at the moment but have been looking at getting an accountant. I did wonder if it would be worth it for things like this but sounds like I wouldn’t qualify anyway from what @tweener has said. Thanks

You can have a PAYE scheme as a sole trader, you don't need to be a Ltd company

You can have a PAYE scheme for employees but the sole trader themselves cannot be on it.

Yes this is a good point I hadn’t thought to mention (though I’m sure most small business owners with a LTD company still class themselves as ‘self employed’ even if not ‘officially’ - that’s my situation and where I was coming from, didn’t think of it from a sole a trader stand point).