Maternity Pay Entitlement

So to get statutory maternity pay you’ve got to have been employed by them for at least 26 weeks .. which if you started 1st November … would take you to May 1st.

You do sometimes get enhanced maternity pay (which is subject to what your company will offer).. but not all companies offer this, mine doesn’t lol. I would believe if your company did offer this they would have their own terms I.e have to have worked there one year minimum.

If I were you, I’d personally hold off telling them until you’ve officially passed probation just to cover yourself. Once you have a signed contract you’re in a much more comfortable position.

You don’t legally have to tell your employer you’re pregnant straight away. You have until the 15th week before your due date (at the very latest that is) .. so figure out the date you have to tell them by! Xx

Were you pregnant before joining the company? If so then you won't get SMP but will probably get maternity allowance which is basically the same but a bit less to start with.

If you started with them before you get pregnant you'll at least get SMP which is the standard minimum. The two year thing sounds like the entitlement for enhanced maternity pay which you obviously wouldn't qualify for. At my company it's based on how long you've been there so as I've been with them for 5 years I get the top tier. It's not a requirement to give any more than SMP though.

With probation, it sounds like you've passed. But I'd want that in writing myself too. They can't fire you for being pregnant so if they're a decent company you're safe. I get the worry though!

We technically conceived on the 25th November and I joined on the 1st November so I definitely was not pregnant when I joined the company. Thank you so much for your advice! I will have to try to push my probation meeting first and go from there. They are a lovely company but there is lots going on behind the scenes at the minute which they will inform us about on Tuesday. It’s stressing me out a lot haha!

Ok. You might be cutting it fine as it works on how many weeks pregnant you are which is based on your last period. If you count 40 weeks back from your due date were you employed?

I’ve just counted back 40 weeks from my due date (17th Aug) and it’s the 11th November so that’s 10 days after I was employed.

The 17th August is also a Saturday so I’ll need to see if I want to declare my maternity to start on the following Monday or Friday the 16th. Also baby could come early so this is all very stressful 😩

Great! You'll get SMP through them then 😁 only by 9 days so good timing! SMP is 90% salary for 6 weeks then £170ish a week for 33 weeks. All taxable I'm afraid, but better than nothing.

It doesn't matter if baby comes early, don't worry. It's just about the estimated due date. Legally you were employed by them before conception so you're entitled to SMP.

I’d let them confirm you’ve passed your probation first…

Just to be on the safe side.

Because technically during probation they’re legally allowed to dismiss you with no excuse/reason needed.

But! Having said that, you’ll be entitled to a maternity pay of some sort anyway. Whether it be SMP through your employer, or if unemployed MAT Allowance. Both are still rubbish pay. 😅
I’ve been at my company 7years and we get no enhancements… 🫠