Maternity Pay

[JenniferG]

Does anyone know what the general drill is for maternity pay when your in full time work?

does it entirely depend on your individual job or is there a min standard where they have to pay you at least 50% of your wages for 3 months?

i really have no clue how it works and im not ready to discuss with my boss yet just wondered if anyone had a rough idea?

[dee5]

Have a look at http://www.dwp.gov.uk/lifeevent/benefits/statutory_maternity_pay.asp

Everything you need to know is there.

[Goodsoulette]

a very comprehensive guide to what you entitled to is in the pack given to you by your midwife. It is within your interests though to let your employer know as soon as you can... they need to look out for you and your baby. Good Luck though!! I believe next year women will be entitled to whole year off paid.

[utternutter]

You get full pay for the first three months (or six i cant remember sorry) then you only get a certian percentage of what you earn after that!

[Goodsoulette]

its 90% for first 8 weeks then the rest of your 6 months is smp which ia around 100 quid.

[lynlockwood]

It will depend on your job and your entitlement may change depending on how long you have worked there- if you don't want to ask your employer, contact your union rep (if you have one). You may not get full pay for three months-I'm a teacher and I only got full pay for 4 weeks!

[snoopydizzle]

It will depend on your job, like how long you have worked there etc. I found site below very useful - it's easy to use and very explanatory:

www.tiger.gov.uk/maternity

i know what you mean about not wanting to discuss it with your boss - i felt i should know my rights before sitting down to decide with them when i can leave, what i get etc. etc. so that i was in control, not them. I didn't want to be asking them, i wanted to TELL them!

General drill though is standard 6 months paid then 6 months unpaid additional leave (to be taken only if you want it!). first 6 months (26 weeks) is 6 weeks @ 90% pay and 20 weeks at approx. �100/week - this will depend on your salary i think. However this is the LEGAL minimum and anything else on top is a bonus offered by your company; some do offer better maternity pay/leave.

Goodsoulette says about the midwife pack - this is true but again it can be quite limited information - if you want to ask someone rather than read up on it on the net, then your midwife is the best person, she/he deals with it every day!!

GOOD LUCK!