No salary when on maternity leave - what benefits would we be eligible for?

L

lowdenclear

Guest
A wee bit of background info... I moved from Northern Ireland to the south and started a new job here just over 6 months ago when I got married. A month after that I found out I was pregnant! (I'm now 26 weeks) Basically, while I will be entitled to maternity benefit, I will not get any maternity pay from work as I will have been working in the company for less than a year. My husband is unemployed (he's looking for work and not on any benefits) so my salary is supporting us both and paying our rent and bills. The maternity benefit wouldn't even be enough to cover our rent!

I was wondering if anyone would have any advice for me regarding benefits? Would it be possible to claim rent allowance, given that while I will still officially be an employee, I will not actually be receiving any salary for the 26 weeks I am on maternity leave? Are there any other benefits (besides jobseekers for my husband) that either of us would be entitled to, given this information?

Thanks for your help! I'm still a little clueless about how everything works down here... :confused:
 
You should be able to claim maternity benefit if you paid national insurance in another EU country.

From the citizens information website

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/c...nt/social-insurance-contributions-from-abroad

If you have worked in Ireland and one or more EU state your social insurance contributions from each EU state will be added to your Irish social insurance contributions to help you qualify for one of the following social welfare payments:
It can be a bit of hassle and might take some time to get approved but I think you'd be entitled to it. You'll also have to complete an MB10 form.

Hopefully someoe else can give you information on other entitlements.
 
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