Just wondered if there are any teachers out there who can help. Just wanting to know what you maternity pay and entlitlement was? Just trying to decide how long to have off, tried ring local council but she wouldnt tell me my entitlments untill ive sent in a form.

I know it myght vary depeding on the council you work within but thought it would give me an idea.
Im full time, permanant and have worked there over a year.

Thanks in advance.

xx

Hi Steph,

It depends on the LA that you work for but I think mine looks a bit like this:

4 weeks @ 100% pay
2 weeks @ 90% pay
12 weeks @ 50% pay + SMP
The rest on SMP

I think SMP is about £124 a week and I don't know if it is taxable - your pension and Student loan contributions downscale accordingly as your wages reduces. If you have a TLR this downscales aswell - they have to pay you your TLR whilst you are away.

My school were really good and printed me out a sheet which showed what my wages would be month by month for the year period that we are allowed off - this was really helpful to then sit with DH and work out the right time to go back.

Depending on your LA you may be able to accrue <sp?> holiday entitlement for every holiday that you will miss as you are on maternity, but I think this only counts if you take a whole year - e.g if you took the whole year off you should get your 21 days statutory holls (that everyone gets by law) either tagged on at the end or paid in full at 100% pay.

You can state your return to work as the first day of a holiday and automatically go back on full pay but I think I read somewhere that if you wanted to start mat leave in Sept after the summer holls you had to come back for a week min - I guess that depends on when your baby is due!

Hope that helps,

Gem

Thanks! Thats a great help, just to give me an idea really. My school have been pretty useless. The head keeps saying to ask his PA who is impossible to find and when i did she said ask the council.

you dont have to go back in sept to start mat leave in sept. you tell them when you start, except if baby arrives in august. it then starts on that day. if baby is due in august and doesnt arrive until sept they still start your mat leave on the august due date.

they asked for my letter last half term! i am only 20 weeks.

Bubble Toes is right. I think the entitlements are the same whatever council you work for. The only thing I want to add is that you can only take the 50% + SMP pay if you plan on going back for at least 13 weeks. Otherwise they will take this back. Its like insurance that you will return. That 13 weeks can include holidays.

I also started my mat leave on the first day back in Sept (my twin boys were born Oct 5th). I didnt go back and was paid full over the holiday. I wanted to go back but I was 33 weeks with id twins and my head wasnt keen (glad I didnt now, I was exhausted from about 30 weeks! lol)

Gemma, Ryan and Alfie (4 weeks 1 day)

My LEA goes like this

8 weeks at 100%
10 weeks at 50% + SMP
SMP after that.

My maternity started on 2nd November (even though due to half term i finished work on the 23rd)

My maternity will finish on 31st May and i will go back to work on the 7th June...you don't have to do it by school terms.

MJx
38+2

My mat leave looks look this

4 weeks 100%
2 weeks 90%+smp
12 weeks 50%+smp
21 weeks smp
total of 39 weeks

I finished on 1.11.09 and will start back 1.08.10 so will have an extra 5 weeks as its the summer break.
I rang HR for my leave entitlement and the LEA are hopeless.

30+5