maternity benefit

popepaisley1

my partner and i recently had a baby. i presumed that she would be entitled to maternity benefit. she is self employed. however when she applied she was told that she was not entitled as she had not enough PRSI payments in the relevant year. is she entitled to nothing then?

mrsbyrne

If she doesn't have enough PRSI contributions then she cant get MB as its insurance based. She cant get JSB/JSA as she's not available for work.

popepaisley1

thanks for getting back.

i just presumed that she would be entitled to maternity benefit. the nature of her work means that usually she does not work some of the months of the year so im not sure if she would pay prsi then.

is there anything else that i should be doing now that we have a new baby? someone said to me the last day that i should ring the tax office as i will probably be put on a new tax code. its things like this that i just never even thought about

Stheno

popepaisley1 wrote: »

thanks for getting back.

i just presumed that she would be entitled to maternity benefit. the nature of her work means that usually she does not work some of the months of the year so im not sure if she would pay prsi then.

is there anything else that i should be doing now that we have a new baby? someone said to me the last day that i should ring the tax office as i will probably be put on a new tax code. its things like this that i just never even thought about

If you are married you may be entitled to some of her tax credits, if you are not, then you are not entitled to them.

You could also investigate if you are eligible for FIS

Cailin1234

Hi everyone, I have a similar question. I've recently found out I'm pregnant. I was pregnant 2 years ago but had a miscarriage so I'm really afraid of it happening again. Thing is I hate my job. It's so stressful & I regularly come home in floods of tears. So I'm thinking of quitting but am afraid to in case I don't qualify for maternity benefit. We don't have that much money but I think we could survive on my husbands wages. I've checked out the citizens information website but I just want some clarification on it. I'm not trying to cheat the system. I'm just trying to decide what's best for me & my family.

Took this from the citizens information website:

"If you are employed you must have:

At least 39 weeks PRSI paid in the 12-month period before the first day of your maternity leave
Or

At least 39 weeks PRSI paid since first starting work and at least 39 weeks PRSI paid or credited in the relevant tax year or in the tax year immediately following the relevant tax year. For example, if you are going on maternity leave in 2014, the relevant tax year is 2012 and the year following that is 2013.
Or

At least 26 weeks PRSI paid in the relevant tax year and at least 26 weeks PRSI paid in the tax year immediately before the relevant tax year. For example, if you are going on maternity leave in 2014, the relevant tax year is 2012 and the year before that is 2011."

So if I left now could I qualify under the second scenario? I started this job in October 2013. I was unemployed for a year & a half before that.

Thanks

mrsbyrne

You will probably qualify but you can't apply unless you are still working in your 25th week.

orchidsrpretty

Is there an option to take sick leave? You can claim illness benefit until the maternity benefit kicks in. Doesn't matter when you go illness benefit( I took mine from week 7) just as long as your contributions are continues. If the job is causing you stress and you worry for your baby, it definitely something you should explore with your gp. Best of luck.