This turns out to be quite a simple process to navigate what are the ins and outs of maternity leaves when you are working with the company as an employee. However, in the case of being in the role of a self-employed individual, it is challenging to find out facts and rules about the maternity allowance for self-employed. The good news is that there are quite good and possible options open for self-employed mothers who are seeking maternity leaves. The best is to apply for the maternity allowance while you are offering your services through freelancing. You will find out multiple ways of getting yourself paid and keeping protected while you are on maternity duration or failing the maternity leave.

Further in the discussion of this guide, we will share the details of everything basic that you need to learn as a beginner in freelancing and want to avail of the maternity allowance or the leave period. This could possibly include what is maternity pay, what is the eligibility criteria to apply, how is maternity allowance beneficial, and how can you apply for the maternity allowance.

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What Refers to Statutory Maternity Pay?

By the word statutory we assume something that is related to the law requirements. So the term statutory maternity pay refers to the pay that the employees are required to give to the employees of the company during the period of maternity leave. The condition to pay the statutory maternity pay is that the employee is contracted and eligible to get this payment from the company or the employer. However, before you plan to apply for this, you must learn the eligibility criteria to have a successful experience in this regard.

What is the Eligibility Criteria for Statutory Maternity Pay if I’m Self-Employed?

Unfortunately, if you are self-employed, you are not allowed to get any benefits from the statutory maternity pay. This is because you will have to be in the abstract with a company being their employee to get the benefits like maternity leave with pay through the PAYE system. Also, ensure that you must have worked for 26 weeks to get the maternity leave and avail it with pay.

Can Maternity Allowance be an Alternative Option?

You do not need to worry about the fact that you are not eligible to get maternity pay because you are not associated with a company as a full-time employee. The good news for the self-employed individual is that you can avail the benefit of the maternity allowance. Even if you are not self-employed, you can check on the eligibility criteria and apply for the maternity allowance or your unique case and get the most out of these benefits of allowances offered by the government.

How to Check My Eligibility for Maternity Allowance if I’m Self-Employed?

When you are working as a self-employed individual in the UK the chances are that you are possibly eligible to get a maternity allowance. There can be two main types of maternity allowance in the UK. These are known to be the full-rate maternity allowance and the reduced-rate maternity allowance. The criteria that you need to meet to be eligible include the following points:

1. You must be working in the role of a self-employed individual in the UK for a duration of a minimum of 26 weeks.
2. The minimum earning limit for a week must be £30 or more than this figure. This should possibly be for 13 weeks. If the weeks are not consecutive, this will not matter in the process of maternity allowance applying.

How can I Apply for a Maternity Allowance?

It is easy to apply for the maternity allowance. All you will have to do is to get in touch with HMRC. After this, you will be required to get the form MA1 from the website of the HMRC, get it downloaded and printed, do the needful requirements, and post it. This document will have to accompany the document that can give the due date of the baby. In the case of being a self-employed person who is registered and has paid enough as national insurance contributions, you will be considered to be eligible for the full rate maternity allowance. This will not require you to give proof of your income later in the procedure.

How Frequently Can I Get Maternity Allowance Payments?

Well, you have a choice to make in this regard. Whether you can opt to get the maternity allowance within four weeks or you can get it within the duration of a fortnight. You can choose just according to your suitability. You can simply mention this in your document and fill it in accordingly.

Am I Allowed to Freelance While on Maternity Leave?

Several cases are on maternity leave from the employer or the company they are associated with. However, they seek ways to get additional income during the free time of their maternity leave. This could be one of the options from freelancing or any other income source. There is no way that anyone can afford to work in the first two weeks of the maternity due to medical conditions. Also, this is not medically and officially legal to work like freelancing in two weeks of maternity leave. This time duration of maternity leave is known to be compulsory maternity normally. After you have passed this period, you are allowed to work for freelancing services after this duration.

The Bottom Line

Now that you have gathered a piece of fair information about maternity allowance for self-employed in the UK, we can bring the discussion towards wrapping up. So the maternity allowance and other relevant benefits are allowed for self-employed individuals, however, the applicable rules can be different for the difference of scenarios from one person to another. So keep yourself aware of the consequences before you apply for maternity leave or the maternity allowance. We hope these few minutes of reading will help you to develop a better understanding of maternity allowance for self-employed and how to handle the matter better in the future.

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Disclaimer: The general information provided in this blog about how to claim maternity allowance for self-employed in the UK includes text and graphics. It does not intend to disregard any of the professional advice in the future as well.