Back to back maternity leave- help!

[234cps]

Hi everyone- I am looking for some advice from those who have been / are in a similar position.
I have a 4 month old baby and am 8 weeks pregnant with another.
I only get statutory maternity pay from my employer and planned to take a year off. This worked out as statutory maternity until March then have a few weeks unpaid then “return to work”, take all the holiday which I have accrued (will be a years worth as our holiday year runs June to June) then actually go back to work and be in the office at the beginning of July.
As my new baby is due in July I just naively thought I could then start maternity again but having looked into it a bit more when you count back 15 weeks from your due date I will have just finished getting statutory maternity pay so I don’t think I will be earning enough to qualify for SMP.
Does anyone have any experience in this area?
Thanks! X

If you are getting no money during weeks 17-25 of pregnancy then you would not qualify for SMP. You could see if you qualify for maternity allowance instead

Or will you still be getting SMP in those weeks? If so, you should qualify for SMP again

I think I am getting SMP from weeks 17- approx week 22 then it finishes. Where would that leave me do you know?
Is it right that I can only take my holiday pay by returning to work?

You need an average of £118 across weeks 17-25 to qualify for SMP. Could you do any KIT days in those unpaid weeks to get your average up? Otherwise you could apply for MA

Yes I can do KIT days I forget about them but that should pull it up. Thanks so much for your help!