Maternity allowance

[raindrop83]

Hello,

I wonder if anyone can help me - I'm currently 10 weeks pregnant and trying to work out if I'd qualify for maternity allowance. My understanding is that you need to have been employed or self-employed for 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before your due date.

I was made redundant in November however my last 13 weeks of employment fall within my qualifying period of the 66 weeks so that's 13 weeks employed with a good income.

I then registered as self-employed in February however due to the Coronavirus I've only done a single piece of work so far and I'm not sure how long it will be before things pick-up.

My question therefore is if I opt to pay my class 2 national insurance contributions will my self-employment still go towards making up my remaining 13 weeks I need in my qualifying period despite my low income and will I still qualify for maternity allowance?

Any help really appreciated as I'm so worried about this!

Hi, you'll need to show 13 weeks of self-employment within the 66 weeks in order to make up the other 13 weeks with your self-employment but usually sufficient to show you were still engaged in some form of self-employment. Also, pay your Class 2 NICs so you can get the full rate of Maternity Allowance unless you've already met that with your last employment and can send in 13 weeks' payslips. Maternity Action are great on this stuff www.maternityaction.org.uk

@Swish2 Thank you so much for your reply. I have 13 weeks of pay slips from my employment to show, in terms of the other 13 weeks which are self-employed, what is it I need to show? Is it just 13 weeks of class 2 national insurance contributions or do I need to show something else? Really want to make sure I'm covered so that I get the full amount!

You will need to show that you've been working as self-employed for those 13 weeks. It isn't enough to just be registered and pay 13 weeks Class 2 national insurance. They may ask you to show how much work you took on or they may not but you should show that you were actively engaged in your self-employed business or taking on work during that period. Not sure if they will be a bit more lenient because of a downturn in work at the moment but bear in mind when you make your claim.

@Swish2 That's my point though, due to the virus there just isn't the work... Really unsure what to do? I need to ensure that I'm eligible for maternity allowance as financially we'll struggle to cope otherwise!