Pay while on maternity leave

gowayouttadat

Can anyone tell me what the usual situation in relation to pay while on maternity leave is? I haven't told work yet and don't intend to for at least another few weeks but I'm wondering what kinda pay to expect while out on maternity leave.

January

You are entitled to pay from the state of between 230.31-280.00 per week for the duration of your maternity leave (26 weeks, not the 16 weeks unpaid that you could also take). Some companies will top this up so you're getting your normal salary but some won't so check your contract in relation to maternity leave.

Maybe you could get someone to ask work for you if you don't want to tell them just yet?? Or maybe discretly ask a member of HR??

gowayouttadat

adrieanne__x wrote: »

You are entitled to pay from the state of between 230.31-280.00 per week for the duration of your maternity leave (26 weeks, not the 16 weeks unpaid that you could also take). Some companies will top this up so you're getting your normal salary but some won't so check your contract in relation to maternity leave.

Maybe you could get someone to ask work for you if you don't want to tell them just yet?? Or maybe discretly ask a member of HR??

There's only one member of HR so it's kind of difficult to ask her. I'll hang tough a while and try and find my contract and check it. They're a v good company to work for so I'm hoping they'll top it up.

Is it more/less normal for American multi-nationals to pay you in full or does that have any bearing on it??

*edit* what section of the contract covers maternity leave normally? All I can see is sickness, injury & sick pay. Does this relate to maternity pay? It doesn't say anything about maternity specifically in my contract.

silja

From my experience, most American multi-nationals don't top up maternity pay, but Irish semi-state companies and small/ family owned companies are more likely to top-up. If they do top-up, there is often a clause that you ahve to go back to work for a minimum of 6 months or a year after maternity leave and if you do not, you must pay the money back.

In my case, there was no mention in my contract regarding maternity pay, but the subject was covered in our staff handbook, so do check there, or the company's intranet if you have one.

gowayouttadat

silja wrote: »

From my experience, most American multi-nationals don't top up maternity pay, but Irish semi-state companies and small/ family owned companies are more likely to top-up. If they do top-up, there is often a clause that you ahve to go back to work for a minimum of 6 months or a year after maternity leave and if you do not, you must pay the money back.

In my case, there was no mention in my contract regarding maternity pay, but the subject was covered in our staff handbook, so do check there, or the company's intranet if you have one.

Thanks for the tip about the intranet silja. I found the info I was looking for on it this morning and looks like it's good enough news.

Lillyella

Lucky you! I'd be really grateful to any company that topped up my Maternity benefit! Best of luck with your pregnancy.

gowayouttadat

Well I still need to check with HR once I've told work etc but according to the intranet they pay 90% of your gross while you're out. That's good enough for me. The doc on the intranet is from Oct 2006 though so I hope there's been no changes for the worse.