Employer wont pay me 39 weeks stat mat pay, can they do that?

[Vicxzy]

Hi everyone,

Quick question,

Im taking early maternity leave as Ive been very poorly & hospitalised for most of my pregnancy.
My baby is due on the 19th of June & I gave notice on the 2nd of Feb to start my maternity leave on the 4th of April.
My employer emailed this info to me initially which I was happy with:

Start date 04.04.2011 then 90% of your pay for 6 weeks up to 15.05.11,
12 weeks of 50% pay plus SMP up to 07.08.11 and then SMP until 01.01.12.

However this morning I received a letter stating that when my mat leave starts on the 04.04.2011 & they will only pay me until the 15.10.2011 after which I can continue with unpaid leave which by my calculations is only 28 weeks SMP in total?

Ive been permanently employed by them full time since 01.01.2009.
Can they do this? Please help they are not in until Monday & I'm really upset.

Many thanks,

xxx

 

[LouLou1986]

i dnt know to be honest hun, far as im aware they only have to pay you for 6 weeks at 90% and the other 33 weeks are sat mat pay, thats all im getting tbh

 

[Miss]

Vicxzy stop stessing....

I am unsure of how many times I have said this to you now lol But if things are not right then you NEED to phone ACAS - they are the employment law people who can give advice on the situation, how to handle it and your rights!

 

[Vicxzy]

Thats all I was expecting Lou 39 weeks total inc stat mat pay but they say Im only having 28 weeks pay total which seems random...
Miss I know I am proper stressing but it seems just as one thing is sorted with work another happens.
Ive tried ACAs but they are closed until Monday on their website it says its 39 weeks...x

 

[Miss]

lol yes you are - It's no good for you!

I know how you feel about it tho - you think it's sorted and then they throw something else at you....my work has been the same - but the only people I could get info and make sure sure it was correct and relevant was ACAS.

I know that according to the law all woman are entitled to 52 weeks maternity leave 39 of those weeks should be paid The first 6 weeks at 90% of pay and the rest (33 weeks) at SMP. The only thing is when it comes to talking to your work about it it would be better if you could say "I have spoken to ACAS and ......" rather than "some random woman on a forum says...." or "I have looked on the net and....."

The only way to put you mind at rest and put the whole matter to bed is to contact ACAS on Monday morning. Give them your dates and explain to them about the letter etc they will tell you what is right and wrong, what you should do, what you are entitled to do and how to take the matter further should you need to.

At one point I thought I was going to be at a tribuneral with my work over sexual discrimination - so don't think you are the only one who has had trouble hun.

On the plus side...looks like your company pay more than Stat Maternity pay - you lucky lucky girl!

You never know....it may even be a bloody typo on the letter!
xx

 

[Vicxzy]

Miss I think hes confused it with stat sick pay of 28 weeks maybe?
They are bloody tools honestly!
I saw CAB & spoke to ACAs over a sex/ maternity discrimination case after all the bullying i have endured.
Evil Boss is currently being investigated & they've given a warning her boss who failed to stop her behaviour escalating
Yes is good that I get a few more weeks of half pay than stat but thats on the condition i return to work after mat leasve & as ill prob get made redundant whilst im away ill have to repay the half pay i received boohoo!
Oh well at least itll help us out while im off on mat leave x

 

[Miss]

Are you sure you will have to repay it if they make you redundant??? I thought you only had to pay the enhance maternity pay back if you handed your notice in without returning to work?

I hope you Evil boss gets the sack - bullying bitch that she was!

You come over a little more relaxed in your last post - I hope you are xx

 

[midnight]

smp is 39 weeks as far as im aware so i think they have just made a little mistake that should be easily rectified so dont worry and guess what its not long till you start matt leave

 

[Vicxzy]

Finally got hold of them & it was wrong after all my worrying the stupid gits! Grrr x

 

[Laura_C]

If you are made redundant honey i don't think you should have to repay your enhanced mat pay. If you took voluntary then yes but being made redundant is not something you can control, therefore would be discriminatory for you to have to pay that back x

 

[Vicxzy]

Thanks Laura I hope so but they are so difficult theyve made the whole thing a nightmare x

 

[Laura_C]

I am going through a similar situation at the moment so i totally understand how you feel! just got my final settlement letter today and my payout was over £1000 short, so I had to chase them again! Its sorted hopefully they have said i am right and will send me a new letter out to sign. I have been made redundant on Mat Leave so have had to negotiate my redundancy payout. I took voluntary as they offered me more. I know why because they just wanted me out. Since I lost my son it has confused things for them and I think they think i wouldn't be capable of my job anymore - not fair at all. I basically got what i wanted as i found out im pregnant again so worked our for the best for me!

 

[Vicxzy]

Sods arent they?! Just out of interest whereabouts in cheshire are u?x

 

[xx emma xx]

You don't have to repay mat pay Hun if you get made redundant while on mat leave. I'm in that situation just now and I did my research. As long as you have been with the company for 26 weeks by your 25th week of pregnancy you are entitled to full stat mat pay. I have been on mat leave for 2 weeks and redundancy goes through this Thursday and I will get all my money in a lump sum. But sometimes what they do is if your made redundant in middle of mat leave they will just continue paying the mat pay until the 39th week. X

 

[xx emma xx]

Oh and meant to add, I get group mat pay which is slightly higher and I took voluntary and still dont need to pay it back x

 

[Vicxzy]

Hi Emma,

No its not the stat I have to pay back they are saying I have to pay the enhanced back x

 

[xx emma xx]

Ah right sorry. You should get that checked out though cos if you get made redundant compulsory then i don't think that should be the case.
Is it voluntary or compulsory? X

 

[Vicxzy]

itll be compulsory x

 

[xx emma xx]

Defo look into that to see if they can do that cos it's not as if your choosing to leave the company. Your employers sound as bad as mine. I've had nothing but trouble since being pregnant. X

 

[Laura_C]

Sods arent they?! Just out of interest whereabouts in cheshire are u?x

I'm in Stockport hun x