WTT due to maternity pay or job?

[birdieboo]

Hi ladies,

As the title says really, I'm wondering if anyone else is waiting to try because of a job or maternity pay?

It feels like we've been WTT for years and there's always something in the way. I'm 26 & hubby is 33 (married, been together 10 years, own house, very stable). My job contract finishes in August and I don't have anything else lined up yet. We had been planning to TTC this summer. Hubby is really broody and thinks we should just start trying when we'd planned & if it's meant to be, it will be. He keeps telling me there's never a perfect time & we could end up waiting forever. I'm so broody, it's all I think about & I would love a baby. On the other hand, I'm a worrier & feel like I should have a job and maternity pay lined up because, although we'd cope without it - things would be tight. Plus I love my job (teacher) and I'd feel cheeky starting a job & going on maternity leave very quickly. But I know it's unlikely that we'll conceive straight away anyway so even if we started trying this summer, it could be a while....

What would you do? We've agreed that I'll come of the pill this week to try and regulate my cycles (been on it 12 years+)

Thanks,

Shelley

 

[beccad]

Most jobs require you to have been in it for a year by a certain point in your pregnancy (that i've seen, anyway) before you get their enhanced pay, if they do anything beyong statutory. Might be worth finding out what your local authority offers?

 

[Caroline:-)]

As beccad said, unless you're happy just getting the statutory pay, most jobs would require you to have been there some time before you qualify for enhanced pay... I've been WTT due to this very reason - I had to be in my job for 2 years before I was entitled!!!

 

[monni24]

I am in a similar situation. My Short Term Disability will not take effect until July 1st. It takes 10 months to kick in to cover maternity leave (I guess to keep people who are already pregnant sign up). I am scheduled to have my IUD removed Sept 14th then we will TTC.

My husband says all the time that there isn’t a perfect time to have a baby but I say there are times we know that are not right to have a baby there is never a perfect time but we can be as prepared as possible and we would be better off with me being off with pay instead of without.

 

[tommyg]

If you are happy / unlikely to get anything better than the goverment mimium Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) or Maternity Allowance (MA) then go for it. You never know how long it will take for you to fall or if you are going to have problems. Good Luck

To qualify for SMP you have to be working with the same employer from when you fall pregnant. i.e. it is something like you have to have been employed with the same employer for 25weeks 15weeks before your due date.

If you are an agency worker or are paid off in the time during your pregnancy then you have to have worked something like 12 weeks in the 18months before your due date.

The diffrence between SMP and MA is SMP gives you 90% of your salary for the first 6 wks then £123 per week, MA gives you £123 per weeks without the 90%.

 

[MRSRICHRS2K]

we are waiting to try due to my husband having a vasectomy before we met,, we are at the stage of making a appointment with the consultant.. so hopefully not much longer xx

 

[Widget]

We are WTT so we can beef up our savings account in time for my maternity leave. Basically, governmental benefits here pay 55% of your wages and since I make the most money, our finances are going to take a HUGE hit when I go on mat leave.

DF also wants to make sure that his SUV is paid off in time for the LO arriving so any extra expenses from the baby and me being on maternity leave can be offset by that extra money. Sooooo... that brings us to TTC in January!

 

[Dee_H]

I just returned to work in March after taking my full maternity leave (1 year) so I have to work for 6 months before I'm eligible to go off again...that is why we are waiting until September before we TTC.

 

[birdieboo]

Thanks for your advice ladies.

Well, I've accepted a job offer but unfortunately it's another 1 year contract. We've decided that we can't keep putting TTC on hold because of my job (as there's no guarantee I'll get a permanent job next year either) and hubby earns a reasonable wage anyway.

Therefore, we are going to TTC as soon as I start the new job (would feel very guilty if we fell straight away though & would feel bad telling my new boss!). From what I can see, if we fall pregnant in the first 3 months I should be entitled to some maternity pay & if we'll decide if we should continue TTC in Nov/Dec if it hasn't happened.

Just finished my last packet of pills!

 

[Darkest]

Thanks for your advice ladies.

Well, I've accepted a job offer but unfortunately it's another 1 year contract. We've decided that we can't keep putting TTC on hold because of my job (as there's no guarantee I'll get a permanent job next year either) and hubby earns a reasonable wage anyway.

Therefore, we are going to TTC as soon as I start the new job (would feel very guilty if we fell straight away though & would feel bad telling my new boss!). From what I can see, if we fall pregnant in the first 3 months I should be entitled to some maternity pay & if we'll decide if we should continue TTC in Nov/Dec if it hasn't happened.

Just finished my last packet of pills!

Great news and Good luck!!
I started a new job and was 4 weeks preg on day 1 of the new job. They were fab about it(yes i didn't get as much pay when i went on ML due to timeings) but i'm glad we did things when we did.