Maternity pay crisis

[squishy]

Help! Have I got my calculations wrong?! In order to predict what I should have got for SMP, I had taken my monthly average salary, deducted 10% (it is 90%, right, has pregnancy brain got me?) and then deduced tax, NI etc....

Have just got my first SMP pay and it is about £500 less than it should be - before tax and NI, it is about £850 less than my other calculation.

EEK! Have I messed up, or have they?!!!

[MrsSchadenfreude]

Are they paying you the standard rate (around 108 pounds I think) instead of the 90% they are supposed to pay for the first 6 weeks?

[squishy]

No, it's more than tht - looks like just over 60% of my usual salary

[squishy]

OK, have just checked on DWP site and am sure that my initial calculations were right, but I know the woman who does pay at our place and she's rarely wrong - is there anything I've missed?

[squishy]

bump

[helenhismadwife]

can you ring her and ask how she worked it out and tell her that you thought you would be getting more could be she has overlooked something.

[pooka]

Has she maybe calculated it as if you were going to get 26 weeks of equal amounts so the payis the same each month rather than the 6weeks @ 90% and then the SMP for the remainder. My work used to ask us whether we'd rather do it that way so there isn't a big drop after 6 weeks.

[squishy]

will definitely ring her Monday, just wanted to alleviate my panic!

Am only taking 3 months, so it hasn't been calculated pro rata - can only assume (and hope!) they've made an error...

[squishy]

I've spoken to the woman and, as suspected, it wasn't her error but am worried by her response - she says she typed in the dates and the machine worked it out - she's gone to look at the numbers, but I've no idea about these machines, how likely is it that the machines make such a big error?! It has taken 60% of my salary rather than 90% - eek am bricking it till I hear back!

[Judy1234]

It is 90% of pay in the first 6 weeks I think unless your employer is generous as Mrs S above said. Surely that's the difference which is why a lot of women have to get back after 6 weeks. They can't afford a big drop after that to the standard SMP rate.

[Uwilalalalalala]

Look at tiger.gov.uk. The mat pay is based on how much you made at a certain point of the pregnancy (28 weeks pr something??).

[kslatts]

Hi, mat pay is based on you average weekly earnings over a set period during you pregnancy. If you go onto hmrc.gov you can use they mat pay calculator. There may be a difference because you based it on monthly salary, not weekly or if your earnings during the set period were less for some reason that will make a difference.

[helenhismadwife]

I think mat pay is based on what you earn between weeks 15 and 25 I COULD be wrong and that may just be my employers ring acas and ask them have your payslips handy

acas 08457 47 47 47

they should be able to tell you what your entitlement is and you can use that if your employers are wrong and you are right

good luck

[squishy]

Good idea, will ring ACAS in the morning. I've earned the same since October last year and just actually had a pay rise, which I've not been including. Also, this is the first period of my SMP, so should all be at 90% - blooming confusing and worrying though and they've not got back to me all day, so hoping no news is good news!

[helenhismadwife]

good luck let us know how you get on hope you get is sorted ok you dont need this just before christmas

[kickassangel]

although i'm paid monthly, my mat pay was claculated weekly, so i only got 4 weeks of pay (not a full month), and occasionally had a 5 week month. could it be something like this?

i'm sure it will be sorted out. it sounds like you know how to work it out, but they may not be paying you in 'equal chunks' if that makes sense?

[squishy]

Phew! Thanks for the support - got a cheque for £700 in the post this morning - the computer had missed several weeks!! But it sounds like the same error will happen in December's pay if I don't intervene (which, of course, I will!) as the letter I got said I was entitled to 5 weeks mat pay and had only received 3 - thanks to organisational policy, I'm entitled to 11 weeks....am visiting later on in the month and hope to get it sorted face to face......what a relief!

[kickassangel]

glad to hear it.

[helenhismadwife]

thats great news squishy!!!

did we tell your our fees for the advice 50% should just about cover it

[squishy]

LOL!!

Just realised they've overpaid me - not taxed me on the extra!! Good job someone's on the ball (or they'd take it out of my Christmas pay!!)......and I thought I could forget about work while I was off!

[helenhismadwife]

my employers were pretty useless as well I had to ring up most months because they got it wrong.

they paid me twice once for some extra shifts I did tell them but they never took it back