Statutory & Company Maternity Policy - Help required around interpretation

[Galderine]

Dear all,

Just joined! This is my first post here.

I am looking for some help in confirming or correcting the interpretation I make of my company maternity policy and neither my Employee Assistance Programme nor ACAS seem to be able to help me.
So if you have experience, an HR or legal background, I thank you in advance for any help you can provide me with.

The SMP (Statutory Maternity Policy) says:
Employees who have worked continuously for the Company for 26 weeks as at the Qualifying Week (QW) which is the 15th week before the Expected Week of Childbirth (EWC) and whose average weekly earnings are above the lower earnings limit for national insurance contributions, qualify for statutory maternity pay.

The CMP (Company Maternity Policy) says:
If, at the Qualifying Week, an employee has been continuously employed for 52 weeks then the company will enhance maternity payments.

Notes:
A) Only the company specific financial benefits have been removed from the text here.
B) I started work on April 14th, 2014 (Week 16 of the year).

Question:
1 - Am I correct in assessing that week commencing October 12th, 2014 (Week 41 of the year) is the QW that will enable SMP?
2 - Am I correct in assessing that week commencing April 12th, 2015 (week 16 of the year) is the QW that will enable CMP?
3 - QW is 15 weeks before EWC which is the delivery due date?

Your help is eagerly awaited.
Many thanks in advance,

Galderine

Are you pg, if so when are you due? Basically you can't have been pg when you joined to get smp and you'd need to not fall pg within the 1st 6 months to qualify for cmp. EWC is the week the baby is due (iirc it starts on a Monday).

Thank you Lizs.
I am not pg yet; In my bad luck with nature, I will require fertility treatment hoping to achieve one soon so this gives me the luxury of planning my treatment...
What does 'iirc' stand for?

'if I recall correctly'

Hi there - just popping this thread across to Employment Issues.

Hope you get some good advice there OP.

So you need to have been employed 26 weeks by the qualifying week to get SMP (which is a legal requirement anyway) and need to have been employed 52 weeks by the qualifying week to get company maternity pay.

I'm struggling to see what Acas have found difficult to interpret tbh, those terms are very clear.

You already qualify for SMP (provided you earn enough) so that's not relevant any more. The only question is whether you'd qualify for company maternity pay.

As you need to have 52 weeks service by the qualifying week to get company maternity pay, the qualifying week would need to be the week following your first anniversary with the company, so not April 12th as you won't have 52 weeks' service by then, it will be the following week.

Thank you everyone and Flowery for your clarifications. much much appreciated indeed.