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You can get maternity again but only if you went back to work for 26 weeks before your due date I think. If not then I think you have to claim UC as if you didn't return to work then your employer isn't eligible to pay you maternity. That's what happened in my work place not to me but a colleague.
@Reena thank you
@Alicia I will look into that, thank you
When you’re on maternity you’re still classed as employed/working so you’d be eligible for it again as long as you’ve earned enough in your qualifying period which is weeks 16-24. If you’ve not earned enough you can apply for maternity allowance directly from the government which you’ll be eligible for if you worked 13 weeks in the 66 weeks before your due date, again, being on maternity leave and receiving smp counts towards those 13 weeks.
@Alicia you don’t need to go back to work for 26 weeks, you just need to have been employed and being on maternity leave you’re still employed.
@N 💞 oh right. Maybe my colleague misunderstood what she had been told
This is what the citizens advice online say: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/maternity-and-parental-rights/check-your-maternity-and-parental-rights/maternity-leave-and-pay/maternity-leave-what-youre-entitled-to-and-how-to-get-it/#:~:text=You%20can%20go%20on%20maternity,as%20during%20your%20first%20pregnancy.
You’ll be entitled to leave but depending on when the qualifying week is and if you were on unpaid leave that could affect your maternity pay - but you should be able to claim maternity allowance if not eligible for SMP
You should get maternity again. It's statutory.