Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Work

Chat with other users about all things related to working life on our Work forum.

Flip

Original poster

A maternity pay and premature baby query....

10 replies

Nic512 · 07/12/2011 23:22

Hi,
I'm posting this on behalf of my partner who is still in hospital after giving birth to a gorgeous baby boy on monday.
My partner started a new job 25 weeks ago, Her due date was early January and the 26 weeks rule for maternity pay would be next week but he appeared 5 weeks premature.
As we have missed the 26 weeks cut off she thinks we wont be entitled to anything at all. Is she right?
Thanks.

OP posts:

flowerytaleofNewYork · 07/12/2011 23:25

Due date is what counts, not actual birth date, so the fact that your little boy was early isn't a problem. However your partner needed to have completed 26 weeks service by the qualifying week, which is 15 weeks before her due date, so she wouldn't have qualified for Statutory Maternity Pay anyway.

She may be entitled to Maternity Allowance though, which is very similar.

flowerytaleofNewYork · 07/12/2011 23:26

Congratulations btw!

aubergineinautumn · 07/12/2011 23:58

Is she off sick ATM?

flowerytaleofNewYork · 08/12/2011 06:36

What makes you think she might be off sick aubergine? Even if she originally planned her mat leave to start later it will have started now she's had the baby.

Ellypoo · 08/12/2011 09:43

HR should have advised her that she won't be entitled to SMP because she hadn't been employed for 26 weeks by the time she was 25 wks pregnant, so she could have put the forms in for maternity allowance in plenty of time.
There should be advice on direct.gov.uk with the forms to complete etc.

Ellypoo · 08/12/2011 09:44

Congratulations on the birth of your baby Son too, by the way xx

PrincessScrumpy · 09/12/2011 13:06

It's the edd estimated due date on the scan they go by. Her mat leave should start the day after baby is born if her mat leave date was later. But it's quite close re dates so call up hr and check - extra hassle but the quicker you do it the quicker you'll feel at ease.

flowerytaleofNewYork · 09/12/2011 13:46

It's not remotely close in terms of date Princess - the OPs partner was due in January which means she needed 26 weeks service by Sept/Oct time.

Original poster

Nic512 · 09/12/2011 21:42

Thanks for the replies. We are going to do some more research next week, fingers crossed we are entitled to something.

OP posts:

iFailedTheTuringTest · 15/12/2011 20:54

Hi, this happened to me. I was told due date was what counts, not birthdate. I got my full mat Entitlement. You might not get much if you wernt entitled anyway, but a prem baby shouldn't mean you miss out.
It even works with the new mums nhs charges exemption. Due date, not birthdate. Congratulations.

Flip