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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.
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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?
email us here.
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