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Original poster

EDD and Maternity Pay

17 replies

Heysnooks · 24/01/2011 18:22

A question to anyone that may be able to help......

I started a new teaching job in September (was an agency teacher before) and was very careful to check beforehand when I could concieve so I would be eligible for SMP.

I was then VERY lucky to get pregnant in September and, according to all the maternity rights ''calculators'', I was eligible for SMP, according to the date of my LMP and when my contract started.

However, at my 12 week scan, they said that the baby was relatively large and therefore brought the due date forward by 9 days. I checked the government website and discovered, with the adjusted EDD, that I am no longer eligible for SMP, as I started work 3 days after the start date specified. I am still eligible for MA, which is something, but the difference between SMP and MA is £3000. I have been told that they so go by the date of this scan (which was the first i have ever heard of this, as LMP is always talked about as working out EDD).

I have to get my MATB1 from my doctor in the next couple of weeks and hope she may be sympathetic though I know this is a very long shot, despite the fact I had a very regular cycle, used a ovulation test and am convinced of my dates (it is one of 2!).

I would love some advice or to know if anyone has been in a similar position. £3000 is a lot of money to 'lose' when a baby is on the way (particularly for the sake of 3 days!).

Thank you to anyone who can help!

OP posts:

hairyfairylights · 24/01/2011 19:49

www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/specialist-guides/technical-guidance/ni17a-a-guide-to-maternity/statutory-maternity-pay-smp/when-smp-is-paid/

looks like if is officially the due date as supplied by dating scan to me.

hairyfairylights · 24/01/2011 19:53

It is common practice to date by lmp up until the 12 week scan, when you are officially "dated" according to size.

flowery · 24/01/2011 19:57

You are required to provide medical evidence of when the baby is due. This is normally the MATB1 as you know. Your employer will take the date put on there as being correct - they don't make any medical decision or want to know details of scans to compare with LMP or anything. The medical professional's assessment of your due date as on the MATB1 is enough.

So really your best bet is to emphasise to your doctor your LMP dates, ovulation test and cycle and hope she is happy to use those to establish your due date for the MATB1.

flowery · 24/01/2011 19:58

I've no idea about whether, when completing the MATB1, the doctor is under any medical guidance as to how to work out the date btw, but from the employer's point of view, the date on the form is the one they go by.

Original poster

Heysnooks · 25/01/2011 13:19

Thank you so much for all the advice - I can but wait until I see the doctor in a couple of weeks and see what she has to say.

OP posts:

whostolemyname · 25/01/2011 21:36

I feel for you but i think it would be very unfair of you to even ask your doctor to do this. Matb1s are legal documents - the doctor or midwife has to put their registration details on them. Its nothing to do with them being sympathetic, but they would be breaking the law to to not put the 'official' due date. Sorry.

RibenaBerry · 26/01/2011 14:01

Oh gosh, it's such a shame you didn't know this before the scan. When they are just talking about adjusting due to size, many sonographers will take your opinion into account and not adjust the due date if you are sure on your dates and have financial implications from doing so. I have had two friends have this happen.

Just to say though, you won't be getting the MATB1 until at least 25 weeks pregnant, and surely you'll be having an anomoly scan at that point? Particularly if growth has slowed, might they not adjust the EDD back again by a few days?

cazzybabs · 26/01/2011 14:05

were you doing temp work for your current school because you may be able to argue (with the help of your union) that it is counted towards SMP

Original poster

Heysnooks · 26/01/2011 18:43

Sadly, it did not register at the initial scan that it would affect SMP , I was just so relieved at everything was ok. I have my anomoly scan tomorrow so can see what is happening then.
I know exactly what you are saying whostolemyname and am not wanting to put anyone in a difficult, or worse, position; it just seems a bit hard to swallow given that even the sonographer said it was unlikely the baby would come on the revised date and it was just a guideline. If it were my 'slip-up', I would not even be asking about this. If I can't get SMP, I can't get it and we will do whatever we have to to provide for our little one but I just want to discuss the situation with my doctor.
In the end, I am very lucky - i am 41 and got pregnant in the first month we tried. I expected to wait for months, or worse, so I have a lot to be thankful for!

OP posts:

HappyMummyOfOne · 26/01/2011 19:55

Starting a new job and planning to get pg as soon as you started was always going to be risky date wise.

I wouldnt ask the doctor/midwife to alter either - one as its not fair on them and two as the school will be out of pocket as well if they pay the extra and you are not entitled - very unfair given you were pg within a couple of days of taking the job.

mamadoc · 29/01/2011 21:02

Hell I would do it for you! It isn't lying EDD is hardly an exact science. In the days before dating scans your date would have been taken. In our area they only take the scan date if it is more than 7 days different.
I think it is ok to explain the situation to your GP/midwife. If they feel it would be unethical to put your date they are under no obligation to do so.

moocowme · 30/01/2011 11:37

you could always see a private obstetrician for an opinion.

eviscerateyourmemory · 30/01/2011 11:42

Are you sure that you have worked out the relatibe amounts of SMP/MA properly. I thought that it usually worked out around the same amount?

I think that if you are genuinely concerned that the EDD you have been given is wrong it would be reasonable to raise this with your midwife, but if you introduce the question of your maternity pay into this then you are being unfair. But make sure that you have the figures right, I know that MA vs SMP for me would have made virtually no difference.

flowery · 30/01/2011 11:45

eviscerate there can be a lot of difference depending how much you earn. The basic amounts are the same or similar, not sure, but with SMP the first 6 weeks are paid at 90% of whatever your salary is, so potentially that could be a lot more.

eviscerateyourmemory · 30/01/2011 11:50

maybe I had worked it out wrong then? I know that some doctors who move jobs frequently find themselves claiming MA instead of SMP and they never seem too bothered. Does occupational maternity pay even out that difference?

flowery · 30/01/2011 12:11

If you're not entitled to SMP it's unlikely you'd be entitled to any occupational maternity pay anyway. You'd get SMP if you've been employed 26 weeks by week 25 of pregnancy which means you need to have been employed before you got pregnant. Most employers wouldn't pay OMP to someone who was already pregnant before they started work.

Honeydragon · 30/01/2011 12:21

My edd date was changed at my 20 week scan and this is the one they go by. I knew my conception date exactly as my dh works away but at my first scan they bought my due date forward by over a week. When I queries this the lady scanning said I was wrong and that I must have conceived on such and such a date, as dh was in Italy at the time that must have been on he'll of a booty call

At my 20 scan they went by my dates and decided dd was big compared to mu size and reverted back to the correct dates and used these for my records and that was the date used on my matb1.

In fact iirc my midwife changed the date by one day to make my due date fall on a Friday instead of Thursday at her suggestion, just to make life easier for facts and figures

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