quick question about SMP and MATB1 certificate

[froggy16]

Hi all, I have finally got my MATB1 certificate from midwife, do I give the original certificate to employer or do I give her a copy?
Also, been having hard time sleeping as I'm worrying my employer will get my SMP wrong or something!! Is it easy for her to work out? She is not the brightest button in the box when it comes to pay etc, and it's just me, her and one other person at work so it's completely down to her to work it out.
Thanks in advance, I hope you can put my mind at rest!

You have to give her the original, you could keep a copy for yourself, she needs it in order to claim the SMP.
If you are only going to receive the basic SMP then it is all defined in law she can look it up on the DWP website. Its 90% of full pay for 6 weeks followed by £117.18 for the remainder of paid leave.

Give her the original.

In terms of the SMP - if you are worried maybe sit down with her and ask her exactly how much you will be getting and check you agree.

FWIW it can worth both ways, my qualifying period (8 weeks) took in my work's Christmas bonus month. Therefore 90% of my qualifying salary has led to me being paid more for sitting on my arse, eating cake waiting for baby to arrive than I would be paid if I was at work! I had no idea at all that this counted until I got my pay slip.

Thanks! I will have to sit down and talk to her about it!

The rules can be found here in terms of what counts

www.dwp.gov.uk/advisers/ni17a/smp/smp_2.asp#weeklyearnings

If your company uses Sage Line 50 or Sage Payroll (which like 99.999% of companies do these days) she can ring Sage and get a software update that does the calculations for her.

BTW - SMP is actually £123.06 for financial year 09/10 (starting 1 April 09)

(Ooops, that should be 5 April)

thanks, I think we do use sage, thats really useful to know!

HI there,

Has anyone tried getting a MAT B1 certificate after the baby is born ?.. As i am a company director payng myself a minimum wage i didn't think i was entitled to but i have just found out that i can from my accountant but i never applied for a MAT B1 from my midwife and now my baby is 8wks old.. Does anyone know how i can get a MAT b1 and if i can still get maternity allowance ?