Maternity Pay

[CharlotteH24]

Yesterday I found out I am pregnant, conceived 2 weeks ago but 4 weeks pregnant by the doctors guidelines. I'm working part time at a pub but my hours vary from 8 to 48 hours per week as I'm on a zero hours contract, currently I'm lucky if I get more than 15 hours. I only started working there around the end of November and before that I worked in a different pub from the 28th May to the 8th October.
Obviously I'm not ready to tell my boss that I'm pregnant just yet, my mum doesn't even know. I think they need to know by the start of March so I can ask for a few more hours as I'll be due early September or late August 2015.
My worry is that when I ask they'll say no, I'm not based as self employed and my NI is taken out of my wages by my employer. Currently I'm being paid between £90 and £130 per week, more often than not it's at the lower end. Apparently I need to be earning an average wage of £111 per week to qualify for SMP, I also need to have worked there for 7 days before my last period but I've forgotten what day exactly AF arrived in November.
I'm panicking because, while my OH could just about scrape the money together to pay for all of the bills alone, it would be cut very short and I don't want to feel like it's my fault because I didn't qualify for either.
If I'm on a zero hours contract can I still apply for MA even though my NI is taken from my wages before I receive them? I don't earn enough to be charged tax on my wages currently.
I think I had started my period on the 1st December, give or take a day, and I started working at my current place on the 22nd November. Do the employers go by the NHS way of dating or by actual conception dates?

 

[Mrs M]

I don't really know anything about MA, but the dates all NHS people will use is the date of your last period. I have no idea about 0 hour contracts either! It could be worth a look on a site called entitledto.co.uk as this will help with any benefits you could received which would obvs help with the financial side of things! You'd be entitled to at £20 per week as long as your earnings are under £42k

 

[tinkerbell13]

Midwife will use date of last period initially but you will be given date at 12 week scan (based on growth measurements of baby) mine was moved forward 4 days. I am claiming MA so may be able to help. I was made redundant whilst pregnant but got another job at 20 weeks which was temporary but I qualified for MA which I get for 39 weeks.

In order to qualify you must have been employed or self-employed for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before the week your baby is due and earning at least £30 a week over any 13-week period. Being on a zero hours contract shouldn't make a difference as you're still employed but you'll need to have met the £30 per week criteria. Hopefully this will help..... https://www.gov.uk/maternity-allowance/overview

legally you have to inform your employer that you're pregnant at 25 weeks.

 

[CharlotteH24]

I know that I qualify for MA by the criteria of how much I've been paid weekly, I don't get given my pay slips currently so I don't know whether there's NI contributions being paid currently. I know that I paid NI multiple times where I used to work this summer gone but I'm not sure whether my employer has been doing it or whether he's expecting the employees to do it. Can you choose the 13 weeks or do they need to be consecutive?
I plan on telling them by 12 weeks or so, I just don't want to tell anyone until I'm out of my first trimester.

 

[Rachyw86]

I would call the maternity allowance/maternity pay. Tell them your situation and see what they advise x

 

[Fi mail]

Why don't you get given payslips? Based on your earnings you should be entitled to the maternity allowance or possibly even income support, if you are entitled to income support you'll get the sure start maternity grant, you have to claim this within three months of the birth or after 29 weeks pregnancy. You'll also qualify for healthy start vitamins veg fruit and milk based on your sole income. Your midwife will give you a matb1 at 25 weeks pregnant, you give this to your employer and they them work out wether you're entitled to statutory maternity pay based on how much you've worked. If your not entitled to that then they have to tell you to get an MA1 form, some companies with 0% contracts do have maternity pay agreements so it's worth asking. As long as you've paid NI you'll be entitled. You need to also go to your local job centre to see whether you'd be better off not working tbh they will tell you what you can have now and in the event of being unemployed. Sadly this is reality so although it's frustrating you may well be better off not working.... I'm a midwife, not completely up to date with all of the benefits available as they change so often so this is the advice I give to my ladies. You should be getting payslips though, I'm sure it's illegal for them not to give you any.

 

[CharlotteH24]

The owner of the business owns two pubs in the county, he spends more time at the other one because it's the real money-maker of the two. He also does the books himself rather than hiring an accountant and payslips are meant to be emailed over because when he posted everyone's payslips over, no one would pick them up and take them home. He was meant to start emailing every their payslips a few weeks ago but no one has had an email. I've personally never met him and I have no contact details for him either, the managers do but they're unreliable to say the least.
It means that I'm not sure how much NI has been paid or if I've even been taxed the right amount, I've asked around work and got "we don't know what's happening either" as a response.
I'd need SMP or MA so I still have at least a little bit of my own freedom, my OH can afford our two cars, house and baby on his wage alone but we'd be pretty restricted when it comes to money. The extra £100 a week would be a godsend and make sure that we always had money to fall back onto. My OH is meant to be starting a new job with a better salary but I don't want to bank it all on that. I hate feeling so unorganised!