Company Maternity Pay

[OneOliveMoose]

Recently joined a new company but also thinking about starting a family (possibly within the year). My companies policy is confusing me slightly. I’m entitled to SMP provided I have been at the company for at least 26 weeks which I understand. But this is provided that I am still pregnant 11 weeks before the start of the expected week of childbirth? Which is the part I don’t understand?

I think it might be weird wording, smp can start from 11weeks before the due date unless the baby is born earlier.

Ok thank you. I just want to make sure I don’t miss out on the company benefit by getting pregnant to early (if conceiving goes to plan) seeing as I’ve only just joined the company!

Another post likely incoming on the anxiety of telling your employer your pregnant when you haven’t been there for very long :) joys of being a woman in the work place 👍🏻

Also its not actually 26 weeks either, its actually 26 by the qualifying week so you have to have been employed there 1 week longer than you've been pregnant. So to be safe till you've had 1 period then start trying

What wiaa said is correct.
it means you need to be there one week before you’re pregnant. If you’ve already started and get pregnant now it’s fine.

That's the statutory maternity pay conditions. Do they offer enhanced pay at all as that may have different criteria?

By the time you are 25 weeks pregnant you need to have been employed for 26 weeks so you cant be pregnant when you start there (bear in mind pregnancy is dated from your last period so best to have had one in your new job)

The earliest maternity leave can start is at 29 weeks.

The employer company has no input or decision/policy for whether you get SMP. SMP is payed by the government, it is just administered by the employer company and comes via payroll rather than via benefits. The entitlement boils down to that you need to be already working for them on the day that you get your last period before you get pregnant. In the tragic circumstances of a baby not surviving the pregnancy you aren't entitled to maternity pay or leave if it happens before 24 weeks (though sickleave and compassionate leave would be) but you can have mat leave & SMP if it happens after 24 weeks.

Employers often have their own supplementary maternity pay offer which is better than SMP. This is entirely under their control and they can set their own rules. These may include that you have to have been working for a set amount longer before you qualify, and almost always provides that you must return to work for them properly afterwards.

If your employers aren't a bunch of sexist arseholes and if you are going to be fully engaged in yoir role with enthusiasm and docus to achieve what yoir employer needs you to then a few months break from that will be insignificant on the scale of what would hopefully be many years of building up a thriving career with your employer. If you spend the time from now until your eventual pregnancy announcement demonstrating that you are firmly on that path and will be back and just as energetic and dedicated after your leave then you need have no concern about telling your employer that you are pg.

Sexist arsehole employers assume that as soon as you get pg you no longer have any hope of fulfilling your employment potential and will just bumble along doing the minimum you can get away with to collect the paycheck but won't ever be striving to achieve more, or innovate etc. Unfortunately some women do follow that pattern but an assumption that you are going to is a toxic dump on your career path if your employer assumes all women will. If there's any evidence your employer might be like this then delay ttc for a bit to either get yourself more established (and ideally promoted a rung) or to move to an employer with a better attitude.

Yes the enhanced pay is subject to meeting the criteria I stated in my OP!

Is there better pay after 2 years?

You are completely right and women shouldn’t be made to feel like this. This is part of life! I plan on going back to work after childbirth and staying here for the foreseeable. They will have my full commitment. And they hired me knowing my age (31) and that pregnancy is a possibility during my time here.

I had a significant increase by moving jobs but I have the opportunity for pay review and bonus every year

SMP isn't enhanced pay and you have quoted the criteria for getting SMP.

Does your enhanced pay have stricter criteria than what you have quoted? What do you get for enhanced pay?

Make sure you double check what the enhanced pay criteria is OP.

As an example SMP is what you’ve stated, but with my employer you have to have been employed for a full year before you’re entitled to the enhanced maternity pay from them on top of SMP. So you could be entitled to SMP but not enhanced maternity.

EMP - needs to be continuously employed for at least 26 weeks and will qualify for 26 weeks full pay and 52 weeks leave.

SMP - needs to be employed by the company for at least 26 weeks and will qualify for 6 weeks pay at 90% of weekly earnings, remaining 33 weeks set at governments average weekly earnings.

for EMP it just says provided they have also met the requirements for Statutory leave.