Maternity pay help

[StaceyRainbow]

Hiya I have recently been made redundant but have now been given a secondment in Devon up until the 19th December which will now make me qualify for maternity pay I will get my travel expenses accommodation and a bonus of £2000, I will be paid any accrued holidays and I will get paid 28 days in lieu as of my last day at work which I assume will take me up to the end of January as my last pay off them..

My question is when should I ask them to start my maternity pay as I won't be working for them after 19th dec I'm due 28th March could I still ask for it to be paid after January? I will speak to HR on Monday but wondered if anyone had an idea

Thanks in advance

 

[MissyCumming]

Hi

To be honest i'm not sure what the law is on making someone redundant when they are pregnant and what (if any) obligations they have to pay your maternity pay as well.

Sorry i can't be of more help, i'd speak to HR on Monday and see what they say - if they do pay you then that is really great actually.

M xxx

 

[Muguboo]

It's possible they will pay all of your maternity in a lump sum - it is possible to get paid monthly with it (which you may want if tax is an issue) but I think it might be up to them how they pay it in the end x

 

[StaceyRainbow]

Oh I didn't think about them paying it in full I guess when I speak to them they will give me some clarity x
Thanks x

 

[Tarah]

You will have to find out how much holiday you have accrued also 28 days would take you up until the 16th january you can't start maternity leave until 11 weeks before due date so you should be able to start it straight away after the 28 days lieu of pay.

 

[StaceyRainbow]

Thanks tarah that really helped forgot that you can claim 11 weeks before due date

 

[Sophiejane]

Does anyone know the rules on maternity pay if you choose not to return to work - do you have to pay it back? I keep getting told different things and don't want to ask work just yet as keeping the pregnancy quiet 'till first scan x

 

[Pixel]

You don't have to pay it back and you don't have to tell them that you don't intend to return. If it's SMP the company claim most, or all of it back from HMRC anyway x

DWP info here

 

[Sophiejane]

Ah OK thanks, I read on one of the union websites (I'm a teacher) that you need to go back for a minimum of 3 months else you're required to pay it back...didn't seem right to me as how would you know how you feel after the baby's born?! Can't imagine I'll want to leave it even when it starts school! x

 

[Muguboo]

It may be in your contract to pay company specific maternity pay back if you don't return to work for a specified period of time - but they cannot reclaim smp from you x

 

[Tarah]

You have to pay it back if your company pays your maternity pay. Some companies have really good maternity packages and pay you more than standard SMP . My friend was pretty much on the same wage through out her maternity leave her company pay a really good maternity package.