Unrelated - but does anyone know anything about maternity rights/pay/benefits etc...?

Tracie Green

Tracie Green

Silver Member
me n hubby REALY want to start makin babies but obviously want to be financially stable to do this, we both work full time at the mo and i earn more than him at the mo,my worry is that when im on maternity leave we wont have enough money to cover everything, am i entitled to any other benefits apart from maternity pay???:(
 
i THINK the governemt also give you something like £150 a week but im not 100% a pregnant friend of mine mentioned it to me but id had a few glasses of wine i dont w if you get this if your work is paying out also
 
yeah i think i get 9 weeks 90% of my weekly pay then 33 weeks government pay which is £117 per week, just wondered if i would get anything else???
 
I think it is just the maternity pay from your work (or SMP from the government if your work doesn't pay it). You would also get child allowance per child once born. Not sure of anything else though.
 
Eekk - I didn't realise it was that little!! Then you have to pay nursery fees too, arrgghh. x
 
There is a way of increasing your work maternity pay. If you are monthly paid, try and work overtime ( or obtian bonuses/ sunday shifts) during weeks 17-25 I think it is.
I will have to check but it's the pay packet you get after that that they base the whole of your maternity pay on. So I used to work loads of sunday shifts during those 8 weeks. My sister in law was lucky enough to get a 2 grand bonus.

I can't think of any more - except when the little one comes along - you may qqualify for tax credits and you will receive the family benefit - fo what it's worth

Enjoy trying though :rotflmao::family2:
 
oh blimey, think i better keep ma legs shut, thats rubbish how little u get aint it!! : ( iwant a baby :(
 
i think the best thing to do is save for a year or 2 and then you will have the financial security you need. i sure as hell couldnt afford one!
 
Hey

yea it depends on ur employer! my last employer gave 100% wages for the first 6 months, so u could check and see?

as for nursery fees etc, if ya both workin full time, u get 80% of childcare money bk if that helps?

then u wud get family allowance of about 100 a month, n then workin tax credit but that does depend on ya total income and outgoings

xxx
 
How scary that you started this thread.. im having a crup week and cant keep on track have had maccies for 2 lunches in a row.. the reason being at weekend Mr G and I discussed having a baby and we worked out that on the pittance I would get for maternity pay and because
Mr G works for himself and therefore doesn’t have a definite income coming in we would have to wait for a couple of years before we can have a baby and save up.. or I could go back to work 6 weeks after having a child (which I think would break my heart and the bank balance for nursery fee’s as Mr G works away so i would be sole carer 4 days a week) its so annoying that people who work hard and actually got off their ar*es and got a job get such a pittance when it comes to maternity benefits and i so get now why some people dont work as its just not worth their while .. I have actually worked out that I would be better off jacking in my job waiting 6 weeks claiming Job seekers allowance then having a baby and claiming income support
 
It also depends on how much you both earn as to whether you are entitled to any other benefits.
I wasnt, apart from SMP pay. I had 90% wages for the first 6 weeks and then the pittance that the government throws at you after that (isnt enough to feed a mouse!), result...I had to go back to work after 6 months in order to live! We were lucky that MIL looked after daughter 4 days a week and then a local Childminder 1 day a week until we were able to afford a day nursery. Yes you do need to be financially secure, but you will never have enough to afford children regardless! Believe me I know!!!
 
I got 2 weeks full pay, 6 weeks at 90% then just over £100 a week for four months. That's in teaching, so similar social sector jobs would work same, I guess.

My advice would be that you will never be rich enough to have kids, so just do it! I think you find the money you need, so as long as you've got a bit of money behind you (which you can save while pg???) you will probably cope. You will find you don't spend that much money on maternity leave...it's the things you need to buy beforehand that cost a lot. We were lucky enough to have a lot of family who donated the basics like cot, but I think even these things can be done relatively cheaply nowadays...

On the other hand, i do agree with a lot of what's been said...we've really always wanted 3 children, but now we've got 2, we're feeling like having a third could break the bank in terms of nursery fees. If you want to keep working, more kids costs more: If you stay at home, more kids means more benefits. How crap is that?

There are ways of getting help with tax breaks on nursery fees, which I cna help with if you want it. Although I'd like some further explanation of this please....

stacey said:
Hey


as for nursery fees etc, if ya both workin full time, u get 80% of childcare money bk if that helps?


xxx
Click to expand...

HOW????!!! Can you hear the excitement in my voice???

I get £125 a month child allowance for two. I think it was about £70 for just one.

Don't put off having babies if you really want them. The warmth in your hearts and family will far outweigh the occasional worries about money...
 
There is a voucher scheme in place that you can pay registered childcarers, be it chilminder, nursery, schools and even social clubs. You have taken from your wage up to £243 a month that is tax free, the bonus is, that if you and your partner register, you can have £486 a month tax free towards childcare, which could save you on average £1,196 a year per parent. There are vouchers out there like Busy Bees (most well known) have a lok at their website busybees.com I think it is. The accounts department and yourself can set it up really quickly too.

HTH!
 
Dont click the link though, as it takes you to a Tarmac company for some reason!!!! Lol
 
You would get SMP or, if your employer has their own scheme, whatever this was over and above that. Once you have the baby you can get Child Benefit. You may also be entitled to Working Tax Credit when you go back to work and, before that, Child Tax Credit, both of which depend on your income and circumstances. Don't worry if you're self employed, this can be calculated on your income for the previous financial year. Also, as part of Tax Credits, child care costs are taken into account as expenses as long as these are paid to an ofstead registered nursery or childminder (so not a relative who does it for you for a bit of cash for example). You may be entitled to Housing Benefit for help towards rent if you are a tenant, or to Council Tax Benefit to help with the CTax bill. Again, both these are means tested and depend on your household and financial circumstances.
There you go - the potted guide to benefits!
 
I'd say that there is no perfect time to start a family. Me and my hubby waited until everything was just right and until I was in the perfect stable job, etc. Then 13 weeks into my pregnancy I got sacked. Tne reason,my daft boss decideed to tell me was because I was pregnant and she couldn't be bothered with me having time off. I asked her in front of colleagues (so I had witnesses). I sued the company, and won, but it took a year to win!

My point is, after all the sidetracking :D is that we had to survive on one wage through my pregnancy and until ds was 4 months old. and we managed! You can get your maternity allowance from the government, then when your child is born you get £20 a week tax credits (this is not dependant on income) plus you get £74 every 4 weeks child benefit. Thats it. If you are a low income family you are entitled to extras, but we never qualified for anything else.

If your body is craving a family I would say go for it. We've been trying for our second baby for 2 years now and no joy, so get started as soon as you feel ready, don't wait for that magic perfect time!

Good luck, hope everyhting works out for you xxx
 
In the olden days when me and ex OH were working our guts out our first little bean was born ..it was hard and we were scared how we would afford it all ..but somehow you just do ..and have to say now he is a strapping lad of 6ft 2 26 and gorgeous.. he was well worth the struggle and heartaches ..go for it girl you will manage
 
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