My wife is self-employed and has been on "maternity leave" since our child was born in December. She is returning to work and we can't work out from the DWP website what happens with statutory maternity pay (SMP).
She has not been in full time employment for around 5 years. Prior to stopping work, she was paying NI contributions which entitled her to the minimum SMP payment of around £136 a week. There is a suggestion that "any self-employed work does not affect SMP" but we have assumed that if she's going back to work (still self-employed) that her SMP should stop. Is she really entitled to 39 weeks of SMP if she starts back as a self-employed sole-trader?
Thanks for any help.
She has not been in full time employment for around 5 years. Prior to stopping work, she was paying NI contributions which entitled her to the minimum SMP payment of around £136 a week. There is a suggestion that "any self-employed work does not affect SMP" but we have assumed that if she's going back to work (still self-employed) that her SMP should stop. Is she really entitled to 39 weeks of SMP if she starts back as a self-employed sole-trader?
Thanks for any help.
