Has anyone’s employer asked them to re-pay enhanced maternity pay?

[Babybear260]

I already know that I won’t be returning back to work - especially this work. Without actually telling my manager (who I have a very good relationship with) I’m fairly certain she knows I probably won’t but she’s told me ‘whatever you do, even if you’re not coming back do not say anything to finance / HR’ and told me they reserve the right to claim back the difference between SMP & enhanced maternity pay (of course - because it’s a huge difference!)

But should I just them? Is there any point in receiving it if I’ll have to pay it back anyway? Sure, I would have so much more money and would actually financially be better off due to saving £500 a month on commuting but if it’s going to be retrieved, surely there isn’t any point in me trying to ‘save it’ if it’s only saving for it to be taken away. I’m also in a dilemma of just being honest upfront might be better than feeling guilty every month they pay me until Enhanced pay ends.

Equally - she has been at work for 25 years and she said she hasn’t heard of anyone actually having to pay it back…so it is a question of whether they would actually enforce it (it’s a very wealthy - billion pound company). In which case, I would be mad to tell them! But I don’t have a crystal ball and would have to assume they’d claim it back.

Maybe I should just not take the risk and tell them OR I would write a very apologetic email at the end of enhanced pay saying I wasn’t expecting a change of heart etc etc.

I’d take it and put it in a high interest account. Also, you will get a holiday entitlement accrued so don’t leave until you’ve taken that at the end of your mat leave.

Don’t do anything now
take the money and follow your company guidelines for May leave etc
stick it in a high interest account and don’t touch it

What they say above! Also remember it’ll be a good 9-12 months down the line, you never know if you’ll want or need to work then, so just look after yourself, it the company you work for

Oh yes that’s true! Whatever we don’t use for this year rolls over so I think I’d end up with 38 days next year

Holiday pay
Redundancy pay
Funded nursery hours
Interest
Baby loss (sorry but it does happen)
Husband loses his job
Husband fucks off with a 22 year old supermodel
You change your mind
They may not ask for it back

Are all good reasons why you should not burn bridges until you really have to

Keep quiet, anything could happen in that space of time and you might still need your job.

I have a friend who told them half way through and asked them to pay her statutory as she was unlikely to return. She was moving back to her home country. She shld have received 6 months full pay I think she got about 3 months or so.

They said she wld need to pay it back if she didn’t return. It is in the company handbook. She didn’t return and told them she couldn’t afford to pay it back and wasn’t retuning to employment. It was a lie but they couldn’t trace her or arrest her wages outside of the uk. We both worked for a large uk government company. They still contacted her every now and then to see if her situation had changed. Had she still been in the uk I think she wld have had to pay it back.

I agree with others though and say nothing but don’t use it all as u may have to pay it back. If you’re not going back to employment they may just give up trying to get it back from you.