Statutory Maternity Pay - If you are Pregnant, you May be Entitled to this Benefit.

Statutory Maternity Pay - as its title suggests - is a form of payment from your employer to help you with the difficult period before and after your prgnancy.

Not all are entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay. Don't worry if not, for there is another benefit that you can claim whilst pregnant instead.

SMP - Statutory Maternity Pay, is for those who are or have been employed at the time of their pregnancy, and is paid by your employer.

Are you Eligible for SMP - Statutory Maternity Pay?

The basic qualification for receiving Statutory Maternity Pay, is that you have been paid by the same employer for at least 26 weeks prior to the fifteenth week before the expected birth of your baby. Together with this, you should have had average pay/salary during that time, of at least £95.00 per week.

Employed but NOT eligible?

Your employer must give you a form number SMP1. Once you have this form - if you are or were employed, then you can apply for Maternity Allowance instead of Statutory Maternity Pay. Maternity Allowance is NOT paid by your employer. It may be that you have had several employers in this period. One of them should give you the form. You can also download the form SMP1 from the Government website -

Eligible for Statutory Maternity Pay

To claim your SMP - don't forget that it comes direct from you employer, just like normal pay - You should tell your employer when need to start your Statutory Maternity Pay. You employer will need to see medical evidence of when your baby is due to arrive.

Don't forget, if you have not earned an average of £95.00 per week for the 26 weeks BEFORE the fifteenth week prior to the birth of your child, then you are not entitled to claim this pay from your employer. (You will need to claim Maternity Allowance instead.)

How Much?

You will be entitled to 90% of your gross weekly earnings for the first six weeks of entitlement. There is no upper limit on this, so if for instance you have averaged a weekly pay of £145.00 (Gross before deductions), then you will be entitled to 90% of that for 6 weeks (£130.50).

For the next thirty three weeks after, you are entitled to the standard rate of £123.06 OR 90% of your earnings as stated above.

Example.

If you averaged £98.00 per week, then you are entitled to £88.20 for the first 6 weeks, then an increase to the standard rate of £123.06 for the next 33 weeks. If you averaged the £145.00 we talked of in the previous section, then you should remain at £130.50 for the full period - first 6 weeks and the next 33 weeks afterwards.

How to get Paid?

You will normally be paid by your employer - just like your normal pay packet. It should be paid for the full 39 weeks.

Other information about being paid Statutory Maternity Pay.

You can work for your 'paying' employer for up to 10 days during your Statutory Maternity Pay period. This will not affect your right to continued SMP. If you work for longer than the 10 days, then you will lose your entitlement for each week that you work during this period. The government are happy for you to do this 10 days work, for it helps you to Keep In Touch. They call it the KIT period!
But, if you start work for a different employer - before your baby is born - you still get all of the Statutory Maternity Pay - from your previous employer!
However, if you start work with a different employer AFTER you baby is born and you did not work for that employer back in the 15th week before your baby was born, then you lose your entitlement to SMP!
You can do voluntary work - no problem.
Once you get your SMP entitlement, you can go abroad to visit or live. Your paying employer still has to pay your Statutory Maternity Pay! (They will not be happy, but the HAVE to do it!)
If you are working in another country - other than the UK, but for a UK employer, you will probably still be able to get SMP if your your employer pays your normal NI contributions for you.
You still get your SMP even if you are hospitalised - or have to go into a care home.
If you get arrested for anything, or end up in prison, then you get no SMP - BUT you can claim Maternity Allowance instead!
If you are 'sick' at the end of your SMP period, then you should be able to claim Staturory Sick Pay as normal - from your same employer.
Once you get SMP, you may be able to claim Income Support as well - in order to top up your income.
If your employer goes bust - insolvent - then the Department of Work and Pensions will take over the payments. You still get paid! Phone the Statutory Payments Disputes Team. their telephone number is 0191 225 5221.
If there is a dispute with your employer over payment, phone HM Revenue and Customs enquiry line. Their number is 0845 302 1479, and they will advise you.

We have tried our best to ensure that this information is correct, and have used HM Government sources to do so. However, PLEASE check everything out before you start spending your payments!

Payment

Your money is normally paid into a bank account. Most banks allow you to get your money at your local post office branch. You will be told how much the first payment is, and when it will be paid by the DPW Office. If this sum changes at all, the DWP normally tells you first.

Effect on other Benefits

Whilst you are being paid Maternity Allowance and any of the following benefits - they may be reduced or stopped:

Employment and Support Allowance.
Carer's Allowance.
Bereavement Benefits.
Income Support.
Jobseeker's Allowance will stop.
Employment and Support Allowance.
Carer's Allowance

These will NOT affect your Maternity Allowance

If you go into hospital. If you are admitted to a nursing home or other residential care. If you decide to start doing some voluntary work National Insurance Credits are available to you for every complete week (Sunday through to Saturday) within your Maternity Allowance period. Unemployed? If you are unemployed in the 11th week before the week your baby is due to be born, and you qualify for Maternity Allowance, your payments will start then. If your baby is born early, then your Maternity Allowance Benefit A will start on the day after your baby is born. Employed or self-employed? If your baby arrives early - before the start of the eleventh week prior to when you should have given birth, Maternity Allowance will start from the day after the happy event. Do you have any experiences you want to share?