AIBU work messed my maternity pay up?

[Cantwaittobeamum]

So I knew I was only entitled to maternity allowance, so in the new year I was halfway through completing an application hen I contacted HR and requested my matb1 form back. I then got a phone call saying I was entitled to SMP so they had to keep my matb1 form to process it. I questioned it, but I was reassured I was definitely entitled to SMP, so I thought great, and shredded my application. I brought my leave forward at the beginning and extended it at the end based on this information.

Fast forward to 4:30 today, I get an email from HR saying I was right and am not entitled to SMP after all and they are going to send me my matb1 form back. I ring them up, they apologise, and she says that I would get SMP from the government. NO I would get maternity allowance, which doesn't pay 90% of my salary for the first 6 weeks.

AIBU for being a little wound up?

And this came 2 weeks before my leave is due to start (1 week if you include my annual leave directly before maternity)

Did you get anything in writing before changing your leave/acting on it?

No but the email says 'I must sincerely apologise, you were correct and you are not entitled to SMP', indicating that I was told I was

I'd be very annoyed and I work in HR (currently pregnant too!). What reasons meant you didn't get maternity pay from your employer? Length of service or earnings?

I'd lodge a grievance for the error but ultimately all they can do is apologise really. If they are a big employer (who may be able to afford it) you could push for them to honour the maternity pay....but they don't have to.

YANBU to be irritated, no. What's the actual detriment? Are you going to be without money for a bit due to the maternity allowance application being later than it should have been or will it not make a difference? I don't know how long maternity allowance takes to come through.

If you're going to be without income for a bit you could ask them for a loan to bridge that gap?

It was because I'd not been in service long enough. Standard is that you have to have been there for 26 weeks before you are 25 weeks pregnant, but my pregnancy is about half a week ahead of how long I have been there.

I'm not too annoyed about losing out on the 90% bit, as I wasn't expecting to get it in the first place. It was more that I could have my maternity allowance sorted by now, or at least in process. Despite that, I don't think it will impact me too much if I apply now, I'm hoping it should be processed by the end of March (though you never know with DWP) so I'm hoping I don't need to borrow anything.

They have apologised and I don't really think there's anything else they can do. Feel like putting in a grievance would be just for the sake of it. Never got it in writing so I can't make them honour it 😔

And I tried to delay my leave by a few days to reduce the impact and she said she didn't know if I could do that (I was giving 11 days notice for this). I was like I know I'm not giving 28 days notice like I should, but considering you only gave me 14 days notice that my income is going to drop that much sooner, I think I'm owed some grace here.

I got what I wanted 😂