advice on money/benefits etc.

[flossey]

hi girls, just a few questions if anyone may know the answer or have any advice to offer.

i'm just gone past 17 weeks pregnant and am going to be a single parent. however, i'm just not sure on what money i'll be entitled to. my contracted hours in work is just 8 hours a week, however i do overtime every week, around 8-12 hrs making it 16-20 hrs a week. i rang our local jobs & benefits office to see if i could book an appointment to speak to someone and she just kept saying i have to wait until 11wks before my due date before i can speak to anyone, YES I AM AWARE OF THAT!! but i just want to speak to someone so that i know of what i am entitled to when the time does come. so if any of you can answer any of these questions i would be greatful

1. will i be entitled to maternity pay? or do you have to be contract a certain amount of hours? also when can you take maternity leave? is it normally 8wks before your due date? or is this down to my place of work?
2. also i seen in the pregnancy book that you get along with the bounty pack that £500 sure start maternity grant. will i be entitled to this when i'm contracted 8 hours a week?
3. and also is there any other things i could be entitled to?

i hate to sound like a proper benefit scrounger but the reason i want to know is that this is going to be hard for me money wise, it wasn't a planned pregnancy, i'm going to still live with my family, there is 7 of us in our house, me being the second eldest (i'm 20) so it's quite a young family, my dad is the only one that works, he works a good job good money etc. but by the time he gets paid, he and my mum have a never ending amount of bills to pay, mortgage, money for the kids school dinners, groceries etc. etc. i know they'll help me out financially but i don't want to be be taking too much off them because i know that realistically they won't be able to afford it.

sorry for the big reel girls but any help with my questions would be appreciated. thanks xxxx

 

[BevG]

they have scrapped the maternity grant unless your on benefits. same as they did to child trust fund.
you will get smp but its best to ask your company what mat leave they do, i.e how much as some do more than the standard maternity pay. i think its based on you having worked for them for 26 weeks before your preg. once baby is born you will get child benefit and tax credits. you can also check if your due a tax rebate. as a single parent you can get put on housing list with council if you need a bigger place too. it might be more beneficial for you to get a place of your own and if need be get your parents to say theyre kicking you out to make this done faster as you get more money if living alone. if your living with your family you wont be entitled to as much help.

 

[flossey]

thanks for the reply. aw crap really? didn't know you had to be on benefits, that sucks! at the start of my pregnancy i had gone down to the housing exec. and said i got kicked out etc. but from then i've just left it at that because i wouldn't be able to move out on my own with a new born baby, i still think i'm too young, i'd rather live with my parents for as long as possible then maybe see about getting a place of my own. i wonder would i maybe be entitled to the likes of the £500 grant because i am only contract til 8 hours a week (i wouldn't mention overtime) when i do my 8hours a week its the equivalent to what people on job seekers would be getting, (roughly £55 a week). aw i actually feel p*ssed off after reading that now, i thought i would have been entitled to more.

also do you know if, with maternity pay? is it only like a certain percentage of your contracted wage you get? because if so it'd be pointless for me nearly because of my 8hour contract at £55 a week :/ xxx

 

[BevG]

nah smp or mat allowance is one basic rate at the minimum. gimme a few mins and i'll try and find the exact rates for ya

 

[BevG]

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTa...ort/Expectingorbringingupchildren/DG_10018741

by the looks of this if you only get 55 quid a week then it might actually be better for you to quit. both types of allowance say 128 a week or 90% of your wages whichever is lowest.

 

[flossey]

thanks for the info bev. i'll have to speak to my mum about it and see what she thinks. i was thinking that quitting might be better, i'd obviously be better off..xx

 

[flossey]

said it to my mum there now, she said that if i quit work or got fired i would have to wait 6months before i can claim job seekers because they only sign ya on if you've been laid off or if you've been out of work for so long, i know of a friend who got fired from a job and they wouldn't let her sign on for quite a while.. so i don't think quitting is an option unfortunatley. ahhhhh stressssss lol xxx

 

[leannesxb]

I would stay with the job for the mean time but you can quit soon before baby is born (11weeks I think) and go on income support which is more than the £55 a month. Thats what I had to do with my son. As a single parent I couldn't claim tax credits top up until I worked 16 hours. If you are then on income support you can claim the £500 maternity grant. Speak to citizens advice they are normally really good at letting you know what to do. xxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[lyndsey_28]

hey hun

there should be an 8 week period when ur pay is monitored through work to see how much earn and if you pay national insurance during this time even if its only a penny you will be entitled to SMP if you dont u claim MA!! u can start ur maternity leave any time after the 29th week of pregnancy, but ur work place shuld be able to advise you on what ur entiltled to as mine do

1st time i didnt qualify for smp, so got MA at the max rate it was 10 years ago
2nd time around i worked overtime to qualify for SMP and got 90% of the earnings id earnt during the 8 week period not your average contracted hours!!
3rd time around im claiming MA as cant be bothered with the overtime!!

Surestart Maternity Grant- can only be claimed for 1st time parents now but you need to be claiming some sort of benefits i;e income support, working tax etc...and you can claim that 11 weeks before baby due to 11 weeks after baby born so you could still get this

Hope this Helps xxx

 

[BevG]

said it to my mum there now, she said that if i quit work or got fired i would have to wait 6months before i can claim job seekers because they only sign ya on if you've been laid off or if you've been out of work for so long, i know of a friend who got fired from a job and they wouldn't let her sign on for quite a while.. so i don't think quitting is an option unfortunatley. ahhhhh stressssss lol xxx

its 6 weeks if you dont have any savings. if you get fired you can sign on straight away if you dont have any savings to live off.