Unpaid SMP - WORKING PARENTS CHILDCARE CODE

[Bethany1994]

Hi all,

I'm praying someone knows the answer for me and there is nothing exact on the Internet.

I am a single mum currently coming to the end of my maternity leave, I am about to go into the unpaid part of my leave. However to get my 4 year olds funding code who is going to school in september I must be earning £195 per week.. for the next 3 months.. which I won't be.. I am going back to work in August where I will be earning over this threshold.. I currently get my older child's code through "working parents gov log in portal" and have always done it this way.. I have attached an image of what I have seen on the Internet but earning £2539 before tax equivalent to £195 per week and the example of do not have regular income but earning £10,158 per year which is the same as earning £2539 over the next 3 months are both quite contradicting.. as when I go back to work in August I will be back to earning more than the threshold explained.

Every 3 months you have to reconfirm your details and it asks if you are earning x amount per week for the next 3 months ..am I supposed to put no and then have to take my child out of nursery right before they are due to start school in 4 months?

If anyone has been in this situation I would appreciate your experiences.

Unfortunately it is a quirk of the system whereby you have to be earning to qualify.

It should be flagged up more imo as a few people I know have been caught out by it. Unless it has changed very recently then you don't qualify for it in the unpaid part of mat leave.

You get a grace period so it should be fine.

Can you take your annual leave accrued during your paid maternity leave, now, and put that in for this renewal? Then you'll be back at work in 3 months for the next one.

Alot of people on another post on here have said it is OK as when you have to reconfirm your changes you just state that your on maternity leave (which i already have anyway since being on maternity leave) and then when you click your not going to be earning time threshold it is OK as your still on maternity leave? 😐 very mixed reviews.