Qualifying for Enhanced Maternity Pay?

[CalaLilly]

I know this varies from company to company but I was wondering if I could calculate an average for the length of service needed to qualify for Enhanced maternity Pay? I'm guessing it's one year at the time of infants birth (or due date in the event of a prem delivery?!)

I currently work for the NHS but am thinking about applying for a job in the voluntary sector (a children's hospice to be precise). I'm desperate to start trying for a baby asap but have waited this long so don't see the point in throwing away EMP at this late stage! I know I'd be fine for SMP or Maternity allowance but I'd like a wee bit more than that if possible.

Thanks!

Have you checked the charity even has a EMP policy, I'd be surprised tbh.

I've not checked directly but I have heard from other nurses who have worked in paid jobs in the voluntary sector who say that (though they can't remember specifics), these kind of charities offer competitive staff benefits, as compared to the NHS. Reading around other HR guidelines etc it seems that most companies in the voluntary sector do offer EMP which is similar to what I'd get in the NHS (full pay for 6 weeks, 1/2 pay for a further 33 weeks then SMP equivalent for another 12 weeks kind of thing).

Very surprising, I know, but charities can actually be very stable businesses who want to offer staff an extra incentive to return. (I know that these kind of jobs seem like an incentive in themselves but they recognise that, much as people would like to work for free, they need to earn a decent living!).

Forget about the charity-ness.... I'm just interested to know how long people have had to work in there job to qualify for any contractual maternity pay that their company offers?

Cheers!

Varies company to company. No point in looking at average - you either get it or don't. I will not qualify as here its 2 years before date of going on maternity leave and I'll have only been here for 13 months. When DD was born I'd only been there for 9 months and I qualified for it as with that company you only needed not to be pregnant when you started. Clearly its hard to ask that at an interview - although if you get offered a job you can ask for list of benefits.

re: incentive to return - don't agree that any extra maternity pay offers an incentive to return unless its repayable if you don't or structured as return to work bonus.

Thank you! That is incredibly helpful information! Guess I'll just wait and see and ask to see the staff benefits booklet if I am to be offered a job!

RE: My incentive to return comments.
They came from guidance notes for Voluntary Organisations which were written by the Umbrella body for voluntary organisations in Scotland. They wrote
"Encouraging experienced employees to return to work is in every employer?s interest. Employees who feel valued by the organisation will be loyal, committed workers and one way of achieving this is by offering enhanced maternity benefits."

That was part of my thinking. Also, a lot of the contractual maternity pays that I've come across seem to have a clause where-by employees must return to work for a certain period or have to re-pay certain maternity costs.

I think that I'm over-thinking on all this and just need to bite the bullet and go with the flow! Being a NICU nurse, I'm more than aware that pregnancy is not something that can be planned out in a regimented way anyway! I need to stop pretending that it is!

Wow. The NHS sounds fabulous. My employer offers limited EMB after two years of service (i.e. two years service before your EDC). And even then it is nothing like the NHS package you described.

Yeah, working for the NHS has it's downsides but the maternity package is amazing! No wonder there is about 5 women in my team who are off on mat leave at any one time!