Maternity pay how early can I take it

If you are only getting SMP and not enhanced maternity pay then you can resign and it won’t affect your SMP

You won’t need to pay back SMP. You can resign any time, just work out what you want your last day to be, and what your notice is, and resign the appropriate time before this. You’re entitled to a year off so I’d just send your resignation the appropriate time before this - it will avoid long gaps on your CV and also means you accumulate annual leave/bank holidays! You can add any accumulated annual leave and bank holidays to the end of your maternity leave which would count as your “notice period” even if you’re technically not there. Also depends when you want to start your new job though as of course you’d need to be fully resigned from this job before you can start a new job :)

You won’t be entitled to SMP if you resign… it’s a benefit paid by employers. Instead you would get Maternity Allowance from the state (MA), I don’t know if the rate is different but you should investigate fully before you give notice. You can always give notice while you are on Mat leave, rather than before

If you resign from employment you won’t be entitled to SMP but you will be Entitled to Maternity allowance I think. However I’m sure they’re the same amount regardless. Might be something to look into x

Why would you quit before the end of your mat leave? You don’t have to stay where you’re normally based and then you can just give sufficient notice not to return from mat leave. If you take the full year your employer will have to pay you your usual annual leave + bank holidays

The earliest I believe is 28 weeks for the NHS its as early as 26 weeks if you're really unwell. They should give you a piece of paper that's states you will return for 12 weeks after maternity leaves or that you won't be. Just tick which ever of the two that say you're not returning that applies to you and that's essentially you resigning.

If you resign during maternity leave or after, you do not have to pay back any SMP, just any enhanced pay if you are getting that as well. I took my maternity leave, then handed in my notice. I was full time before I went on maternity and I moved across the country for my husband’s work, which is why I couldn’t go back. To avoid paying back my enhanced maternity pay, HR changed my contract from full time to 2 days a week from my date of “return”. Then I took all my accrued annual leave at the rate of 2 days a week. That covered the whole 12 weeks/3 months that I needed to “return” to work. Therefore I didn’t pay back anything, and didn’t need to physically return at all. This was the NHS. X

As soon as you resign your SMP will stop. So I’d either stay employed and get your full SMP, or resign beforehand and claim maternity allowance

If you receive enhanced maternity pay from the NHS you have to return to work for three months or pay it back. If you only receive SMP then this doesn’t apply but I would time your resignation with the end of your maternity leave. You’ll continue to receive your SMP during your notice period unless you’re into the unpaid last three months of it.

It really depends on where you work and your company’s policy. For instance in my company they pay full salary maternity and do not make you pay it back if you resign afterwards

@Katya because my family situation requires it and my husband would be working in a different city. And I doubt I will be able to work with everything going on.

I work in a school. And I'm not sure how to approach HR regarding this (smp). I did ask them if I'm entitled but I'm still unsure how it would work if I resign I would like to claim the benefits for obvious reasons and then I am willing to work as long as required and then quit at the earliest.

What I mean is, you can relocate and do what you and your family need while being on maternity leave. Then let’s say you have 3 months notice at work - you tell them after 9 months of leave that you won’t be returning to work. As long as you provide your contractual notice you don’t need to return. There’s nothing wrong with doing that, lots of mother don’t return from mat leave, sometimes even if they planned to return initially. If you’re really worried about it you can straight up tell them you plan to take your full year of mat leave because you are entitled to it and that you will not return so your last day of leave will also be your last day of employment. This way you’re being straight with them while not giving up any of your legal entitlement. And what I mean by this is that you’ll get a years worth of annual leave + bank holidays paid at your usual pay rate, not SMP

I think you’ll find this very useful https://maternityaction.org.uk/advice/resigning-from-your-job-during-pregnancy-and-maternity-leave/

@Kate I'm not sure the policy is quite confusing for me and IDK how to word this to hr. Would I be able to speak to payroll directly and ask them questions regarding resigning and mat leave? Would they be helpful or would they speak on the school 's behalf

@Katya thank you. It's a bit overwhelming. I'm planning to stay until before the 11th week of edd as that is the earliest I can go off on Mat leave. Also since I work in a school we don't have any annual leave

I asked HR directly, I phrased it in a way that can you explain the process ince I get back from maternity, what support there is bla bla and can you explain the process if I decide not to come back from maternity.

@Chloe I'm not planning to work until baby is 1.5 -2 years. So I'm not worried about starting a new job. I would just like to claim the benefits of SMP.

@Kate would you be able to tell me what you asked as I don't want to give away too much information. Iykwim

I asked them what my maternity entitlements are and if I receive SMP they did not tell me if I need to pay it back.I did not mention resigning as well.

I think my best bet would be to say my last day would be my last day of Mat leave. I'm just wondering if it's rude or selfish though Sorry for my lack of ignorance. It's my first job in this country and I'm not sure of the idiosyncrasies of mat leave

@incog not rude or selfish at all! You have to put yourself and your family first, and honestly in my experience a lot of employers expect people not to come back, don’t worry about it, you don’t owe them anything! X

Are you part of a teachers union? Of not, can you join one? It seems the rules a bit more complex for teachers

I'm a teaching assistant so a bit different