Pregnant with no contract at work??

Former Member

Hey guys, just after abit of advice, me and my fella want to try/think about having another baby next year:yippe: but the only thing is..... where I work I havent got a contract - even though I've been working there over a year!

What I want to know is.... will I still get maternity allowance even though I havent got a contract? If not then I'll start to look for another job!

Any help/ advice would be great! Thankyou.

Former Member

My advice would be to sort out a contract. Otherwise you'd potentially be stuffed if they chose not to pay you. Given as you've been there for some time there's the notion that the contract is implied, but you still need something to avoid having to go through litigation, which you'd want to avoid if you were pregnant.

Former Member

sort out a contract or look for a new job, or youll be shafted

Former Member

Keep asking (we all do that work there) and she wont give us contracts, says she cant secure our jobs (even though I've been there 14 months)

My work collegue says that even though I havent got a contract I am still entitled to maternity allowance tho. Looks like a new job it is then!

Former Member

Thanks for the replies!

Former Member

Be aware though that I think if you're starting a job with a new company, there might be a certain amount of time you have to work with them first before you are entitled to maternity pay. Not sure but definitely something to keep in mind.

Former Member

Yeah I no wrote: »

she wont give us contracts, says she cant secure our jobs

That's a cop out. Your contract has nothing to do with the security of your job. It outlines your duties, holiday pay, discipline procedures, hours, wage details etc.

I wonder what she's up to ?

ETA I'm pretty sure you have a legal right to a contract.

Former Member

RubberSkin wrote: »

That's a cop out. Your contract has nothing to do with the security of your job. It outlines your duties, holiday pay, discipline procedures, hours, wage details etc.

Exactly. She can draw up a contract without guaranteeing your job for the future, that's what the notice clause is for.

Former Member

FireFly85 wrote: »

Be aware though that I think if you're starting a job with a new company, there might be a certain amount of time you have to work with them first before you are entitled to maternity pay. Not sure but definitely something to keep in mind.

you have to be working there for a few months before you get pregnant to get minimum SMP I think, but preferably a year for the maximum benefits

Former Member

To qualify for statutory maternity leave and pay, you have to have started work with the company on or before the day your pregnancy is dated from, that is, the first day of your last period.

Private company schemes often need longer

Former Member

Olive wrote: »

To qualify for statutory maternity leave and pay, you have to have started work with the company on or before the day your pregnancy is dated from, that is, the first day of your last period.

Private company schemes often need longer

at my company and my friends work u have to be working a minimum of 26 weeks before being able to get maternity pay

Former Member

GhostGirl wrote: »

at my company and my friends work u have to be working a minimum of 26 weeks before being able to get maternity pay

26 weeks before you fall pregnant? Is it a private company scheme? Or is it 26 weeks before you leave?

For statutory they try and confuse you by saying you must have worked at the company for '26 weeks by the 15th week before your due date', which essentially means that by the time you are 26 weeks pregnant, you must have been working for your company 26 weeks to qualify for statutory maternity pay. Why they can't just put it more simply, I've no idea.

Anyhoo, if you haven't been working for the same company for 26 weeks by the time you're 26 weeks, but you have been working, you generally qualify for Maternity Allowance, paid by the jobcentre instead of your employer. This is paid at the same rate as statutory maternity pay, but you won't get the 6 weeks at 90% of your wage first, you'll just kick right on to the £120 a week, or whatever it is now. So it's better not to change jobs while you're pregnant, but it's not the end of the world.

Can you tell I've just been ploughing through all this crap?

Former Member

It's also worth noting that SMP is not a fantastic amount of money. If you're in a company scheme, that's generally better.

Of course, none of this means much if you don't have any contract at all.

Former Member

contracts are there to state the conditions but do not affect your statuary rights as an employee. it doesn't matter if she doesn't give you a contract she is still legally obliged as an employer to fulfill responsibilities

Former Member

ShyBoy wrote: »

contracts are there to state the conditions but do not affect your statuary rights as an employee. it doesn't matter if she doesn't give you a contract she is still legally obliged as an employer to fulfill responsibilities

Yeah what I was meaning was that if her employer doesn't give out contracts they probably haven't got a great maternity package either.

ClaireBear

Hiya,
Thought it might be useful for you to see this info. Could help clear things us vis a vis whether you have a contract or not (i.e. you do!). This means you have a whole load of basic rights, one of which is the right to paid maternity leave. Those links contain lots of info and it might be a bit overwhelming/confusing so if you'd rather talk it through with someone face-to-face it might be worth going to your local CAB.
Hope this helps some,
CB

Former Member

Olive wrote: »

26 weeks before you fall pregnant? Is it a private company scheme? Or is it 26 weeks before you leave?

For statutory they try and confuse you by saying you must have worked at the company for '26 weeks by the 15th week before your due date', which essentially means that by the time you are 26 weeks pregnant, you must have been working for your company 26 weeks to qualify for statutory maternity pay. Why they can't just put it more simply, I've no idea.

Anyhoo, if you haven't been working for the same company for 26 weeks by the time you're 26 weeks, but you have been working, you generally qualify for Maternity Allowance, paid by the jobcentre instead of your employer. This is paid at the same rate as statutory maternity pay, but you won't get the 6 weeks at 90% of your wage first, you'll just kick right on to the £120 a week, or whatever it is now. So it's better not to change jobs while you're pregnant, but it's not the end of the world.

Can you tell I've just been ploughing through all this crap?

26 weeks before you fall pregnant then in order to qualify again u need to have gone back to work from maternity leave for another 26 weeks. i work for lloyds pharmacy and she works for nhs x

Former Member

Thanks guys, will deffo look at them links!!

Thanks again x

littlemissy

GhostGirl wrote: »

26 weeks before you fall pregnant then in order to qualify again u need to have gone back to work from maternity leave for another 26 weeks. i work for lloyds pharmacy and she works for nhs x

I didn't need to work for 26 weeks before falling pregnant. I didn't work for that long either and still got all my maternity benefits. Mine was a similar scheme to what Olive posted

Best bet would be check out all your entitlements in advance.