maternity pay and overtime

[chellieboo]

Does anyone know whether any money you regularly earn as overtime is included when they calculate your maternity pay?

and when do they calculate your maternity pay from, I read about an 8 week period 15 weeks before EDD....is that 8 week period ENDING at 15 weeks before EDD or Starting??

Thanks

 

[Sherlock]

Have a read of all this on the Gov website here

Explains it better than I can

And afaik, its your basic salary only. Overtime does not count. You have to provide wage slips to them so they will take your basic not your overtime.

If in doubt call the DWP via the contact info on the website. They can answer specific questions like that.

 

[chellieboo]

thankyou

 

[Urchin]

You need to do as much over time as you can in the qualifying period.

Well, not IN the qualifying period, but make sure you get PAID FOR IT in the QP. They will look at everything you get paid in those 8 weeks, and use it to calculate your average earnings. If you can take any holiday on top etc, go for it, just get all the money you can paid in the 8 weeks

 

[Sherlock]

You need to do as much over time as you can in the qualifying period.

Well, not IN the qualifying period, but make sure you get PAID FOR IT in the QP. They will look at everything you get paid in those 8 weeks, and use it to calculate your average earnings. If you can take any holiday on top etc, go for it, just get all the money you can paid in the 8 weeks

Hmm interesting. If that is the case then that's a loophole on the Gov's part then When I was filling in all the paperwork I got the impression it was basic pay they looked at. Lucky for those that do OT if they consider it all. Mind you, thats only going to make a difference for the first 6 weeks isn't it? After than, unless the employer is paying extra, its just the basic £112? And if the employer pays extra maternity pay, its at their discretion so would they consider OT as something they would pay out for for the remainder of the leave?

Doesn't help if you are salaried either does it? I quit my job before I qualified for maternity pay via it anyways. 4.5 years with them and I chose to leave rather than work another 6 weeks. I'm only a few pound worse off for maternity pay this way oddly enough. I lose 6 weeks earnings but that was fine by me in the bigger picture.

 

[Urchin]

You need to do as much over time as you can in the qualifying period.

Well, not IN the qualifying period, but make sure you get PAID FOR IT in the QP. They will look at everything you get paid in those 8 weeks, and use it to calculate your average earnings. If you can take any holiday on top etc, go for it, just get all the money you can paid in the 8 weeks

Hmm interesting. If that is the case then that's a loophole on the Gov's part then When I was filling in all the paperwork I got the impression it was basic pay they looked at. Lucky for those that do OT if they consider it all. Mind you, thats only going to make a difference for the first 6 weeks isn't it? After than, unless the employer is paying extra, its just the basic £112? And if the employer pays extra maternity pay, its at their discretion so would they consider OT as something they would pay out for for the remainder of the leave?

Doesn't help if you are salaried either does it? I quit my job before I qualified for maternity pay via it anyways. 4.5 years with them and I chose to leave rather than work another 6 weeks. I'm only a few pound worse off for maternity pay this way oddly enough. I lose 6 weeks earnings but that was fine by me in the bigger picture.

I work one day a week, during my qualifying period I upped my hours in order to qualify.

I did the same thing when pregnant with Brody.
There is a big issue with me at work at the moment, but that's not really to do with me increasing my hours as such.. I rang the department of work and pensions and they told me exactly when to increase my hours etc... lots of people do it.

 

[chellieboo]

Thanks Urchin

really helps to know this as although i'm not pregnant yet i have to let my boss know by the end of the week whether i want to continue with the overtime up until october when it'll be reviewed again, and i guess every little helps!!

 

[Urchin]

Like sherlock says, if you are planning on getting SMP, the overtime will only count for the first 6 weeks if your employer gives you "full pay" then, after that your SMP will be £112 a week regardless of how much you earn in your QP.

I'm not 100% sure if your employer will agree to include over time, as my job doesn't include it, all I know is the government use the 8 weeks to calculate your "average pay" so I worked extra hours here to make sure I qualified for my SMP.

 

[tuck]

my ex employers paid 'full pay'(inclusive of SMP) for the whole maternity leave and overtime wouldnt be included as they would only pay your 'basic' salary, any pay rises or promotions etc would be taken into account though.

When you employer calculates your average earnings for SMP the following applies:

For SMP purposes, ‘pay’ means gross pay that is due before any deductions. The gross pay you get from your employer in the relevant period will be taken into account, as long as it counts for NI contributions (or would count if you earned enough or were old enough to pay NI contributions).

Sick pay, overtime, bonus payments, arrears of pay and even, in most circumstances, holiday pay, must all be included if you actually get them at this time. It is when you get the money that counts, not when it was earned.