We have just started ttc and are really excited about it.
I am currently self employed but have started looking into going back to work due to the current economic climate.
How long do you have to work with a company before you are entitled to maternity leave and pay?
What happens if you haven't worked for the company long enough, do you lose your job, or do you have to take leave with no pay at all?
Dont know if we should put ttc on hold until securely in a job again, really don't want to do this though :\?
Any help would be graetly appreciated, again, lol!

im sure its 26 weeks before your estimated due date,have a look on the direct gov website,all the info should be there x

http://www.worksmart.org.uk/rights/if_i_go_for_a_job_interview

Just googled it, read the bottom paragraph.

BE ate my response. You have to notify your employer of your pregnancy at the 15th week before the baby s due, you must have worked for your employer for 26 weeks by the time you get to the 15th week. So in English, you have to notify them by your 24th week of pregnancy, as long as you've been in the job for a couple of weeks before you fall pregnant you should be ok.

Good luck ttc xx

http://www.worksmart.org.uk/rights/if_i_go_for_a_job_interview

Thank you dotty for putting that into english for me!
Its all to think about at the mo, would probably make sense to stop ttc until I am in work again :cry:
What happens if you are already pregnant when you start work or fall within the first few weeks, are you entitled to anything?
Just looking into all eventualities!

the longer you are with a company, the better your benefits, although they cannot sack you if you fall pregnant when you havent worked there long. they can, however, refuse to pay maternity based on a bad sickness record xx good luck ttc xx

if you're already pregnant when you start work you wont be entitled to SMP but may be entitled to MA- as long as you've been with the company 2 weeks longer than your LMP before BFP you get SMP

OMG this is so confusing, or maybe I'm a bit dim today, lol!
So if get a BFP before I start work I may only claim maternity allowance (??123 a week I think) but if when I get my BFP I have worked for the company for 2 weeks or more then I could also get SMP for 6 weeks at 90% of my wages and then the smp at which is the same amount as maternity allowance.
So basically if I fall pregnant before work then I will only miss out on 6 weeks at 90% pay?

Yes, pretty much. It all depends on the company you get a job with, most have the usual 90% pay for 6 weeks and then SMP for the final 33 weeks. My company were slightly different, I got 4 weeks full pay, 2 weeks at 90% pay, then up to 20 weeks I got 50% of my salary + ??123 a week SMP, providing it wasnt more than my usual salary. And then the final 19 weeks were at the SMP rate. I work in a college (admin) and I believe the maternity packages tend to be quite good in the education sector. Unfortunately I don't think you'd be able to see most companies maternity packages before starting employment with them, it would look a bit risky if you asked for it before you even start a job. But if you get any interviews check out the company website, some of them may have their t&c's on there?

[Modified by: dotty1977 on January 08, 2010 02:16 PM]