Help! New Asda employee

[92louise]

Hey I have recently started a new job at Asda I ha e currently been with them for 6months and today I have found out I am 1-2 weeks pregnant. Will I be entitled to maternity pay? Can I be sacked?

It's against the law you to be sacked. With regards to maternity pay, you normally have to work for a company for a certain length of time to qualify for company pay of the company offer this benefit. Not all do. I think you might qualify for statutory maternity pay. Worth calling you HR to ask them.

If you don't qualify for company maternity pay, as long as you have been in employment for a year, you should be entitled to maternity allowance.

From the government website:

Eligibility
You can get Maternity Allowance for 39 weeks if in the 66 weeks before your baby’s due, you’ve been:

employed or registered as self-employed for at least 26 weeks
earning (or classed as earning) £30 a week or more in at least 13 weeks - the weeks do not have to be together
You may still qualify if you’ve recently stopped working. It does not matter if you had different jobs or periods of unemployment.

If you usually earn £30 or more a week and only earned less in some weeks because you were paid but not working (‘on furlough’) under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, you may still be eligible. You must give details in your claim form.

You can use the maternity entitlement calculator to check your eligibility.

You should be entitled to Statutory Maternity Leave and Pay. Occupational pay will depend on your contractual entitlement.

There is no such thing as 1-2 weeks pregnant. Conception happens in week 3 and inplanting in week 4. YOu have made a mistake

You can't be 1-2 weeks

It is not against the law for you to be sacked.
It IS against the law to sack you purely because you have a protected characteristic and being pregnant is one.

Congratulations to you OP

A digital pregnancy test may say 1-2 weeks which means 3-4 weeks.

You will be entitled to SMP. I don't know if they offer enhanced pay, you'd need to check the eligibility criteria if they do.

They won't sack you don't worry.

As for SMP as long as you have 6 months service in your qualifying week (which you will have) and you have earned £120 a week in the 8 weeks before your qualifying week then you will qualify for SMP. Worth checking the dates that period covers once you have a confirmed due date.

Congratulations!

Thankyou ladies for your replies and support it helps alot ❤️