unsure of how my maternity will work,can u help?

[weemocky]

hi guys, i am employed fulltime with nhs. and have been employed by them for nearly 4 years. though in the last year, my sickness has been very poor. i am suffering depression, which may be caused by a bout of bullying at work last year. my boss moved me but i was never treated until now.

i am 23 weeks pregnant, and at 11 weeks my doctor put me back out on long term sick due to the depression. i understand that i can stay on the sick until 34 weeks, until they sign me off on maternity.

i am wondering how this will affect my money?? does any1 know??? gettin very anxious about it. i know the nhs has good maternity package but not quite sure what exactly it is, and can my partner claim workin tax credit when the baby comes while i am on maternity??

They can only force you to take maternity 4 weeks before your due date if you are off sick with a pregnancy related illness. You however can choose to start maternity leave sooner.

In terms of finances, it would be difficult to answer without knowing what you get for sick pay & maternity pay. Also, bear in mind that the longer you have off before baby is born, the less time you have off afterwards. Sounds silly, but if you have to pay child care when you return to work you may be better off leaving the maternity leave for as long as you can!

Speak to HR about your maternity entitlements. Not sure about tax credits. Sorry!

thnx so much for ur reply poogles, its appreciated :)

You really need to look at your maternity policy to find out how being off sick will affect things.

For statutory maternity pay, the amount you get (and whether you get any) is worked out based on your average earnings between weeks 17 and 25 of your pregnancy. So as you've been off sick for that time, whether you get SMP and how much you get will depend how much your sick pay has been.

But NHS has a good package as you say, so you will need to look at the policy to find out what their rules are about how much you get and how that's worked out.