Hi Can anyone give me any advice please>
I am 20 weeks pregnant and on a temporary contract at work, it started as 6month, but i have now been here for 8 months, I dont know where I stand as to Maternity rights etc - does anyone know???

Where I work you have a probationary period that lasts about 3 months. After that as a full time employee you should be able to start earning paid time off. You are allowed up to 12 weeks with a Doctors escuse. I have insurance so for the 1st 6 weeks to get paid I had to use my paid time off. If I ddin't have enough I would have had to go without pay. After the 6 weeks my short term disabilty kicked in and paid for the last 6 weeks but not at 100% only at about 66%. I am guessing you should have full benefits and be able to take off but it depends on if you have the short term disabilty policy with your job to see if you get paid or not while off. Good luck!

go on thw site www.direct.gov.uk it has a lot of info on maternity pay, i own my own business but never had temps so cant help you, good luck though xxxx

thanks for replying, its a bit tricky as well because the company is moving to another area, i have tried looking on some websites for advise, but maybe i ought to just speak to manager about it, as its unlikely i will have the job to come back to, i think it will be ending pretty soon say this summer and i was planning to work will my due date, so im obviously now stressing about money etc !!!!!

got my scan in few days undecided if to find out what im having !!! did you> i have a son already and him and my partner dont want to find out, but i do !!!

Hiya

I am only on a fixed term temporary contract... my baby is due in dec but my contract is due to expire in March. I work for a county council so was quite easy for me to find out where i stand and basically what I was told is this...

Regardless of your contract type... if you have worked longer than your probationary period, so you are now entitled to sick pay etc, you are entitled to 9 months statutory maternity pay, which at the mo is about £112 per week. I know if some employers pay you more so you can take the full year off but where i work I think this is on the condition that you return to work for at least 13 weeks uninterupted afterwards otherwise you'd have to pay that extra back.

I am in the same situation where I was worried that since my contract was due to end in the middle of my maternity leave, i thought my maternity pay would stop too... but no need to worry, you will be entitled to the full 9 months paid leave, regardless as to whether or not you have a job to go back to!

I hope this helps, I know I was SOOOOOO stressed thinking I would be skint and get no money but the good thing is too with all of these tax and child credits you should be entitled to at least a little bit extra... I hope so anyway cos maternity pay certainly doesnt cover my normal weekly wages... and unfortunately the mortgage company still expect you to keep paying even if you are knackered from giving birth!!!

Anyway, I do hope this has helped a bit

Take care and try not to worry, these things have a way of sorting themselves out in the end!! I hope

PS. This is my first and I cant wait to find out... I am so impatient and cant wait to stop buying BEIGE clothes.... i want to buy something with some colour... I'm not bothered which one but I need something colourful!!! Plus we are having a nightmare thinking about names so just to be able to narrow the search to a single sex will help so much!!

Keep us posted!!!!

Thanks for the above - I've spent ages trying to work out the whole temporary contract/pregnancy thing. I too work for a County Council on a temporary contract... which has now lasted two years and has been extended until May 2008. We were planning to start a family but I was a bit concerned about my contract running out, but having read your reply at least I now know where I stand. Just spent my lunch hour searchhing for info and although that's what I thought, you've told it in plain english!

Thanks! Good luck with everything.

x

sorry for delay in replying, im going to my scan in 2.5 hours i cant wait!!

tell me about the boring stuff and i totally agree on the name thing too its a real struggle, i can only think of funky girls names even though im convinced its a boy Id love a girl cos i have son already.

after scan i might go job centre see if they can give me any advice. i think the contract will be up this summaer school hols to be honest what i dont understand, is that will my employers pay the maternity pay or will it be the DSS??? i dont have a job to come back to.