Maternity leave during redundancy

Bunny44 · 2023-09-07T17:22:10+00:00

Hello, I was recently made redundant at 36 weeks pregnant and paid a redundancy package which included my maternity leave as a lump sum including SMP, assuming I was taking the full 9 months off. I want to understand what this means for my current employment status in the eyes of the government: -Am I considered currently unemployed or on maternity leave? Can I claim JSA at any point? -If I get another job do I have to repay any of the lump sum? I've been looking online but finding it challenging to get answers.

clouise30 · 07/09/2023 18:25

No answers I'm afraid but I was made redundant a couple of weeks ago and my little one is 9 weeks old so would also be interested in these answers. I hope you're doing okay 😊

GlobetrottingPercy · 07/09/2023 18:29

This happened to me too, I was made redundant and paid a lump sum of my redundancy and my mat pay for the 9 months. You will then be classed as unemployed and will receive a P45, the whole point of redundancy is that you are no longer an employee of that company. I don’t know about claiming JSA as I was ineligible due to the lump sum and my partners earnings being too high - you can claim if you are eligible and meet the criteria.

If you get another job then no, you won’t pay any of it back.

As an aside, depending on your earnings, HMRC may assume this salary packet will be the same for the rest of the tax year and will have taxed the package accordingly. You can contact them and get a rebate or you can do it online on your tax record through gov.uk if this applies.

Aprilx · 07/09/2023 19:12

Have you had an end date to your employment, that would answer the question as to whether you are unemployed or on maternity leave, I suspect the former.

You need to be actively seeking and available to start work in order to claim JSA, so I would assume you will not meet this criteria.

Original poster

Bunny44 · 07/09/2023 19:32

Yes I had an end date to my employment and I have been speaking to recruiters about short-term contracts as I initially intended to work up until 40 weeks but haven't found anything. Now I'm speaking to them about jobs starting next year.

OP posts:

Original poster

Bunny44 · 07/09/2023 19:39

GlobetrottingPercy · 07/09/2023 18:29

This happened to me too, I was made redundant and paid a lump sum of my redundancy and my mat pay for the 9 months. You will then be classed as unemployed and will receive a P45, the whole point of redundancy is that you are no longer an employee of that company. I don’t know about claiming JSA as I was ineligible due to the lump sum and my partners earnings being too high - you can claim if you are eligible and meet the criteria.

If you get another job then no, you won’t pay any of it back.

As an aside, depending on your earnings, HMRC may assume this salary packet will be the same for the rest of the tax year and will have taxed the package accordingly. You can contact them and get a rebate or you can do it online on your tax record through gov.uk if this applies.

Ok thanks this is helpful. JSA isn't currently means tested, but as the PP mentioned, you have to be available for employment, but I'm wondering whether I can claim it for this 4 week period until my due date (when I would have been working) and for when I'm looking for a new role for when I go back to work, or whether there is some conflict with having received SMP in a lump sum.

I'm a single parent and so any help is very welcome. I don't think I qualify for any UC as the lump sum payment means my income & savings are too high.

OP posts:

sheenawasapunkrocker69 · 10/09/2023 11:42

Check if you be entitled to 6 months contribution based JSA
To qualify you must be continuously making contributions in the qualifying period
I learnt the hard way - I took redundancy at the end of extended mat leave and claimed for 3 months, paused the claim and resubmitted it in the next tax year - it was refused as I didn't have continuous NI contributions due to taking 3 months unpaid mat leave - although I had paid tax on 25k during may leave
In short apply for any contribution based JSA this tax year - the 6 months can roll into the next year

PensionPuzzle · 10/09/2023 11:49

It's certainly worth checking if you are eligible for JSA when you are actively ready to look for work again- the benefits year isn't the same as the tax year so although I was made redundant in Aug 2021 and had baby in October 2021 (with SMP in a lump too) I was still eligible for contribution based JSA from Jan 2023 because of my NI contributions made in the year running up to redundancy. I found the DWP people helpful when trying to figure it all out.

It would also be well worth checking with HMRC about tax rebate, you don't have to wait until the end of a tax year to work out and receive what you're due IF you're certain you won't earn any more money during the remainder of the current tax year. So you'll have paid tax for the first few months of this tax year calculated as if you're going to be earning that all year, which you won't now be, so you will likely be due some back, providing you can confidently say you won't earn anything til next April or beyond.

Edit for a typo

PensionPuzzle · 10/09/2023 11:52

Just in terms of these next few weeks as well, forgot to say, they don't pay you anything for the first 7 days and then you have to do the initial action plan and then fortnightly signing on messing about and then sign off again when you have baby. For me it wouldn't be worth the hassle and it also means you'll lose X amount of days from your claim as you can only have contribution-based JSA for 6 months.