SMP question please!

[Sparklyblue]

Hi,
My friend is on SSP from work at the mo, she is 25 weeks pregnant. When she reaches 29 weeks will her pay automatically change to SMP.
She works for a small family firm and they have no clue and are asking my friend to find out for them
She worked full time and has been there for over 2 years.
Thanks

No. If she's off sick she's off sick. She can choose to start maternity leave from 29 weeks if she wants to, but the earliest her employers can start it because she is off sick is 36 weeks. So if she's still off sick at that point, they can forcibly start her maternity leave and start paying SMP instead of SSP.

Not impressed at all at your friend's employer asking her to find this out for her btw. It's not exactly hard to find out, and it's their responsibility.

If they are this clueless and can't be bothered to find out about maternity pay and rights I suggest your friend makes doubly sure she is aware of all her rights and makes sure she gets them.

Thanks very much. Is there a website that can direct her to the right info?

Start from www.direct.gov.uk I would guess.

And they can only force her to start maternity leave at 36 weeks if she is off sick for a pregnancy related condition.