ILR and Maternity

[mahermanha]

Hello,
My ILR is due 1st week of March 2015, currently I am pregnant if I cannot continue work for the coming months what options do I have? I mean if I go on maternity and I am on leave without pay how do I show last 12 months salary slips? What are the considerations when you are pregnant is there any?

[Subtle]

I presume you are applying on form SET(O), Section 9A of the form gives you the option to score points for your earnings even if you have taken or you are still on maternity leave.

[mahermanha]

Thanks for the response. My query is in normal conditon for an ILR you need to submit salary slips of 12 consecutive months (1-12 or 3-15) whereas if I go on Maternity because of ill health e.g I am due extension in Feb 2015 however I work only till Aug 2014 and go on Maternity will i be allowed to show my previous salary slips i.e 12 consecutive ones before Aug 2014? and can i still go for ILR in Feb 2015?

[Subtle]

based on my understanding, you can exclude the period of maternity leave if it falls within the immediate 12 months of your application.

So if you were to claim earning points for months Feb'14 to Jan'15 as continuous 12 months in normal circumstances. But if you have taken maternity leave from March'14 to Aug'14, then you exclude these 6 months of maternity leave and include Aug'13 to Jan'14 into your 12 continuous months.

Edit: Congrats and good luck with the baby.

[mahermanha]

Oh ok thanks alot. If I can exclude the maternity period and show previous earnings of 12 months. Have a good weekend

[vignezh]

Just for your reassurance, my wife had her ILR approved in April 2014, while still on Maternity leave. Her Maternity leave started in August 2013 and she showed earnings from August 2012 to July 2013, but she also had to provide evidence for the maternity leave period, i.e. payslips showing Statutory Maternity pay along with birth certificate of our child and a letter from employer confirming the same. The evidence for the maternity period is not for earnings but to confirm that she is in fact on maternity leave. Hope this helps.

[mahermanha]

Ok thanks. I hope it will work for me then. So my ILR is due Feb 2015, my only worry was if due to ill health if go on Maternity before time can i show my previous earnings. Baby will be due in March 2015. So if I go on Maternity say Aug 2014. I can show my salary slips from June 2013 till July 2014. if I can do that I am good and yes I can attach evidence on maternity and medical condition why did i go on maternity early. Thanks for your help

[Subtle]

Now now you just need to be careful here! Your statutory maternity leave is of up to 52 weeks. But HMRC would only grant you maternity pay if you are less than 11 weeks from the baby's due date and most importantly you have to have worked for your current employer for at least 42 weeks before the baby's due date. (That I found out while I was trying to get my paternity leave)

I am not expert on statutory leaves so I'd suggest you to get advise from Citizen's Advice Bureau before even you think about getting maternity leave.

After all, you wouldn't want to end up in a situation where you have gone for maternity leave but which is not acceptable by the Home Office.

Just to let you know, if you health doesn't permit you to continue your work because you are having a baby and you can't get maternity leave early then you always have an option of getting sick leave which is completely acceptable by the Home Office.

[mahermanha]

Yeah fine, I am aware about my maternity starting 11 weeks before the baby is due and yes i will be employed for last 52 weeks. So fingers crossed. Worse come if I go before I will go on sick leave. thanks for all the information.