I'm really confused about maternity/paternity pay, can anyone help?

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My baby is due in February and I plan to go back to work on 30th June (I'm a teacher} I imagine I will use about 24 weeks maternity pay.

Am I able to transfer the remaining maternity pay to paternity pay for my husband? Up to the 39 weeks, so about 15 weeks worth?

I am on full pay during the summer and will obviously be at home, so there would be an 8 week gap between me finishing maternity pay and my dh starting paternity pay - is this ok?

I'm just a bit confused about it all

The new system of shared parental leave doesn't start till 2015 so your DH will only be entitled to 2 weeks of paternity leave in total, is my understanding.

I'm pretty sure your maternity pay is non transferable

How much you claim/use is up to you

So are there no arrangements at all in place currently to share the 1 years leave? I honestly thought that it was possible to split it between the mother and father.

Ah, no, sorry, it changed in 2011, so long as you're entitled to maternity pay but have returned to work and stopped claiming it, your DH can apply for additional paternity leave, so long as it's after 20 weeks and taken in a single block. Can't see anything that says there can't be a gap.

You can transfer up to 20 weeks of your maternity leave but not the maternity pay to your DH - he will be entitled to whatever his company pay, not what yours does.

Oooh, this is an interesting one.

Yes, your DP can have the remaining 13 weeks of leave and pay - my own DP will be doing this too.

However, I had been hoping to take 4 weeks A/L to allow me a further months leave with him, as a family. But you have to have returned to work and not be on annual leave according to the information I have found. However being a teacher and it being school hols - I'm not sure where you will stand on this one!

I'd suggest you might need specialist advice on this one, although hopefully another teacher who has done the same might come along and let you know if it is possible or not!

But on the face of it, yes, your DP can take the final part of your leave and maternity pay.

www.gov.uk/additional-paternity-leave-pay-employees

This website seems to explain it quite well www.out-law.com/en/topics/employment/family-friendly/what-employers-need-to-know-about-additional-paternity-leave/

Your DH can take 26 weeks leave before the baby's first birthday, but can only claim statutory pay for whatever you've got left from your 39 weeks' pay. So he could have longer than the 15 weeks paid leave you've got left, but would have to take it unpaid.

The information and links are really useful, thank you so much!

On the holiday point, I returned to work but on annual leave and my DH started his additional paternity leave at the same time so we overlapped for 3 weeks (which was ace!).