Maternity Pay - at how many weeks..?

[questions2008]

sorry if this kind of question has been done to death...

I was wondering, if I was to stop working (not go onmaternity leave but actually give up) at 25 weeks pregnant having been consecutively employed for the past 18 months and earning over 90 pw, would I still be entitled to SMP? Or would being 'unemployed' mean I wouldn't get anything?

tia!

bump!

Try the direct gov website they have a section on maternity rights, should have the info you're looking for.

www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Moneyandworkentitlements/WorkAndFamilies/Pregnancyandmat ernityrights/index.htm

Or try posting this question on the employment topic of MNET, some good advice given there often.

I think you might be entitled to maternity allowance rather than SMP???

You would get maternity allowance instead of smp.

right, i would still get MA, which is about 117 pw? and would the ex-employer pay this or do i have to apply via jobcentre?

thanks for your replies!

You would apply. There's a form online and you send it to the jobcentre.

The amount you get depends on how much you earn. Think it's 90% of your earnings, up to a max payment of £113-ish. If you continued working though, smp would pay more for the first 6 weeks (I think it's 6 weeks) so worth thinking about.

You wouldn't have to work that much longer to get SMP - about 3 weeks I think. Then you would get 6 weeks at 90%.