Questions about MA

[Frooty]

Hi ladies. So i recently stopped working last week to go on leave but im not entitled to maternity allowance from the employer as its only a 6 months job post. Im on the site and it says, Maternity Allowance (MA) is a benefit paid weekly by Jobcentre Plus to pregnant women. You might get MA if:

you are employed , but not eligible for SMP
you are registered self-employed and paying Class 2 National Insurance Contributions (NICs), or hold a Small Earnings Exception certificate
you have recently been employed or self-employed

What do i put down on the form that im not employed or was recently employed? I have my maternity certificate i got from my midwife today. Ugh so confusing. Im not claiming any benefits at the moment either. Hopefully someone can fill me in.

 

[DragonMummy]

presumably even though you don't get pay you are still on maternity leave?

 

[tuppance]

Has your job completely ended now? If it has and there is an option to put down 'recently employed' tick that, if not put down 'unemployed'. I think their main concern is seeing the wage slips that you need to provide and that you have worked 6 months in the time frame they give you.

Hope that helps a bit!

 

[tuppance]

Oops sorry forgot to say that they have a guide to go with the form on the jobcentre website which is super useful for filling the forms in !

 

[Frooty]

Well it was due to end in May but i can't stay that long as my baby is due in june. I phoned my employer they said im not entitled to Stat pay cus the job is only 6 months anyway so i had to leave the job so i guess i could put down recently employed.

 

[DragonMummy]

yeah that's the closest I guess. I think there might be a helpline attached to the form, otherwise pop into a jocentre. I had to claim MA with my first as i was pregnant when I started my job (been there 5 years now thankfully!) and I remember it was a pain in the arse.

 

[Frooty]

I'll give the DWP a ring tomorrow tell them what the deal is and see if i can claim.

 

[Tryingfora4th]

Did you have another job before you started the temporary one?
You have to have worked for 26 weeks out of the 66 weeks before your due date so if the 6 month job was your only job for a while then you wont be entitled to MA because you didnt do the full 6 months.

 

[Frooty]

No i didnt work before the temp one i must be able to claim something :s

 

[My_First]

Unfortunatly you will not be able to claim MA, as you didnt have a job before this temp one. As the poster said above you need to have worked for 26 weeks during your test period.

 

[Sunday_girl]

You need to look at the test period section in the forms, which explains how many weeks you need to have worked, and lets you work out the dates. If you havent worked enough you should look at income support. Good luck, i know how confusing it all is!

 

[yumyum1979]

well im doing this now and i started a temp job for my sister-in-law 12 nov2010 and now she has no work for my so thats it ive ended but not starting maternity for a while. I called them yesterday and explained my situation my baby is due 10june so ive just made it by 7 days ! i also have to send 4 months payslips. its very confusing all this 66 wks etc but the form gives you a table to follow, so you dont have to work 6 months.

mine is week of expecting 5 june/11june
15th week before the week your baby is due is 20 feb 11
the first day of test period 28th feb 11
last day of test period 4th june 11

so if i was due say 20 june i wouldnt be entitled !

get a form i will explain it x

 

[yumyum1979]

forgot to say im still employed

 

[Frooty]

Thanks for the help ladies im going to the job centre today see what they say.

 

[Frooty]

What a bloody cofuffle with this MA i got my MA forms from the jobcentre but need a SMP1 form from my employer saying why they themselves cannot pay me, was told jobcentre has to fill that in too. Umm first say of my test period is 7th march does that mean they can start paying me from then?

 

[My_First]

What a bloody cofuffle with this MA i got my MA forms from the jobcentre but need a SMP1 form from my employer saying why they themselves cannot pay me, was told jobcentre has to fill that in too. Umm first say of my test period is 7th march does that mean they can start paying me from then?

No. If you are eligiable for it, it will start from when your maternity leave starts/started. Is that the 7th March 2011 or 2010?

 

[Frooty]

Well i left work on the 21st March. 7th march 2011

 

[My_First]

In the pack you need to look at the start and end of your test period. In order to be eligiable you need to have worked 26 weeks out of the 66 weeks before ythe week your baby is due.

So from your ticker your baby is due 18th June 2011? (approx?)

So from 7th March 2010 - to the 11th June 2011 (Test period - shown on page 5 of the application form) , you much have worked 26 weeks in that period to be eligiable.

 

[Frooty]

If i am not eligible what else could they give me? Cus i have no money coming in now

 

[My_First]

If i am not eligible what else could they give me? Cus i have no money coming in now

If you quit your job, you cannot claim JSA for a few months (don't know exactly). Probably worth trying to find some temp work for a few months...