splitting maternity leave between parents

[pmgkt]

I am self employed and so qualify for maternity allowance, my husband is employed by the local council. How would it work if he took mat leave instead of me as the new government changes allow. I mean from a money point of view mainly but any other help is appreciated.

Hi, we started our swop today. I'm self-employed too and have had Maternity Allowance since 1st Jan. My partner notified his work in April that he was going to take his full 26 weeks additional paternity leave and I had to sign the form to confirm I was going back to work, etc. Your husband's allowed up to 26 wks from the day your leave ends as long as it's 20+ wks since the birth and until your baby is 1.

Pay is different. You're entitled to 39wks MA so however many wks remaining of that when you swop, he gets as (taxable) statutory paternity pay (same amount). So my partner will get SPP until end Sept and then his remaining leave is unpaid. Really it's the 39wks pay that is split, the leave is consecutive and can be longer than a year in total. Ask me if you've other Qs. It's wonderful so far!

thank you freelance, I dont think it is feesable for us to do it, It would have been ok if i had gone back after DS1 as we earnt similar money but since ds1 i set up my own small business working 1 day a week ( so only get 90% of wages under MA anyway) I think he will have to take paternity leave and then some holiday and maybe the odd week unpaid and i'll go back to work after 39 weeks.

One other thing though, I know you cant work and claim smp when employed but do the same rules apply with MA, cos obviously some business's will still earn money without actually going to work? and also can you have KIT days to keep in touch with clients?

You're allowed 10 Keeping In Touch days if claiming MA. I got clarification on this and was told I could do paid work on 10 individual calendar days (could be 1hrs work, or 11hrs but it still counts as one of your 10 days) i.e. Work I would be later paid for, but I could do stuff like respond to emails, update my website, do my accounts, etc. (the stuff I don't invoice clients for) without it counting towards the 10.

Actually you can earn money through self-employment whilst on leave as an employee (provided your contract doesn't prevent it). Have you started your leave yet? If not, it might not be too late to pay 13 weeks of Class 2 NI and then be able to get the full MA of 133.50 per week. Also, your husband could take some paternity leave when you go back at 39wks - check his work's paternity leave policy. And he can take unpaid parental leave too whether you're on leave or not

I'm nearly 16 weeks and so think it is too late. I do pay some ni, the 2.50 a week but that only allows me to claim 90% of weekly wages I think. If I can work and still receive ma that is great. I need to get myself in gear and do last years tax return and look into this. I can't submit claim til I've got my mat b 1 though can I so not panicing yet. I much prefer being employed where some one else sorts it all for you.

As I only do 1 day a week 10 days would be 10 weeks so quite a long time for me. Might well mean I can keep my clients I have rather than lose them and need new ones. That said with the increase child benefit for an extra one I'd be on the same money so going back earlier than 29 weeks just seems silly, and I don't think any of my clients would wait that long. I do cleaning and ironing so I don't think their houses could wait!

Oh but I could do fortnightly not weekly to keep them ticking over! Thanks freelance you have got me thinking.

Oh good. :)
By the way, I rang the MA phone number (the JobCentre manage Maternity Allowance) a couple of times and they were extremely helpful. For example, I originally had a small earnings exception certificate which meant I didn't have to pay the Class 2 NI (which I think is the £2.50 one you're talking about) but I spoke to them and said I was planning to have a baby (ahem - was about halfway through my pregnancy!) and wanted to pay Class 2 NI so I could get Maternity Allowance and they explained how to return my certificate and that I only needed to pay 13 weeks worth in order to get it. I would definitely give them a call if I were you - they seemed v keen to help me get the full amount, which was a pleasant surprise. It's worth finding out asap as I don't think you're too late at all.

Alternatively...this is a good way of getting rid of any clients you don't want anymore ;)

I've managed to keep all my clients. I think it helped giving them plenty of advance notice, explaining when I'd be available again, keeping in touch with them, etc. And if you know someone who might stand in for you in the short term maybe they could cover any cleaning/ironing to give you a few weeks break?

Hi freelance, thanks for all your help with this. I have looked into it this evening and found out exactly what i need to do. Thanks to the stupidity of our benefits system i will be £60 a week better off after having number 2 (inc child benefit increase) than working. so I'm thinking sod the clients, i'm forever turning down new enquires so i'll get new ones, that will be more local to home too. And if they are prepared to wait while i have 19 weeks off, i can do fortnightly KIT days until 39 weeks. sorted - i know it doesnt sound professional to say sod them but that is a lot of money to lose, plus travel on top and supplies that i get for little things etc. plus DS1 will start preschool by the time my 39 weeks is up so mil who is my child care will only have 1 child to look after, i wont have to juggle in breast feeding somehow, ohhh thanks thanks thanks you have made me feel so much better. xx

:) Huzzah! Glad it looks like it's going to work out for you. And glad I was able to help. I remember thinking that dealing with applying for MA and sorting out NI and tax is especially hard when pregnant because the consequences of getting it wrong have an emotional kick attached to them. Like having to go back to work sooner than you wanted because of finances. Good luck with the rest of the pregnancy.