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The staffroom

Whether you're a permanent teacher, supply teacher or student teacher, you'll find others in the same situation on our Staffroom forum.

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Original poster

Maternity Pay

9 replies

twinmamma2b · 15/08/2016 16:14

My DC1 is due two days after we break up for a school holiday. Does anyone know if it is possible for mat pay to start on the first day of the next term or does it have to start on your due date?

OP posts:

noblegiraffe · 15/08/2016 16:23

It automatically starts when the baby is actually born.

ClockMakerSue · 15/08/2016 16:34

It starts from when you choose to begin mat leave (before the babies are born) or it starts when the babies are born, whichever comes first. If you take a year mat leave, you'll be paid through next year's hols though at normal pay.

Original poster

twinmamma2b · 15/08/2016 16:48

All the hols through the year, Sue?

OP posts:

cexuwaleozbu · 15/08/2016 18:27

I get what you mean OP - the pay you receive in holidays is the pay you have actually earned during term time, being spread over the year for your own convenience. I'm afraid I don't know if the system has a solution to this but you cannot start your mat leave any later than the day your baby is born. Unless you find there is a better approach, I would advise you to state that you want ML to start the day your baby is born, and then hope that he or she is a bit late arriving.

If you took 12 weeks ML starting from the first day of a 2 week school holiday, your X weeks at 90% of normal pay will include 2 weeks that you would have been paid for anyway, and you will get less money than the same amount of mat leave starting on the first day of term. Definitely unfair.

However, if you are planning to take a full 52 weeks of maternity leave it should make pretty much no difference as once 52 weeks have elapsed and you are no longer on ML then your normal pay will resume which will effectively be the pay that you "missed out on" at the start, so will have lost nothing.

cexuwaleozbu · 15/08/2016 18:29

failed to read that back before posting - I mean that your return to work at the end of mat leave will presumably also be at the start of the holiday giving you some extra paid leave.

ClockMakerSue · 16/08/2016 13:52

Sorry I wasn't clear-you know when it is in your head?!

Basically what cex said. If your mat leave starts at the beginning of a holiday, then if you take the full year and don't return until the holiday again, you'll get paid through that holiday.

Original poster

twinmamma2b · 16/08/2016 18:01

Thanks for your help all - it's much appreciated.

Unfortunately, at the moment it looks like I'll only be able to afford to take 2 terms. It's definitely an unfair system, particularly when you consider that many other civil servants get 6 months full pay and 6 months half pay, plus annual leave accrued and paid in full! Oh well!

OP posts:

ClockMakerSue · 17/08/2016 10:30

I agree. You get 10 KIT days (keeping in touch days) you could use to top up money as they are paid at full pay and you can use as many as you want.

tapismagique · 17/08/2016 10:45

civil servants have great mat pay, don't they? I work at a university therefore public sector and it's pretty good, but not in that league.

another thing you could consider is switching to shared parental leave if possible, even if you don't actually share it with your partner, because that comes (in my case, at least) with 20 keeping-in-touch days i think this was an incentive to get men to take it! which you could use for planning time etc

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