Say you're off sick, have about 14 weeks until you can start your holiday leave/maternity leave, but don't envisage being able to return to work in the immediate future. You are entitled to SMP from your employer, but as you are off sick getting SSP at £80 a week only, and SMP is paid at 90% of average weekly earnings over last 12 weeks or 123.06, whichever is the lowest, you stand to only get about £70 a week throughout your maternity as you will get the 90% as it's lower. What would happen if, say, you knew you weren't going to return to this job, and you therefore, decided to leave before your maternity was due to begin?

Would you be able to claim MA at £123.06 a week, being as this would make you better off than staying employed and claiming SMP because of having been off on the sick? You have worked for at least 26 of the previous 66 weeks and you have earned a considerable amount more than £30 a week...

OK so that's possibly the situation I am in: being signed off possibly, but not sure how long for, due to start maternity leave on 1st February and taking a bit of holiday beforehand, so leaving about 25th January. I know that as I'd only be getting SSP at £80 a week, I'd only get 90% of that a week for the time I am on maternity leave. I know I won't be returning to this job, so i am considering handing in my notice and applying for maternity allowance as then I would definitely get £123.06 a week, regardless of weekly earnings in the previous 12 weeks. Will this work?

i would ring them and ask at the jobcentre - you may be lucky and get a helpful one lol

Thank you

It was just a thought really as my dr wants to sign me off and I am quite worried about how this will affect what I get during my maternity leave, hence thinking about leaving beforehand; however, I want to stick with the job, and still don't really want my dr to sign me off, so I think I will just keep with it.