How long does the law say you have to have been in a job before you are entitled to some form or other of maternity pay?12 weeks or 26 weeks?

[lou19]

I am nearly 13 wks pregnant, finishing an MA and looking at employment for the next few months to squirrell away as much money as possible..would it be worth my while going for a permanent position if it meant I could reap the benefits in terms of entitlement to materniy pay and the like?The longest I could be there would be until October (my baby is due early November), so about 4/5 months...or should I go agency and get paid more, but not have that security?confused.com!! oh, and I work in the public sector, don't know if that makes a difference. any help would be immensely appreciated.
xx

BusinessLink: Maternity Pay
To get SMP you will need to meet the following:
"at least 26 weeks' continuous employment with you extending into the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (the 'qualifying week')" [You] in this case refers to the Employer.
You will also need average weekly earnings of £97 or more.

If baby is due say on 1st November, then I think you need to have been employed since 30th January to qualify for SMP.

To see the date for SMP use EmploymentRights.co.uk click on Births and enter your due date.

I don't think you will be eligible for Maternity Allowance either. More on Maternity Allowance. It will depend on what work you have done over the past 66 weeks from your due date.

Probably worth having a chat with CAB about what benefits you are entitled to both pre-birth and post-birth.

Thanks for the advice, will give CAB a ring and see what they say.

You wont qualify for SMP as you need to be pg before you start, you're unlikely to qualify for MA either unless you have worked before within the last two years.

For maternity allowance I think you have to have been employed or self employed for at least 26 weeks out of the 66 weeks before your baby is born. You need to have earned over £30 a week, averaged over any 13 weeks.

Maternity allowance is the same as SMP - £124 a week OR 90% of your average weekly earnings. But, you can choose your highest earning 13 weeks out of the last 66 weeks to base that average on, they don't have to be consecutive weeks.

It won't matter if it's a permanent job or agency work btw.

I have been working for my current company for 6 years and returned from maternity leave 2 years ago to a 3 day week, my current working pattern is tues/wed/thurs which was agreed prior to my return, my contract stated that this was to be for a trial period of 3 months initially and therefore subject to review. After 3 months this pattern of working was agreed by me and my colleagues/line manager to be working perfectly.

Today I have been told that I have to switch my pattern of hours to cover a Friday.
What I need to know is where I stand - can they really force me to do this? I have raised the following objections:

1. I currently have free childcare on those days (MIL gave up work on those days) I'd be looking at paying nursery fees of £200 per month which makes work much less viable financially.

1. I spend Fridays taking DD to various classes/groups and feel that she'd be really missing out if we had to stop these.

1. The timeframe they have given me to make this change is way too short to enable me to find childcare (4 weeks)

I'd be really grateful for any advice!

Sorry posted rather than created a new thread - ignore!!