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ok this could be a long post but will try and keep it to a minimum but put in as much detail as i can.
before our baby was born the wife was working a full time job from 8 till half 5. she is currently on maternaty leave but only receiving statatry pay. once her maternaty leave finishes she will have to give the job up as im out at work all day and there is no way we can afford child minders/nursarys. we are hoping that she will be able to get a job working evenings/weekends when i will be home and able to look after our baby. now my question is can she look for and if she gets a job working evenings start that now while still claiming maternaty pay from her current empolyer. as we dont want to leave it till she has finished her job in case she canbt find anything for a few months as we are very tight on money and cant afford to live on just my wages.
hope this makes sense if not shout and will try to explane more
I have no idea about the question you are asking, but you say that you can't afford childcare if she goes back to work - before you make that decision, are you aware of the childcare voucher system? I'm not sure if it's changed recently, but if not, it allows you (if your employer is willing to participate) to take a salary cut and replace this lost salary with childcare vouchers to the same value, which are exempt from NI and income tax. Both you and your wife can do this, and what it effectively does is to knock about a third off your childcare costs (though it does affect child tax credits) - it's certainly worth looking into.
i do know about the child care voucher system and i know my company does offer it as for the wifes company we are lucky that they didnt sack her the day she told them she was going to be going on maternaty leave so know that they wont offer it. the problem we have is my wages are not enough to cover our costs i bring home about 950 a month and we need 1150 just to keep the house going so any reduction in my wages is just a no no and also we would rather that the wife doesnt go back to work during the day anyway as we are of the mind that we dont want someone else looking after our child all day if there is anyway we can do it. she is willing to go out to work in evenings nights or weekends just to up our money enough so we can hopefully have someone at home all day. as for effecting child tax credits that wouldnt to much of a problem as we are not going to be getting much from them anyway think its £21 a week.
Hi JD.
I'm no legal expert - so bare that in mind......
If I was in your situation...regardless of what the ins and outs where...I'd get out now and find a job while on maternity leave...your wife needs to be honest at interviews and tell perspective employers that she is currently on maternity leave..they will either give her a start date to coincide with her finishing maternity leave (if she is lucky enough to find a position that quickly) or ask her to start immediatly / soon ish....either way its better to have somethging lined up for when she ends maternity leave..
If her current employers discover that she has found another job whilst on maternity leave whats the worst that could happen? for starters it's paid for by the government..not them..
and secondly - they would only find out that she was looking IF she is offered another position, at which point it wouldn't matter from your point of view if they knew or not!
personally I wouldn't fret about it...just get on with it...if it turns out to be illegal somewhere down the line (I'm pretty sure it's not!) are the government going to throw a new mum in prison for not understanding a stupidly complex system implemented by a previous government...No?....will they ask you to pay some of the maternity pay back?..possibly...but this is the government...you offer £5 a week for the next however long and you wont have a problem..plus she would have another job sorted....
just muy thoughts....crack on!
good luck mate
Danny
thanks for that reply really makes sense and has helped a lot. think we will leave it till after christmas then get her out there looking for something
she is currently on maternaty leave but only receiving statatry pay.
Hi Jorjas-dad, I am a fully qualified Payroll Manager and I am very conversant with maternity legislation.
Whilst your wife is in receipt of statutory maternity pay she cannot work without losing the whole weeks worth of maternity pay, any hours worked at all would mean that she will lose the whole weeks pay.
If you find that you really cannot manage on the £124.88 per week plus your wages you should look at what benefits you can receive - it maybe possible to receive family/working tax credits, help with your housing & council tax etc.
If you contact the Citizens Advice Bureau they would be able to help you claim anything you are entitled to.
I hope this helps
Mags
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