Forum home Getting pregnant Trying to conceive

materity leave

have any of you looked into what materunity pay you will get when you are pregnant? mine is awful,well only what the government say we have to have,which tbh isnt enough to live on so i already know i will only be taking 3 months off.i dont mind as i dont work all day anyway and i do love my job. just wondered what other peoples situations are,coz im a nosey bugger :lol:

Replies

  • lol i have been looking for ages longing for the day i can go running up to personnel telling them i'm pregnant!

    i get 6 weeks at 90% full pay, 12 weeks at 50% plus lower rate SMP then 21 weeks at lower rate SMP.

    i think i will take the full 9 months off if i can then go back part time. am saving as much as i can now!

    xxx
  • yeah i just get bobby basic as well although i have 2 jobs (one full & one part time). I having to save my 10 months mortgage payments so i live off SMP - nearly there though. I think i might get slightly more with having the 2 jobs but i dont know.

    Oh to get even get half pay - now that would be great !!!
  • I believe from what I have read that I get the same as mrs-e! I really want to take the full 9mths!
  • i just dont understand how anyone is meant to pay for morgage,bills,food ect on ??117 A WEEK? that doesnt even cover the morgage let alone anything else,come to think of it it doesnt even cover,food,heating and council tax! glad hubby works but even with his wage we will stuggle until i go back to work as we bring home the same each a month.
  • i know what you mean - and they seem to be forgetting that you have just had a baby so need nappies, baby clothes, etc etc!!!

    i know i can't complain though but i can understand how difficult it must be for those who only get smp.

    xxx
  • if i didnt love my job and have the hours i do i would leave and get a different job but looking on the bright side,im not tied to them if i didnt want to go back and i wouldnt have to pay anything back if i decided to leave. i finish at lunch time most days so i dont think i would mind going back so soon and my mum would be our babysitter so i can pop in and see them during the day.
    see i have it all planned,now all i need is to be pregnant and have a baby :lol:image
  • hi there
    i was worrying about how we would cope when i left my job 2 have my little girl lots of sleepless nights !! but to be honest you do cope & just adjust your lives a little ... my little one is nearly 6mths old & my smp is about to finish but we have coped really well & because we have coped so well im only returning to work part time ..... yippee xx
  • yeah im same as you. my first LO was early and i drive a long way to work and back each day. hubby doesnt like the idea of me driving 60mph on dark country roads when im pregnant so the only other option i have is to go an even longer way round. my hours at work are very good so i know i wont be too tired to work and have alot of support from the girls i work with. as soon as we know we are pregnant we have to let them know for our own safety and we are taken straight out of dangerous situations,ie,people with know mrsa ect and violent people.
    its just the money that worrys me. i will quite happily work up until i drop,the last few weeks of pregnancy drag so at least it will keep my mind occupied!
  • bettyo - you have to earn a certain ammount to be entitled to smp but if you qualify in both jobs then you will indeed get smp for both jobs so you will be better off than most!
  • i drove for a living bertie & when work did my risk assesment they had 2 suspend me on full pay 3mths before my maternity leave was due to start ... it was great xx
  • i get 6 weeks at 90% of my basic (this is rubbish as i am mainly on commission with a low basic!) Then just government smp after that- better get saving!! I also work 9-5.30pm then evening appointments 4 days a week aswell so I am sure i will collapse with exhaustion if i get preg! Hoping will have to leave early!
  • luckily hubby has a good enough wage to support us bt my fulltime wage is stil pretty impressive and we live up to the lifestyle so i think thats going to be hard if we ever do get pregnant!!!
    im not sure what pay i get but im going to look at my contract actually just to check, i bet its rubbish.....
  • I get 90% of my salary for the first 14 weeks and they base that figure on your average pay from the 8 weeks prior to maternity leave commencing - so if I time it to coincide with my yearly bonus (Which they do include) I could get a lot. Then it is down to smp for up to 26 weeks
    I am more worried about the childcare costs when i return to work - selfish grandparents are still working image
  • ok so iv just read my staff hand book, heres what it says...

    all pregnant employees have the right to take a reasonable amount of time off work. if you should become pregnent whilst employed by the company you are entitled to take up to 52 weeks maternity leave reguardless of length of service made up of ordinary maternity leave and additional maternity leave.
    bla bla bla...
    EWC = expected week of childbirth
    QW = qualifying week
    SMP = statutory maternity pay
    MA = maternity allowance

    you are entitled to ordinary materity leave of 26 weeks reguardless of your length of service you may start your maternity leave as early as 11 weeks before the EWC or as late as the birth its self.
    the law requires that you must take at least 2weeks maternity leave after the birth of your child.

    you are entitled to all your contractual benefits with exception of pay and commission.

    bla bla bla.....
    in addition to any lawfull maternity the company will give you an additional 26 weeks maternity leave after the ordinary maternity leave ends.

    for the first 6 weeks we get 90% of the employees averidge wage calculated over the last 8 weeks of the employment overtime bonuses and commission are all included.
    then after that its smp for the remeinding 33 weeks.
    if the employee becomes eligable for a payrise during this time they will automatically be given the higher rate of pay.


    this is so confusing!!! it also goes into ante natel care.....sickness when pregnant....contact during maternity leave.....health and safety matters!!!!

    looks like im going to have to read it carefully but from what iv extracted for you does it sound legitimate???image
  • Yep, companies aren't obliged to giveanything more than smp - which sucks, but most give between 6 and 26 weeks on 90% of your average pay. Do you get a decent bonus at any stage of the year? If so you might want to try and coincide with that!
  • well i get bonuses throughout the year if the team i manage do well so to speak...i wish it was that easy to just decide when to get pregnant!!! haha, oh well, i know im going to get something!!!
  • I'm really lucky as I'm on a career break from the police I get 3 months full pay and then go on to SMP for the rest and then I will also pay myself from the company as I will continue to work for the nursery (albeit in the background) xx
  • Me too, i'll get 90% of my wages for the first 6 weeks, then the standard SMP for the following 33 weeks.

    I'd want to take as much time off as i could to be with the baby, so we can live off my hubby to be's wages and the pittance what is SMP.

    I intend on going back to work though, and my MIL will take care of the baby, and the good thing is, she is 5 mins from us, and hubby to be's work is at the end of our road, so it's perfect really.

    Just wish our little one would hurry up and come :lol:

    What about family tax credits etc, does anyone know if us working gal's are entitled to anything from that?

    Sometimes i think i'd be better off unemployed and reeping all the free stuff from the goverment... But i couldn't do it.
  • Tax credits depend entirely on your combined income - you might be entitled to a bit. When I was working full time and a single mother I got ??70 a week to help with childcare costs, although my childcare costs were ??135 a week so I still had to find a fair bit of money myself. We don't really get anything now that I'm living with my partner - even though he's not my sons father.
  • most people,unlesss you earn an ablsolut fortune,will get child tax credit. most will get ablout ??40 a month.if you are on a low income you could get upto about ??120 a month.
    you will not get any working tax credit unless you are on a low income but you dont need to have children to get this,so if you are on a low joint income it maybe worth finding out about.
    you can also apply for a sure start maternity grant of ??500. if you dont get the higher rate of child tax credit at the moment (girls who alrewady have children) wait until after the birth of your baby when you will get higher rate tax credits as you will have a baby under 1 year. you can then apply for the grant and you have 3 months to do this after your baby is born.either goggle for the phone number or ask in local job center for forms.
    i hope this makes sense to everybody.
    also rememebr free dental treatments and free prescriptions whilst pregnant!
Sign In or Register to comment.