When you work for a company, if you decide to have a baby, you are entitled to maternity pay for a set period – and your partner may even be entitled to paternity pay from his employer.
Employers’ maternity pay packages vary, so it’s best to find out as early as possible what your company provides. Many offer only statutory maternity pay (SMP). This has been extended to 39 weeks, and most women are entitled to be paid through their employer, depending on their circumstances. If you get SMP, your employer pays 90 per cent of your average weekly earnings for the first six weeks and then up to £117.18 for the next 33 weeks.
If you have the right to receive SMP, you'll get it even if you decide to leave your job (or are made redundant) before you start receiving it. Also once you start getting it, your employer must continue to pay SMP to you even if you leave your job or are made redundant. You don’t have to repay it if you decide not to go back to work or leave your job whilst getting SMP.
Partners can take two weeks’ leave paid at the same statutory rate as mothers. The biological dad and the partner of anyone having or adopting a baby qualifies for paternity pay, regardless of marital status or whether they are male or female, so gay couples qualify.
To claim this, tell your employer when you plan to take the leave by the 15th week before baby is due, or within a week of your partner being matched with a child.
