Looking for advice on Maternity Allowance
Q. I am no longer employed and in receipt of Universal Credit. I am pregnant and looking to claim Maternity Allowance.
A. Maternity allowance is a benefit which is payable if a woman has worked for long enough, and has earned enough, before her baby is born. It is paid to women who have recently worked, including those who are self-employed, and who do not qualify for statutory maternity pay.
If you have been employed or selfemployed, then in order to work out your entitlement to maternity allowance, we would need to know two technical terms:■ The expected week of childbirth (EWC) ■The employment test period.
The expected week of childbirth (EWC) is the week in which the baby is due.
A week is seven days beginning with a Sunday. The employment test period is the 66 weeks ending immediately before the EWC.
To calculate this, a woman should count back 66 Sundays from the Sunday at the start of the week in which the baby is due. If you meet this criteria then you can claim maternity allowance on or after the 14th week before the week the baby is due.
Even if you wants to work late into the pregnancy, you should claim as early as possible. To claim for Maternity Allowance you should claim on form MA1 and this form can be obtained from either your local ante-natal clinic or local Jobcentre Plus office. This benefit can only be backdated three months so it is important to claim on time.
Q. I work in the education industry and I am looking to go back to university full time in later on in the year. I would like to hand in my notice and I am looking to seek some advice on when to do this.
A. You would have to check your contract of employment to ensure you are giving the correct notice period. If the summer holidays are classed as part of your term time you may have a different leaving date than if they are not (annual leave). You could give an exact termination date in the correct written format to your employer so that there is no room for misinterpretation as you are allowed to give more notice than your contract stipulates and your employer is not allowed to make you leave earlier – this could be seen as unfair dismissal.
Q. I have had a simple procedure brought against me for non-payment of services that I have found unsatisfactory and have complained to the company about. I have received a response from the courts and wish to seek some help filling it in. I am not sure what to put down on the form.
A. When you respond to the courts on this particular form you will get the option to pay, option to get time to pay or to dispute the claim.
If you want to dispute the claim you have to fill in part C2 – Disputing the claim and give your reasons for doing so – it will not be sufficient to just put down that you do not want to pay.
Section D of the form will allow you to put the reasons for your response down and section E asks for the evidence, documentation and any witnesses that you may want to include.
You will have to ensure that this section has been completed fully as the Sheriff will base their final decision on this. Any witnesses that you put down, you will be responsible for getting to the court if required.
Q. My husband took ill a few months ago and passed away very quickly. He had no previous health conditions or disabilities and was considered in very good health.
I have struggled with the loss of him. While I was sorting out his financial affairs I found a life insurance policy. What should I do?
A. Your first course of action would be to contact the insurance provider and get a claim form– generally life insurers will not have time limits on making a claim because they understand that people have other priorities when a loved one passes away. It is important not to rush the form and make any mistakes as you do not want to delay any possible pending payments.
The life insurers may want to check information provided which is part of the process.
If you are successful with a pay-out it may be beneficial to check to see if the payment will have an effect on any benefits you are in receipt off.
Q. My partner and I are splitting up and we both want to make an arrangement for myself to pay maintenance for my child. What would be the best arrangement we are still on good speaking terms.
A. There are three different ways to arrange child maintenance. Some people arrange maintenance voluntarily with each other, others have maintenance calculated and collected under a government scheme and some have arrangements made by a court order.
The best approach would be to arrange payments directly with your ex-partner as the government scheme charges a fee and the courts can be time consuming.
If the private arrangement or “familybased” arrangement does not work out then you always try the government scheme.
■PLEASE NOTE: Rutherglen & Cambuslang Citizens Advice Bureau is open for telephone / e-mail advice on Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 3pm.