Maternity allowance and temporary contract

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Hi everyone,

I am a student who will start a new job in April (exact start date not set yet). I also just found out I'm pregnant and am hoping to become eligible for Maternity Allowance. If I understand correctly, I need to have earned for 26 weeks. How do they calculate this? Is it till the due date, or is the leave you may take at the end of the pregnancy excluded? So say if you stop working four weeks before the due date, will you need to have worked 26 weeks before that, or 22?

Another question, I will be on a temporary contract. When on maternity leave, does the time on the contract get paused, or does it keep going. So say I'm on a 24 month contract, I go on maternity leave after 6 months and come back after 6 months, do I have 12 or 18 months left on the contract?

I have no clue!

employed or self-employed for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before the week your baby is due and earning at least £30 a week over any 13-week period www.gov.uk/maternity-allowance/eligibility . Technically you are still employed while on ml. ML is within the original 24 months' contract.

Thank you!