Maternity pay

Hi guys so I work full time and have been on maternity leave since May this year. I will get full pay (as if I was working), until December. If I want to take extra time off work, what will the pay be like does anyone know? I have no idea, I have emailed my work but not received anything back yet.

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chances are youll go onto stat maternity pay which is around £170 a week i believe. mine just stopped 🫠 so now im on £0 per week, woohoo 😂

As far as I'm aware, you can claim Statutory maternity pay for up to 9 months. So if you get full pay from your employer for 7 months, then the following 2 months will be at the SMP rate of £172 per week.

@Erin oh really it drops that much? I really want an extra couple of months off but I’m not sure if it’s going to work with the pay. Surely I’ll get more UC to cover the rest until I go back properly? Xx

@Natalie I get 6 months full pay but used up my holiday for December so I can have that extra month off xx

UC depends on how much you and your partner (assuming you're together) get paid and whether you have savings.

@Katie ah okay thank you

@Danielle your holidays would get added on to the end of your maternity. So after your 6 months full pay, you could then take another 3 months statutory (at £172pw), then after that would be any holidays you want to add on. You can't split the statutory to take holidays in between, unfortunately.

Please don't count it as months, but as weeks as it makes a difference. Maternity pay is 39 weeks. However, if for some of those weeks you had full pay, you only receive stat pay (£172 a week) for remainder of the 39 weeks. E.G-20 weeks full pay, you'd get 19 weeks stat mat pay. Any top-up of £172 from benefits such as UC is NOT automatic. You'd need to qualify for it (look up eligibility criteria)- if you did qualify, you'd still need to apply yourself to receive your employer doesn't do for you. They'll pay £172 a week as normally would your salary tho. You're legally entitled to 52 weeks off.Any time off past 39 weeks unpaid. Your employer usually confirms the total time off and what paid with you by 25 weeks pregnant. Appreciate things change (I have to give 8 weeks' notice to shorten or extend the time off I'd agreed I'll take) and some employers are more flexible.

Hey, if you do want to take more months off, you can’t take December as holiday and you’ll need to let them know this asap xxx

Hi! I’ve had my 12 weeks full pay & dropped onto statutory maternity pay now for 27 weeks then nothing for the Following 12 weeks 😆 just FYI I got 689.82 & had 71 in tax & 27.60 pension taken off that 🙈 maternity pay’s a joke! You get 10 keeping in touch days to use aswell where you get paid for the full day! Xx