Maternity allowance

Why don’t you qualify for SMP? Sickness isn’t a reason to refuse it

@Chloe if she’s been off and not received sick pay during her qualifying period it would have probably put her below the threshold to qualify for smp.

As above, it depends if she was in work during her qualifying period and her earnings during this time x

That’s naughty they’ve left it so late to tell you that you don’t qualify. It can take about 4 weeks to hear back from DWP about MA but it will be backdated. The only difference between that and smp is that the first 6 weeks aren’t at 90%, but otherwise the rest of the payments are the same

@N 💞 ahhh yeah forgot about this! Thank you xx

I moved jobs in the middle of my qualifying period so I've ended up on maternity allowance and it's actually worked out better because it isn't taxed! So if you qualify for it you should be ok 🥰

@Chloe apparently you’ve got to earn a certain amount per month to be able to qualify which I wasn’t made aware of

@Chloe yes I believe it’s £123 on average a week for the 8 weeks leading up to your qualifying week xx

@Roz is there for any reason I wouldn’t qualify for MA do you know? I feel so stressed out I’ve been in tears all day, I feel really let down by my work place, I’ve worked there for 5 years and unfortunately had bad sickness, I just wish someone would of mentioned this to me sooner as I could of applied much sooner, I’m a week into what I thought was SMP this week so scared to think I’ll have to manage without a wage or any kind of income! 😫

@Chloe so frustrating I feel like I should of been awake of this, it’s literally at no fault of my own I’ve been so poorly I don’t get how they can do that it’s really unfair! Xx

@Chloe it's to do with how much you've earned in the last 16.5 months I think (weirdly specific but hey!) you have to have earnt atleast £30 a week for 13 weeks of those 66 weeks (16.5 months) to qualify. Hope that helps! Xxx

I would ring citizens advice or ACAS because they should have told you at least 4 weeks after you gave them your MATB form. Very naughty of them to leave it so late in the day, especially after you’ve already started your leave. Did they gave you a break down of what you earned in your qualifying weeks? Your average has to be over £132 a week. You can work it out yourself using this calculator if they have screwed you or if they are correct - https://www.gov.uk/maternity-paternity-pay-leave. Xx

@Storme I have and they’ve told me to complain & apply for MA which I’ve done today just praying I get accepted. It is very naughty she was just, she didn’t even seem to care to tell me either like it wasn’t an issue. When I had my first I got an email & letter to confirm my SMP and this time I haven’t so I’ve been asking for the last month and a half as to why and she’s only just told me today & only did because I sent an email explaining how it’s not on my payslip! I feel so annoyed with them. I did do the calculation today and it was I was eligible but received an email from work this afternoon with a SMP1 form xx

I didn’t get smp either and maternity allowance is a pittance tbh

@Kirsty I mean I’d rather MA than nothing 😂

@Chloe said you was eligible for SMP or MA? If the calculator says you are eligible for SMP then you need to email work back xx

@Storme SMP, I have I’ve told them & they basically said that I don’t and need to go down the route of MA! Wouldn’t think I’d worked there for 5 years & didn’t have many sick days before my pregnancies!! Xx

If you qualify for SMP through your employer, the DWP will push back and make the employer pay it. They can see your earnings through HMRC, I had this last year with a client as we'd been given the wrong information (I work in payroll). Either way, you'll get paid either SMP or MA if you've been earning 😊

@Jaime omg thank god this has made me feel so much better! I’ve checked twice now if I’ve earnt enough and it says online I’m eligible so I have no idea what’s going on, I’m just hoping it’s sorted before my next payday so I’m not struggling xx

@Chloe so are you saying you did earn enough in the 8 week qualifying period, even with sickness?

@N 💞 yeah! It’s £123 a week I think and I definitely did earn more than that a week! Don’t get me wrong there was a month I was barely in but the month before would have made up for those days loses if that makes sense

@Chloe but your qualifying period is a specific 8 week window where you need to earn that amount. It’s between weeks 16-24 so if you didn’t average £123 a week during those weeks you won’t be eligible, regardless of if you did the rest of your pregnancy. Smp is paid from the gov through your company, so I can’t see them saying you’re not eligible if you are, it doesn’t cost them anything to pay you it.

@N 💞 in that month alone I would have earnt more than £123 a week for the 8 weeks. So the month I got a lot less still covered it

@Chloe was that one month between 16-24 weeks pregnant?

Yes

Never qualified for either (Statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance) as a student and nobody would employ me pregnant , had to apply for universal credit instead. I later found out they take the exact same amount of money off the UC if you have maternity pay / allowance so it doesn’t make a difference if you have UC xx

@Chloe definitely appeal it if that’s the case xx

@Chloe that’s strange then that your workplace are saying you’re not eligible. I hope you get it sorted soon!

@Kiera UC is only taken £ for £ with MA, not SMP. That’s a percentage per £

@N 💞 oh wow thanks I didn’t realise, I thought it was both. I didn’t qualify for either tho so oh well 😂xx

If you’re on MA it’s worth checking if you’d be better off on UC alone, I know a few people who were better off claiming UC than MA x

I can’t claim UC I’m not single x

@Chloe you don’t need to be single to claim UC?

@N 💞 oh really, wouldn’t my partners income affect anything I was untitled too though x

@Chloe it’s done on a household income, so you’d have to declare his income and see what you could be entitled to. But you don’t need to be single just to claim UC