Currently on rolling 3 month contracts - do I get company maternity pay?

[digitalgirl]

Am only 12 weeks pg and am still waiting for my dating scan next week before informing HR of my pregnancy. I've been working for the same company for the last 18 months on a rolling contract. I've had a two week unpaid break - as requested by the company for tax purposes. I pay my own tax, but I get paid holiday and sick days. Will I be entitled to company maternity pay, statutory maternity pay or will I need to apply for Maternity Allowance? I've always assumed I'd be on MA and have saved up accordingly, but just wondered if there was any chance I'd be eligible for SMP seeing as I've been here for a while (albeit as a 'permanancer')

I think you should be able to get SMP if you have continuity of employment with that employer for more than 6 months. I don't think the type of contract you are on makes a difference, or it didn't for me when I was in your shoes.

Ah, thanks. My break was mid-June, so I'll definitely have had 26 weeks continuous service by the time I'm 25 weeks. SMP's slightly better than MA isn't it?

Yes I think so - it's (or it was) 6 weeks at 90% pay then £120(ish) per week for 33 weeks. You may be eligible for the company scheme which is probably even better. Have they got a good HR dept who can advise?

Oh, I've just reread and you don't want to tell HR yet. Do they have an intranet site with HR policies on? You can probably find out from that whether you're eligible for their scheme.

Yes - I've been looking on the intranet and it says something about more than 26 weeks service by qualifying week which is:

Employees with 26 weeks service or more as at the Qualifying Week (15 weeks prior to the Expected Week of Childbirth) but less than 1 year
Pay ? You will be entitled to SMP, which is currently:
Higher Rate - 90% of your average weekly earnings for 6 weeks
And
Lower Rate of SMP for the next 33 weeks (currently £124.88 per week from April 2010)

I'd get an amazing 16 weeks on full pay if I'd worked continuously for a full year...but I think the 2 week's unpaid break in June has scuppered that (that was enforced by them not renewing my contract for two weeks).

Hoping to avoid talking HR for as long as possible - my immediate manager knows - but I don't trust HR not to kick up a fuss about my next contract renewal (end of Oct). I don't think they need a reason not to renew it, so wouldn't be able to claim discrimination.