Pregnant and redundant!

Hi everyone!

I am an American in the UK on a Spouse Visa [settlement].

Last week my boss made me redundant, his company is insolvent and can't even pay my month's notice so I have to claim it back from the Govn't. Yesterday I my husband and I found out I was pregnant! GREAT NEWS but perfect timing right?

anyway my contract with my employer started June 15th 2010 and ends November 30th 2010, i believe this is 24 week long employment; just 2 weeks shy of the rule for Maternity Pay!

I am wondering if any of you ladies have ever been in a situation where you do not qualify for maternity leave? and how would i go about getting help for my baby /housing etc for 6 months in 2011 when im due? My visa does not allow me recourse to public funds.

many thanks,

L

Congrats on the pregnancy!  Excellent news--so sorry about the timing of the job situation.  Here's some info for you.

If you don't qualify for statutory maternity pay, you may qualify for maternity allowance.  The problem is that you still need income for a certain portion of that--even though it's less than for SMP.  Here's a link that explains MA:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Expectingorbringingupchildren/DG_10018869

Being on FLR doesn't matter for either SMP or MA.  You can claim them on a spousal visa--it doesn't fit into the "no recourse to public funds."

Here's a link to some info on rights with redundancy.  I hope you'll be able to work things out okay!

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/RedundancyAndLeavingYourJob/Redundancy/DG_10026616

The link says that if you don't qualify for MA, you may still qualify for some form of Employment Support Allowance.  I don't know how the visa would effect that though and if maternity makes a difference to how they look at it.

The link says that if you don't qualify for MA, you may still qualify for some form of Employment Support Allowance.  I don't know how the visa would effect that though and if maternity makes a difference to how they look at it.

Income-based ESA is a public fund. Contribution ESA is not, but I don't know if BEG has worked here long enough to build up her contibutions.
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/while-in-uk/rightsandresponsibilities/publicfunds/

Not sure what you mean about getting help for housing, BEG? Is your husband working?

Edited to say the UKBA list (link above) about 'incapacity benefit', is out of date.

Changes to benefits if you are ill or disabled

For new claims made from October 2008 onward, Employment and Support Allowance replaced:

    * Incapacity Benefit
    * Income Support paid because of an illness or disability
    * Severe Disablement Allowance

If you still receive any of these benefits, your claim will be reviewed by Jobcentre Plus between October 2010 and 2014.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Illorinjured/DG_10018913

And income-based Employment Support Allowance (ESA) is a public fund.

Thank you for your help!

my husband is working full time but rent in london plus all our bills will still be too much of a strain for him to cover on his own without me , plus the costs of the new baby during my maternity leave, without the SMP that i dont qualify for. Im currently looking for a new job [secured an interview already!] so we will be fine in terms of making rent and save a little, but obviously the problem arises when i give birth and find that 6 months out of work will destroy us financially. At this point, starting a new job elsewhere, i will not qualify for paid maternity leave. Unless i go to a corporate company that has its own scheme that will cover me. but sounds like a long shot?

It's not necessarily true that you won't qualify for any paid leave.  That's why I put the link in for Maternity Allowance.  MA isn't as strict as SMP, so if you manage to secure something quickly, you'll be able to get MA.  You need to have worked for 26 weeks of the pregnancy for that one, and I suspect that these final weeks at your job that you are being made redundant for will count towards that.  I'm not totally sure, but you may still be able to make it work with some paid leave.

It's such a stress though--even in the best of circumstances, and pregnancy hormones don't help any either.  I'm sure you will find a way to make things work.  Best of luck with the interview (I wouldn't tell them you're pregnant just yet  )