Maternity leave :s

[Cristiana]

Salam aleykum,

today it has been my last day at work (I'm 8 months pregnant:up:) but I still havent worked out if I can claim some sort of maternity leave.

I work 12 hours a week (and earn too little to pay taxes) and I'm not on any kind of benefit. Do you think I have right to something?

Just this stuff is so complicated! :o

Thanks to anybody that can clarify it for me:)

[Arsalan]

Did you give your employer sufficient notice of your intention to take maternity leave formallly???

Fr paternity leave dont you need to inform your employer like 15 weeks earlier or something that you intend to take a certain amount of paternity leave , i think the max for dads is 2 weeks and it is paid at the altered rate.

It makes it easier if you are paid through the PAYE tax system during your employment to get your pay on time.

For mothers i googled this

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/WorkAndFamilies/DG_10029290

The UK system of taxes and claims is so complicated, but it is worth knowing your rights...

[Arsalan]

So according to that you are entitled to statutory maternity pay. Although i havent dealt with this in practice, i dont know the specific rules about informing your employer. But its common for employees to make retrospective claims for Satutory sick pay, and employers will pay them, but they may make certain stipulations in your contract that limit your right or ability to get SSP, iam not sure whether that applies to statutory maternity pay.

Check this:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/payetaxpayers/tmastatutory-maternity-pay-and-maternity-leave.shtml

[Arsalan]

Your hours are very part time, so i doubt you will get it, but check anyway, and if you do get anything it will be very little - assuming you have a pay rate of £5 to £10 ....

[.: Anna :.]

sis im not sure.. i work same number of hours as u per week, insha allah will try n find out soon what the rule is and tell u, but didnt u ask ur boss earlier?
i read that if u are part time have to work 5 yrs there to get maternity pay, and for fulltime its 3 yrs? but boss said it might have changed and we might still b able to get it...
if u cant get any i think u can get sure start maternity grant about £500?

[dhakiyya]

you can get some sort of money. if you don't qualify for statutory maternity pay (the rules are complex, yu can get advice from your local benefits office) - you would usually qualify for maternity allowance (anyone who has worked usually qualifies) and if you don't qualify for maternity allowance, you can get income support. So please see your local benefits office, where they can advise you which you should apply for inshaAllah.

Before you go, get a maternity certificate from your midwife inshaAllah - this is a small certificate that proves you are pregnant and also gives your due date. You may already have been given one. But if you ask your midwife she'll know what you're talking about and she can fill one in for you easily inshaAllah.

[$HugoBoss$]

I think you have to be full time but this is a different case, should have told your boss well in advance.

[dhakiyya]

I think you have to be full time.

you live in Canada right? In the UK you can get maternity pay if you work part time, you get a percentage of what you would have earned so someone working part time would get less money than someone working full time.

The employer pays you Statutory Maternity Pay if you qualify (depends on how long you have been working for them, whether you were pregnant when you started etc) - if you don't qualify, women who have worked almost always qualify for Maternity Allowance (how much you get depends on how much you have worked) and anyone who doesn't qualify for that gets income support.

My employer dodged out of paying me SMP on a technicality and I had to take it to the inland revenue who eventually ruled in favour of my employer. After that I made a claim for MA. I was advised by the Inland Revenue to inform the benefits office of my claim at the start, so that I did not lose entitlement to MA and got any backdated MA if I didn't get SMP.

The benefits laws in the UK are complex so you need to contact the benefits office for advice on what to apply for. The sooner you contact them the better but you can't claim them before a particular time (I think 11 weeks before your due date is when you should claim) - if you are late claiming benefits they don't always backdate them unless there is a good reason e.g. in case of a dispute like mine, even then you need to inform them asap

your husband should do the same as if he works he'll qualify for similar paternity benefits. I think he's entitled to two weeks paternity leave with which specific benefit depending on how long he's worked in his job.

[GuCcI]

you should talk to management and see wat kind of benefits ur elgible for.

[Cristiana]

Thanks everybody!

I found an advice centre in my area so I'm making an appointment there insha'Allah :up:

[Arsalan]

Thanks everybody!

I found an advice centre in my area so I'm making an appointment there insha'Allah :up:

Make sure you get your child birth registered quickly, and passport. Then apply for child benefit ( this can be done online) and also apply for your child tax credit. Couples can "claim" a reasonably amount of money back if they are on low income, obviously the amount of child tax credit and benefit decreases with increasing income. Make sure you and your hubby get their form P60 in April too, as proof and summary of earnings.

[.: Anna :.]

i was told u can get tax credit aslong as ur earnings is under 55k? so most ppl will be eligable as that is quite a big salary?
u need passport to claim stuff?! wont only the birth cert do? its hastle to get passport done until ur gonna take em anywhere :S

[Ebony]

Children require their own passport whereas in the past they could've been added to their Mum's.

Best off getting a passport anyway. Saves hassle for later years of form filling and them trawling through backdated applications

:up:

[Arsalan]

i was told u can get tax credit aslong as ur earnings is under 55k? so most ppl will be eligable as that is quite a big salary?
u need passport to claim stuff?! wont only the birth cert do? its hastle to get passport done until ur gonna take em anywhere :S

youll be eligible, but the more you earn the less you get... thats how it works for most things. You dont need the passport to claim for your baby, but its good to get it done quickly as possible for other reasons ( e.g. emergency travel or for other things)... birth certificate is enough, HMRC ask for the original to be sent too!!

[.: Anna :.]

yeah but dont they only require it when u wanna take em out the country? might not bother til they are 1+ or something?
and im guessing their ones expire quicker than adult ones cos the appearance changes more quickly? or can they use it for the 5 years?

[ummbilal]

Make sure you get your child birth registered quickly, and passport. Then apply for child benefit ( this can be done online) and also apply for your child tax credit. Couples can "claim" a reasonably amount of money back if they are on low income, obviously the amount of child tax credit and benefit decreases with increasing income. Make sure you and your hubby get their form P60 in April too, as proof and summary of earnings.

you dont need a passport to claim child benefit, just the birth certificate, and once you claim that you can claim tax credits inshaallah, if you have worked more than 6 months(which u have) you should be able to claim maternity allowence inshaallah.

[Arsalan]

yeah but dont they only require it when u wanna take em out the country? might not bother til they are 1+ or something?
and im guessing their ones expire quicker than adult ones cos the appearance changes more quickly? or can they use it for the 5 years?

I dont know about the 5 year thing or expiry rules.. will have to check up on that. But i know that children cant travel on mums passport anymore.....

[Arsalan]

you dont need a passport to claim child benefit, just the birth certificate, and once you claim that you can claim tax credits inshaallah, if you have worked more than 6 months(which u have) you should be able to claim maternity allowence inshaallah.

Yeh i know, but its better to get one quickly, coz they come in use.

[ummbilal]

maybe if you travel a lot with a new born....