Working part-time during maternity leave and claiming SMP from main employer

[Marabou]

Hey everyone!

I've been trying to find information regarding this issue via Direct.gov-pages and via Job Centre Plus, but for some reason no one's been able to give me a convincing answer as yet, so I was hoping that perhaps someone here has been in a similar situation..

I am now 24 weeks pregnant and due to start maternity leave in the beginning of May and will be claiming company maternity pay + SMP from my main employer (employer A). I have also been working part-time for another employer (employer B) since November 2010, i.e. when I was c. 15-16 weeks pregnant. I will not be eligible to receive SMP from employer B due to my low working hours and salary from them, but I would like to continue working for them during my maternity leave.

So far as I understand, my working for employer B should not affect my maternity pay from employer A, as I have been working for both employers 15 weeks before my EDD. Could anyone confirm that this is in fact so?

Many thanks for any info!

Hi

See my thread here
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/employment_issues/1032177-Taking-mat-leave-from-one-employer-and-continuing-to-work

and also ring citizens advice. They confirmed it was ok and then wrote me a letter confirming it in case any one needed proof.

Hope that helps.

Sorry meant to say - I am in the same situation and was told it is allowed. You should inform both employers.

Thanks so much Lcy, very helpful indeed!

And I had not thought of citizens advice either, will definitely ring them up and ask for proof in writing along with the DWP guide. Hopefully that will suffice for my employer.

Sorry to ask you yet another question, but I was wondering whether you are claiming tax credits and if your part-time work nullifies your entitlement or not..? I realise of course that it is perhaps difficult to compare, as tax credits depend on so many different factors..

Hi
Yes i get the basic tax credit - £80 a month with new baby entitlement. They are aware of both jobs and it has not made any difference. I don't think it is number of jobs but the amount you earn that effects tax credits. Perhaps call the helpline and check?

Enjoy your upcoming mat leave

Hi again!

Many thanks again!

Yeah I think it is how much you earn and how many hours/week you work (at least for the working tax credit, which I think I won't be getting anyway, as I only work 10h/week with the part-time job..). I called the helpline and they sent me the application, which I filled in and sent off. They basically told me to apply straight away, because even though I would not get anything at the moment, because once do I qualify, it would be faster to just ring them up again and update my details in the existing claim and re-calculate the entitlement... Hopefully it will be quite straight forward..

Unfortunately I think by the time my maternity leave starts, the new baby element will have been scrapped

Congrats on your new baby and hope you're enjoying every moment !

Oh one thing I forgot to ask earlier is did you have to stop work for the two first weeks after giving birth? I wasn't sure if this is only a legal requirement for the employer who pays the SMP...

The first two weeks after giving birth are what's called Compulsory Maternity Leave and are just that - compulsory. It's for health reasons basically, to ensure you can physically recover from the birth before being able to come back to work, so it makes no difference whether you're entitled to SMP or not.

Thanks for the info flowery! Makes sense..