SMP question- please help

[Dormeuse]

Hi, I'm sorry if I've posted this in the wrong place but I'm new here and really need an answer and this seemed the best place! Hope someone can clear something up for me...

I've been working for a company for 6 months as a temp and they're about to make me permanent (yay!). Thing is, I'm desperate to try for a baby in a couple of months but can't afford not to get SMP.

The rule is standard, I 'must have worked for your employer continuously for at least 26 weeks up to the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth - called the ‘qualifying week’.

This is where I get a bit lost. I think I get it but don't want to get my maths wrong! Can someone please tell me simply when I could start trying to conceive so that I'd be safely within that smp timescale?

I hope someone out there can help, I don't feel comfortable having this conversation with HR just yet!

As far as I understood as long as you have been working for the company for 26w by the 25w of pregnancy you're ok, I don't know if it matters if you're temp or permanent

Thanks for getting back to me :) ... so basically as long as I wasn't pregnant by the time my contract started I should be ok?

Sorry if it seems like a really dim question!

Yes, although remember that you count pregnancy weeks from the first date of your cycle, so when you first find out you are already 4 weeks pregnant.

To be safe, make sure you have a period after you start the job, then try from that cycle.

Although I think as you've been there for 6 months already that counts as part of your continuous employment but somebody wiser will be able to confirm that.

Thanks so much.... we weren't going to start trying til mid-late March anyway, so I think it'll be ok but I just want to make sure!