Is my SIL entitled to maternity?

[LethargicButAwesome]

Hi all, writing this for my SIL who has just had a baby. Timeline and sweets below, need help understanding whether she is entitled to any help/support?

She came over to the UK be with my brother a couple of years ago and begun a teaching assistant job in a primary school in September. It was a fixed term contract for one year and she had been volunteering at the school for a while before that.

She fell pregnant in December

As you know we went into lockdown in March and so she didn't really 'return' to work and her contract expired this academic year. They did not renew and my SIL didn't press as she was just grateful for having been paid through lock down.

My question is, is she entitled to any smp and if so how? She raised a few times pre covid but was brushed off as they hadn't hD a case like this before and were unsure how to approach it.

Any help or guidance please?

She might be eligible for maternity allowance rather than SMP?

Have a look on the gov.uk website as they have calculators on there to check eligibility

If she worked there 2 weeks before she fell pregnant then she is entitled to smp.

I started a 1 year contract in a school Sept19-Aug20, got pregnant in Dec and am entitled to SMP. The school pay it (even though I no longer work there) and claim it back from the gov.

Presumably she would get SMP if she had a contract of employment between December to June (ish, depends on the dates of her pregnancy) and was paying NICs? SMP would be based on her earnings from April ish to June (again, depending on dates of pregnancy).

She should have sent her MATB1 to her employer notifying them before 25w to claim leave and SMP I believe - not sure what happens if that isn't done.

Check www.gov.uk/employers-maternity-pay-leave

Government calculator will tell her if she’s entitled to SMP. She should be, as long as she was employed 26 weeks by 15 weeks before her due date. Doesn’t matter that she has subsequently left employment although many employers wouldn’t realise that.

She should however have sent them her MaTB1 form, so if she didn’t do that they may refuse.

They are also not allowed to terminate her employment (not renewing a fixed term contract counts as a termination) because of pregnancy if they would otherwise have renewed.

@flowery just because they shouldn't terminate her employment, doesn't mean they won't! I suffered this, all other contractors were renewed except me, and they very kindly put it in writing that they didn't renew mine 'because you're pregnant.' #pregnancydiscrimination

[quote Margo34]@flowery just because they shouldn't terminate her employment, doesn't mean they won't! I suffered this, all other contractors were renewed except me, and they very kindly put it in writing that they didn't renew mine 'because you're pregnant.' #pregnancydiscrimination[/quote]
They actually put that in writing? I presume you went straight to a tribunal claim?

[quote Margo34]@flowery just because they shouldn't terminate her employment, doesn't mean they won't! I suffered this, all other contractors were renewed except me, and they very kindly put it in writing that they didn't renew mine 'because you're pregnant.' #pregnancydiscrimination[/quote]
Yes I realise that, which is why it’s important to highlight to the OP that doing so would be unlawful so that she can advise her SIL to bring a tribunal claim.

Thanks for all your messages, she didn't submit her matb1 form, she kept asking the school what she was supposed to do and they advised they weren't sure and she is not entitled. Which appears to be the wrong advice.

She does not want to take it downyhe tribunal route as sees a future at the school and a he

Are keen to have her back**

She hasn't been working in the uk long so didn't really understand her rights unfortunately. My brothers a mechanic so doesn't get paid a huge sum of money so the difference would really have had an impact

If they want her back then she should be still employed right now. They should not have terminated her employment because of pregnancy, that's unlawful, and she should be getting maternity pay.

If she's a TA is she in the union?

She hasn't lost anything currently - she's already been terminated by the sounds of things. There's no reason to assume going as far as a tribunal claim will be necessary.

For the SMP, she needs to write saying she has taken advice and she understands that she met the length of service criteria and earnings criteria for SMP, therefore needs to receive this regardless of her current employment status. Provide them with her MATB1 and highlight that she asked what was needed and they advised her wrongly.

If they still receive she can open a dispute about the SMP with HMRC, who will adjudicate and tell her employer to pay it to her, I imagine.

Second issue is her employment. She can write asking for the reasons her contract was not renewed. She is entitled to this due to her pregnancy - they have to give reasons, and one of them cannot be pregnancy.

See what they say, if they come up with something else, then it's about deciding whether to challenge it. If they say it's related to her maternity leave, she should write saying that terminating her employment (not renewing a FTC counts as a termination) because of maternity leave is unlawful discrimination.

She could sit there and not make a fuss, but that won't get her what she is owed. She can raise all these points very nicely to start with, on the basis they may not know they've done wrong.