Maternity pay & returning to work !!!

[victoriababe]

First of all Hi Ladies i am new to this forum x

After giving birth to a stillborn baby boy Thomas on 26th October 2009 i am stressing abouth the smallest of things. Probably my hormones. One of the main worries is money !!!

I am being paid my normal maternity pay in a lump sum at the end of this month as i am being made redundant. The first question i need to ask is, is this situation normal ?? Secondly will i lose out by this situation, will i be taxed, will i be better off ??? I'm really confused and because i am not in work and my employee is the pits i have nobody to answer these questions.

I also want to ask about returning to work. At the time of losing Thomas i was offered full maternity rights so i took them. After 2 and a half months off work i feel ready to seek new employment. If i was to go back to work with a new company will i have to pay back any maternity pay ??? I am also slightly worried about going back to work as we are ttc again. Will i have the same maternity rights as before ???

Any help would be much appreciated. Just need to put my mind at rest and try to do what is best in this situation.

Victoria x x x

 

[AgentM]

Hi hun, welcome to the forum!

Not much advice I'm afraid, but have you tried Citizens Advice? They may be able to help. As for as ttc with a new employer goes, I do know that you have to be with them for a certain number of weeks before you are entitled to maternity pay. Although you are entitled to statutory maternity rights, however long you have been with them. Hope this helps!!

ETA: Have you tried this website? Maybe useful x
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/parents...amilies/pregnancyandmaternityrights/index.htm

 

[megsmeadow]

Hiya,
I'm so sorry for your loss!!
It sounds like your employer has used your maternity pay as a redundancy package, other employees would be getting so many months normal pay? If your maternity pay is lower then you may be losing out a bit, or not if others are getting fewer months pay-off.
If your employer is paying a lump sum then this is from the company, not the statory maternity pay from the government as the company does not have a year of stat mat pay handed to them by the government. If that is the case, and you find employment elsewhere, then the money is your agreed redundancy settlement, and not money 'owed' to the government.
As AgentM said, most companies will have some maternity policy around being with the company for a certain length of time before claiming full maternity rights since they are essentially then paying for someone to be off.
I hope this helps. If there is a union rep in your work I would seek advice directly from them. If not citizens advice.

 

[victoriababe]

Thanks for the advice ladies x x x

 

[Rosie's Mummy]

You could also try ringing ACAS on 08457 47 47 47
www.acas.org.uk