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Maternity leave

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  • 23-07-2015 4:51pm
    #1
    Little Miss Cutie
    Registered Users Posts: 1,194 ✭✭✭


    Hi all,
    Trying to get my head around maternity leave, I'm still a long way from starting but was wondering how long others recommend?

    I think realistically the most I can afford with being stuck is 9 months.... It seems like a pretty short time but maybe baby won't mind.....


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    #2
    Penny Dreadful
    Registered Users Posts: 3,041 ✭✭✭Penny Dreadful


    Little Miss Cutie wrote: »
    Hi all,
    Trying to get my head around maternity leave, I'm still a long way from starting but was wondering how long others recommend?

    I think realistically the most I can afford with being stuck is 9 months.... It seems like a pretty short time but maybe baby won't mind.....

    It all depends on the individual woman, the baby, financial circumstances, etc, etc.
    You'll have your statutory 26 weeks (2 before birth and the others after is usually how people try to do it) and 4 weeks before you're due back you'll have to tell your work place if you intend to take the extra 16 weeks unpaid.
    If you decide not to take it then you'll have your accumulated annual leave and bank holidays added onto your 26 weeks and then you'll be due back.

    If your delivery is straightforward and you recover well and quickly then that may have an impact on your decision as might how your baby is- is s/he a sleeper, do they have colic or other issues, etc etc.

    I decided to take it as it came and ended up taking all of the extra unpaid leave plus holidays, etc and my little girl will be a year old (plus one week) when I return at the end of September. I've loved being off and would stay at home with her forever........if only I could find some way to be paid the same as going to work.


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    #3
    Little Miss Cutie
    Registered Users Posts: 1,194 ✭✭✭Little Miss Cutie


    Thanks Penny, I just don't think financially I can afford to stay off longer. We bought a new house recently and unfortunately don't have a chunky savings account to cover the mortgage.

    Will try to save every penny from now til the end of my 18wks paid leave and who knows I might stretch my leave further


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    #4
    Penny Dreadful
    Registered Users Posts: 3,041 ✭✭✭Penny Dreadful


    Little Miss Cutie wrote: »
    Thanks Penny, I just don't think financially I can afford to stay off longer. We bought a new house recently and unfortunately don't have a chunky savings account to cover the mortgage.

    Will try to save every penny from now til the end of my 18wks paid leave and who knows I might stretch my leave further

    18 weeks paid leave? You get 26.


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    #5
    Masala
    Registered Users Posts: 3,462 ✭✭✭Masala


    Penny Dreadful wrote: »
    18 weeks paid leave? You get 26.

    Not all the time. Depends on your company policy.

    You can claim off Social but that not for your full weekly wage. Think it €188 or so... And it's taxable


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    #6
    foodaholic
    Registered Users Posts: 1,513 ✭✭✭foodaholic


    but if your only getting 188 I dont think you fall into the tax bracket


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    #7
    Penny Dreadful
    Registered Users Posts: 3,041 ✭✭✭Penny Dreadful


    Masala wrote: »
    Not all the time. Depends on your company policy.

    You can claim off Social but that not for your full weekly wage. Think it €188 or so... And it's taxable

    Yes of course, I meant 26 weeks is your full leave.
    foodaholic wrote: »
    but if your only getting 188 I dont think you fall into the tax bracket

    You get €210 per week into your hand from the State.


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    #8
    hadook
    Registered Users Posts: 792 ✭✭✭hadook


    State maternity benefit is 230, not 188 and you get that for the 26 weeks if you meet the critera. Your employer can top up your maternity pay afaik for any portion of that.


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    #9
    Little Miss Cutie
    Registered Users Posts: 1,194 ✭✭✭Little Miss Cutie


    Penny Dreadful wrote: »
    18 weeks paid leave? You get 26.

    Yeah sorry wasn't clear, I am on full pay from work (less social welfare) for the first 18 weeks.


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    #10
    Masala
    Registered Users Posts: 3,462 ✭✭✭Masala


    Penny Dreadful wrote: »
    Yes of course, I meant 26 weeks is your full leave.



    You get €210 per week into your hand from the State.

    But it goes on your tax records and will be accounted for in your tax computations. That is... If u off for 26 weeks claiming this entitlement ...thus will be considered income for your tax year and will eat into your weekly tax free allowances.


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    #11
    pwurple
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,449 ✭✭✭✭pwurple


    Penny Dreadful wrote: »
    You get €210 per week into your hand from the State.

    Depends on your pay and your situation.

    There's a wonderful anomaly now, where if your income from the rest of the year is high enough, or sometimes if your leave falls across two years, your maternity benefit is taxed.

    I came out with far far less than that, despite being in the higher PRSI contribution bracket.

    People with lower PRSI contributions (on lower salary) now come out with higher net maternity benefit than those who contribute at the higher rate.

    I'm going to shred the politicians who came up with that in the next election.


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    #12
    Penny Dreadful
    Registered Users Posts: 3,041 ✭✭✭Penny Dreadful


    pwurple wrote: »
    Depends on your pay and your situation.

    There's a wonderful anomaly now, where if your income from the rest of the year is high enough, or sometimes if your leave falls across two years, your maternity benefit is taxed.

    I came out with far far less than that, despite being in the higher PRSI contribution bracket.

    People with lower PRSI contributions (on lower salary) now come out with higher net maternity benefit than those who contribute at the higher rate.

    I'm going to shred the politicians who came up with that in the next election.

    I'm very confused now. Im in the higher tax bracket too and my leave went from Septmber last year to now and I still got €210 (after tax) plus my salary top up.
    I thought the €210 was statutory.


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    #13
    lazygal
    Registered Users Posts: 12,644 ✭✭✭✭lazygal


    Penny Dreadful wrote: »
    I'm very confused now. Im in the higher tax bracket too and my leave went from Septmber last year to now and I still got €210 (after tax) plus my salary top up.
    I thought the €210 was statutory.

    Me too, I don't know what changes pwurple is referring to. I've been on ML for pretty much two and half of the past four years and my pay (topped up with the maternity benefit) remained the same. In fact, because I took all of the unpaid leave I was able to claim a chunk of tax back through a balancing statement at the end of each year. I haven't heard of anyone on the higher tax bracket being down a substantial amount. I did notice a change once the maternity benefit became taxable, as I was on the second leave when that change kicked in, but nothing otherwise. I'm in the higher bracket too, or I was when I was on ML.


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    #14
    Millem
    Registered Users Posts: 7,729 ✭✭✭Millem


    I got topped up and I came out with more than my normal salary when on maternity leave....I think it was around €70 extra per month. The reason was because maternity benefit is taxed but not deduced by prsi or usc :)


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    #15
    tickingclock
    Registered Users Posts: 850 ✭✭✭tickingclock


    I'm also in the higher tax bracket and received €230 per week for 26 weeks maternity leave with no top up from my employer.
    I'm always sooooo jealous of those that received a top up pay. It's the difference in taking the paid or unpaid leave at the end. When I returned to work I paid more tax and usc for the rest of the calendar year. It was all explained at the time to me but I can't remember why and I was very annoyed.


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    #16
    pwurple
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,449 ✭✭✭✭pwurple


    Penny Dreadful wrote: »
    I'm very confused now. Im in the higher tax bracket too and my leave went from Septmber last year to now and I still got €210 (after tax) plus my salary top up.
    I thought the €210 was statutory.

    230 is statutory, it used to be 265 pre 2013 for higher Prsi payers, and 210 I think for lower Prsi payers. Both are now 230, but it's taxable. Which means the higher Prsi payers get taxed on it, but lower don't.

    Different employers do different things, some take the tax off you later in the year, some take it on your mat leave. Net effect is the same. The higher your Prsi contributions during the previous year, the smaller your net mat leave benefit. It's asinine.

    IF you get a top up from your employer, it makes no difference, as it's just part of your normal wage, but the vast bulk of employers don't top up. It's mainly the public sector who get top ups.


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    #17
    Penny Dreadful
    Registered Users Posts: 3,041 ✭✭✭Penny Dreadful


    pwurple wrote: »
    230 is statutory, it used to be 265 pre 2013 for higher Prsi payers, and 210 I think for lower Prsi payers. Both are now 230, but it's taxable. Which means the higher Prsi payers get taxed on it, but lower don't.

    Different employers do different things, some take the tax off you later in the year, some take it on your mat leave. Net effect is the same. The higher your Prsi contributions during the previous year, the smaller your net mat leave benefit. It's asinine.

    IF you get a top up from your employer, it makes no difference, as it's just part of your normal wage, but the vast bulk of employers don't top up. It's mainly the public sector who get top ups.

    I am a public sector worker and got 26 weeks leave with full pay. I opted to get the €230 (which worked out at €210 p/w after tax) directly into my bank account on a weekly basis with my employer adding the rest at the end of the month on the usual salary payment schedule.

    What I comes down to OP is:
    1) you are entitled to a statutory 26 weeks leave with a payment of €210 each week.
    2) your employer may / may not top this up.
    3) you are entitled to a further 16 weeks unpaid leave in addition to the 26 weeks with maternity benefit.
    4) you are entitled to parental leave too which you can take in a manner in which your employer agrees with.


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    #18
    ncmc
    Registered Users Posts: 4,852 ✭✭✭ncmc


    Little Miss Cutie wrote: »
    Hi all,
    Trying to get my head around maternity leave, I'm still a long way from starting but was wondering how long others recommend?

    I think realistically the most I can afford with being stuck is 9 months.... It seems like a pretty short time but maybe baby won't mind.....

    There's no right or wrong answer on this. It depends on your circumstances and it depends on your arrangements for child care after you return to work. My baby was exactly 7 months when I returned. I had been off 7.5 months. I took the 26 weeks maternity, 4 weeks holidays and then a couple of unpaid days to tide me over until after Christmas. I probably could have stretched to take some unpaid leave, but my employer agreed to me taking my parental leave one day a week so I preferred to take it that way. My baby was a great sleeper and great eater and with my parental leave and the way my husbands hours worked, she only needed childcare 5 days per fortnight. That was a mix of my mother in law and one day a week in creche.

    Now if she'd been a bad sleeper or she was having to go into childcare 5 days per week, I probably would have stayed off longer. As it stands, I will be on a 4 day week til next October and I would hope to be on another maternity leave by then! Also a consideration for me was that I was returning at the busiest time of year for my industry. I felt I owed it to my workplace to try and get back by then. So you see, I think it was the right choice for me to go back, but that doesn't mean it's the right choice for everyone.

    With regards pay, I was paid 1/3 of my salary plus the €230 maternity benefit and I was never as well off! Going to work costs an awful lot of money! Especially if you have a long commute like I have. Babies cost very little in the early months - especially if you breast feed. We got so many clothes as gifts, all we had to buy was nappies (we got a lot of hand me down equipment and by the time you have the baby you have most of the big shopping done) So you might mind you can squirrel away more than you think.

    You don't have to make any decisions now. You have to let your employer know 4 weeks before your return date, so see how you are getting on and see how the money is panning out. Best of luck with everything.


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    #19
    ainy
    Registered Users Posts: 499 ✭✭ainy


    Hey op, its a completely individual decision. i'm currently on maternity leave, and will be taking about 14 wks unpaid leave so that I don't have to go back to work until after Christmas. its only possible because I save by not going to work( costs me approx 450/month in commuting expense!) and my employer is topping up my leave now so can save for the couple months I won't have pay.

    For those of you who seem more in the know, i get 230 pw and then get topped up at the monthly pay day by my employer, if the 230 is suppose to be taxed, when do I pay that tax?? worried now their going to look for a lump sum back at some point now!


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    #20
    Penny Dreadful
    Registered Users Posts: 3,041 ✭✭✭Penny Dreadful


    ainy wrote: »
    Hey op, its a completely individual decision. i'm currently on maternity leave, and will be taking about 14 wks unpaid leave so that I don't have to go back to work until after Christmas. its only possible because I save by not going to work( costs me approx 450/month in commuting expense!) and my employer is topping up my leave now so can save for the couple months I won't have pay.

    For those of you who seem more in the know, i get 230 pw and then get topped up at the monthly pay day by my employer, if the 230 is suppose to be taxed, when do I pay that tax?? worried now their going to look for a lump sum back at some point now!

    Mine was taxed at source so I only ever got €210.
    Perhaps you're meant to get the €230 due to your tax bracket? I'd put in a call with your tax office if it was me and they will be able to tell you if you're going to get a hit for tax somewhere down the line. Most people end up getting tax back though instead.


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    #21
    mirrorwall14
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,751 ✭✭✭mirrorwall14


    If you are topped up you should end up with exactly the same money as you get when you are at work because the maternity benefit is counted as income and is taxable now. In the past if you were topped up you actually earned more than your usual net salary because the maternity benefit was exempt from tax

    For a highly highly simplified example (remember gross=before tax, net=after tax ie money received)

    In the past:
    let's say I earn in the top tax bracket and say I get gross taxable wage of 800e a week with a tax credit of 50e (this is completely fictional!!). My gross tax is 90e so my net tax is 40e and I receive 760e into my account.
    Now I'm on maternity my taxable gross drops from 800 to 570 as maternity benefit of 230 is NOT taxable. My gross tax is now 70e, my tax credit is still 50e and net is now 20e. I now receive 780e into my account which is MORE than when in work

    Now after recent budget changes;
    I earn in the top tax bracket lets use the same figures. I get a gross taxable wage of 800e a week with a tax credit of 50e. My gross tax is 90e so my net tax is 40e and I receive 760e into my account.

    Now I'm on maternity my taxable gross stays exactly the same as maternity benefit is taxable and my net pay should stay exactly the same at 760e.

    If my employer receives the maternity benefit for me and THEN tops it up my wages will stay exactly the same coming into my account.

    However if I receive the benefit of 230 into my own account the only way revenue can tax it is to change my tax credit. So you end up with a situation like this:
    My gross taxable wage is now 570 (less the benefit I already got into my account). My gross tax is 70e so my tax credit must CHANGE in order to ensure that my net tax stays at 40e. So revenue issue a new P60 with a tax credit of 30e to my employer. My net salary from my employer then is 530e plus the 230 Maternity benefit received seperately into my account totalling the 760 that I earned before I went on maternity.


    It's that last section that causes all the hassle. If revenue don't issue the cert correctly or your employer screws up you can end up owing money when you get back!

    I've used the top tax bracket example because this is what I just had to sort out with revenue/social welfare because my wages have been incorrect since I got back to work.

    Final word, everyone who has been on maternity recently (on the 230*26 weeks one), go and check your total maternity benefit received according to revenue particularly if it crossed over the year end. You can do this on PAYE anytime or ring up revenue and ask them to call it out to you. You cannot receive more than 5980 but mine was over 6500 and they had to fix it for me. Some people have apparently been out by several thousand and obviously if it's too high then you will be paying too much tax


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    #22
    Millem
    Registered Users Posts: 7,729 ✭✭✭Millem


    Mirrorwall if maternity benefit is not deducted by prsi and USC surely you should come out with slightly more as you pay less USC and prsi
    I know I Defo got €70 per month more. I hardly noticed it as I got my benefit on a Saturday every week and then top up on a Thursday every second week.


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    #23
    mirrorwall14
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,751 ✭✭✭mirrorwall14


    Millem wrote: »
    Mirrorwall if maternity benefit is not deducted by prsi and USC surely you should come out with slightly more as you pay less USC and prsi
    I know I Defo got €70 per month more. I hardly noticed it as I got my benefit on a Saturday every week and then top up on a Thursday every second week.


    Sorry to clarify I was talking only about Income Tax! There has been a lot of confusion in a Facebook group I'm in about the tax credit changes during pregnancy


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