Unsure what to do about maternity pay

[Froghopper]

Hello, I'm a first time poster here and have a problem I hope someone can help me with.

I am 25 weeks pregnant (first time) with twins and work part-time in a shop, 20 hours a week.

I have been treated by my boss during my pregnancy in ways that have been very unsupportive and upsetting. Consequently I feel that I deserve much better treatment and don't want to return after my paid maternity is up.

I however feel very uncertain about how to proceed as the economic climate is so difficult. My partner and I have barely enough money to pay the rent as it is and I am reluctant to take a gamble as a job is a job after all.

I have currently told my boss that I will return after 39 weeks (She actually scowled at me! This was the last straw).

Does any body know if I could still claim maternity pay and if so for how long if I said that I wasn't coming back now? I have scoured the government sites and have not been able to find the answer to this.

I would much prefer to make a clean break now than risk being pushed out in a underhand manner.

Any other ideas would be gratefully appreciated too.

Many thanks.

You are perfectly entitled to go on maternity leave, inform your boss you intend to return to work at some point, then inform them at the end of your maternity leave that you have changed your mind. As long as you have only received statutory maternity pay you will not have to pay any of it back.

Never tell a boss (especially one as nasty as this one) before going on maternity leave that you are definitely not returning to work as I think that you would have effectively resigned and would lose your entitlement to maternity pay from them.

Are there extra payments for your maternity pay above the govt minimum?

I get extra on top of the minimum and if I'd left work after a years mat leave they could have made me pay it back.

Do NOT make a clean break now, just claim your mat leave and then inform them 8 weeks before the end of your year off that you don't intend to go back to work.

Plus you were also be entitled to your holiday accured whilst on maternity leave.

Provided you leave close enough to your due date, you can leave and still receive SMP. Think it's 15 weeks pre EWC, but you'd want to double check that.

However, DietCoke is right, if you stay employed, you will also accrue holiday at full pay.

Finally, strictly speaking you can say at the outset you are not coming back, but are not resigning, so you are taking your full leave. It's like giving a lot of notice. In that situation, you should still get holiday and SMP, but employers often twist your words if you don't get on with them, so it's more risky re the holiday.

ps Congratulations!

Thank you very much for the advice everyone, I really appreciate it.xXx