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Pregnant Pause - Your Maternity Pay Rights

  • BetterAskAdam.com
  • Oct 5, 2024
  • 4 min read

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Tory leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch has suggested maternity pay has "gone too far" and the government needed to interfere less in people's lives. Speaking to Times Radio, Badenoch said statutory maternity pay, set up to support mothers for 39 weeks after having a baby, is a "function of tax" which she called "excessive".


So what is maternity pay and how much is it worth?


There are 3 kinds of maternity pay

  • Statutory Maternity Pay

  • Contractual Maternity Pay

  • Maternity Allowance



Statutory Maternity Pay:

Your statutory maternity pay lasts up to 39 weeks, made up of:

  • 6 weeks getting 90% of your average weekly pay (before tax)

  • 33 weeks getting either £184.03 a week or 90% of your average weekly pay (before tax) - whichever is less


Part of your statutory maternity pay is based on your average pay. So it’s good to keep your pay as high as possible while your employer works out your average


Does everyone qualify?

  • Be employed and have worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks up to the 15th week before your due date (known as the “qualifying week”).

  • Earn an average of at least £123 per week for 8 weeks before your qualifying week (as of 2024).


When do you get it?

Your maternity pay starts on the same day as your maternity leave. You have a right to take up to a year of maternity leave. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve worked for your employer, how much you’re paid or how many hours a week you work.


Agency Workers

You can still get statutory maternity pay as an agency worker, even though you can’t take maternity leave.


If you qualify for statutory maternity pay, your agency should pay it even if you're no longer registered with them. See Citizens Advice for more information.


Some agencies might try to get around paying you statutory maternity pay by telling you that you’re self-employed. But this isn’t right - you can still get statutory maternity pay when you work for an agency.


Are small companies suffer from paying maternity pay?

As an employer, you can usually reclaim 92% of employees’ Statutory Maternity, Statutory Paternity, Statutory Adoption, Statutory Parental Bereavement and Statutory Shared Parental Pay.


You can even claim 103% if your business qualifies for Small Employers Relief.


If you are an employer looking to reclaim the cost, you should include it in an Employer Payment Summary (EPS) to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).


You can write to the PAYE Employer Office to ask for a repayment if you cannot set off the payments against the current year’s liabilities. You cannot do this until the start of the next tax year.


What are the rules about returning to work?


Maternity Allowance?

  • Maternity Allowance is a benefit for those who do not qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay.

  • You can't get statutory maternity pay if you're a sole trader, but you might be able to claim Maternity Allowance instead.

  • The government pays it to expectant mothers who are self-employed, have recently changed jobs, or haven’t met the earnings or length-of-employment requirements for Statutory Maternity Pay.

  • Maternity Allowance requires 26 weeks of employment out of the 66 weeks before your due date, but these weeks do not need to be consecutive.

  • You cannot receive both SMP and MA at the same time. If you are eligible for both, you must choose one.

  • You can get Maternity Allowance for up to 39 weeks.


How much is it worth?

It is worth£184.03 per week, or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is lowe


How do I get the allowance?

To apply for the allowance you should:

  • Obtain the MA1 claim form from the GOV.UK website or your Jobcentre Plus.

  • Complete the form and send it along with the required documents (e.g. payslips and proof of earnings) to the address provided on the form.


You can find more information about Maternity Allowance here


Contractual Maternity Pay

Some jobs give you contractual maternity pay as a benefit of working there. What you get depends on your employer, but you should never be worse off than if you just got statutory maternity pay.


Paternity Pay

By law, an employer must pay statutory paternity pay to an employee or worker if they're eligible for it.


Statutory paternity pay is either of the following, whichever is lowest:

  • £184.03 a week

  • 90% of their average weekly earnings


Statutory paternity pay is for up to 2 weeks. The employer starts paying it on the date agreed with the employee or worker.


Businesses can reclaim paternity pay in a similar way to maternity pay.



Have A Question?


If you have any questions that you want answered on Monday's Money Matters on Times Radio please click here or contact me on X or Insta @adamshawbiz





 
 
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