Advice on company maternity policy

[Viceroy1]

Hi there

Looking for some help in understanding my maternity policy at my new company please.

I started at the company on the 12th Sept.

What I’m trying to determine is if I can be pregnant in the 6 months stated as “continuous service”.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read my photos (first timer).

I would say you would be cutting it incredibly fine depending on how sure your due dates and last censorial period are. Is your cycle regular?

You need to have worked there for 6m before your due date minus 15wks. It would be expected that you would be pregnant in the lead up to your due date!!

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/rights-at-work/parental-rights/maternity-pay-what-youre-entitled-to/#:~:text=This%20is%20the%20type%20of,entering%20your%20due%20date%20below)

Its pretty much the standard wording for SMP, it means you won't get mat pay if you joined the role pregnant but you will if you have at least 1 cycle before any pregnancy while you were employed there, so yes you can be during the first six months but not when you started.

Use the calculator at the bottom if you're already pregnant to see if you're eligible. If not you could be entitled to maternity allowance

Thank you. Yes very regular

Thank you for the calculator @TeddyBeans. I’m not pregnant yet so it’d all be guess work but have saved the link

Amazing thank you @RicStar!

Have you had a period since starting work before you fell pregnant? If so, you should meet the requirement.

If you were pregnant before starting work, you generally don't qualify for SMP through the company, but may get Maternity Allowance.

It basically means you don't qualify if you were pregnant when you started the role.

So you've just joined and now you want to take advantage of maternity leave provision already...

Stuff like this- I do understand why employers try to avoid hiring females.

Of the company didn't want it, they should change their policy. As it is the op is doing absolutely nothing wrong. You need to support women more, your attitude is disgusting.

www.gov.uk/employers-maternity-pay-leave/eligibility-and-proof-of-pregnancy

It is the law in England..

Employee must be on payroll for qualifying.. 15 weeks before expected due date..
And employed 26 weeks before..

Total 41..
So first day of last period must be after you started this employment.

Thank you all for your help. I’m clear on the policy now with your comments.

@ouch321 thanks for sharing your thoughts on the matter, I’d like to clarify that I have been in the space of guilt in terms of family planning and having just taken on a new job. However, I’ve always put my career first and now I need to put my family first as I’m in my 40’s, so I either do it now or potentially miss my opportunity to do so. Perhaps seek to understand before you judge.

@glasshole thank you so much for your response on this, it took me out of my “guilt” space when I initially read ouch321’s comment.

Have a lovely Sunday all x

And yet, if no female had a child, the employer would have no employees in the future.

@Hungrycaterpillarsmummy I actually agree with the PP that you're criticising.

I have absolutely no problem at all with the concept of maternity leave, or working mothers. I took mat leave and am a single mum who works full time.

However, getting pregnant almost immediately after starting a new job doesn't sit well with me either. There's no commitment to the role, no ownership of said role and no history of commitment to the employers either. It's completely take take take and it sits really badly with me. It's very different to someone who has been in a role for a while before getting pregnant.

OP has only been in her job a month and is already working out when to get pregnant in order to get money from her employers because she "needs to put family first".

Is it NHS? Continuous service usually refers to how long you have been with the NHS so it could be a date in 2012 for example but you have only been with that Trust since September.

By the time you are 25 weeks pregnant you would need to have been employed for 26 weeks I.e. you couldn't be pregnant before starting the job.

If you aren't currently pregnant then you should be fine as a pregnancy is dated from the 1st day of your last period. If you've had a period in your new job then you would qualify

The qualifying week is at 26 weeks pg, so you cannot be pg when you join. That is same for smp.

Agree