NI17A - A guide to Maternity Benefits
Maternity Allowance (MA)
Changes you must tell us about
You must report any changes which may affect your benefit. These may include:
- your baby being born before you said you wanted your MA to start or
- during the period of the allowance you do any work as an employed or self-employed person or
- during the period of the allowance you start getting SMP or
- you leave the UK (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and, for benefit purposes, the Isle of Man) or
- you are imprisoned or detained in legal custody.
Working in your MAP
If you work during your MAP you must tell Jobcentre Plus of this work as soon as possible. You are allowed to work for 10 days during your MAP and still keep MA (see Keeping in Touch days below). If you work for more than 10 days you must not collect any more money. The decision maker will decide whether any further payments can be made, but you will lose MA for at least the number of days you work over the 10 days allowed.
Keeping in Touch days if you are getting MA
You are allowed to work as an employed or self-employed person for up to 10 days during your Maternity Allowance Period without losing any MA. These special days are known as Keeping in Touch (KIT) days.
KIT days are intended to help you keep in touch with your workplace or, if you are self-employed with your business. They enable you to do some work without affecting your MA and could also help ease your return to work. If you are on maternity leave from your employer you and your employer must agree that you can work on those days. Your employer does not have any right to insist that you work. If you are not on maternity leave from an employer, or you are self-employed, you are free to decide for yourself whether to do any work or not.
Any work you do as a KIT day, even for as little as half an hour, for example, will count as a whole day for KIT days. You can work for single days; in blocks of two or more days; or they can be worked consecutively. It is the number of days you actually work over the 10 days allowed which determines whether you will lose your MA just for the days worked or whether MA stops altogether. The amount you get paid for the days you work in your MAP will not affect your MA.
If you work for more than 10 days you must not collect any more money. A decision maker trained in applying Social Security law will decide whether any further payments can be made.
You must tell Jobcentre Plus if you do any work for an employer or work as a self-employed person (including work you do on KIT days) in your Maternity Allowance Period.
Backdated pay rises
If you get a backdated pay rise that includes earnings in your test period, and you are getting less than standard rate MA, you can ask Jobcentre Plus to look again at your MA as you may get more money.
