Everything you need to know about maternity allowance if you’re a dentist…
Michelle Rowe and Vicky Hancock get together to blog:
Are you or your partner expecting a new addition to your family sometime soon? Or are you simply looking to plan ahead for a future happy event? Here’s some useful information regarding parental benefits for the self-employed:
Are you pregnant and self-employed?
Ordinarily, self-employed individuals are entitled to maternity allowance (not pay) for 39 weeks, as long as certain criteria are fulfilled. Namely, you must have:
- Been employed or self-employed for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before the week your baby is due;
- Been earning £30 a week or more for at least 13 weeks. Note: If you are at the time using a tax planning product, the taxable income you receive from a provider will be considerably more than enough to cover the £30 a week requirement.
Unfortunately, it’s not a massive benefit though – you’ll get either £140.98 a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings (whichever is lower) for a period of up to 39 weeks, and payments can start as early as 11 weeks before your baby is due.
Application for maternity allowance can be made as soon as you have been pregnant for 26 weeks and can be done by completing a rather lengthy form which is available from the gov.uk website . Payments are then made directly into your bank account every 2 or 4 weeks.
But what if you happen to be a pregnant NHS dentist?
If you are one of our clients who has a fairly hefty NHS contract then you may be able eligible to claim an amount of contractual maternity pay.
Take a look at Section 8 of the Statement of Financial Entitlement (amended from 1st April 2017). In summary, a “Dental Performer” is entitled to 26 weeks of maternity leave payments provided:
- You have been on the Dental List of NHS performer/ providers for a period of at least 2 years, and the last 26 weeks must of that period must have been continuous and immediately proceeding the 15th week before your due date (i.e. you must have been on the list and working at the time you actually became pregnant);
- Your leave doesn’t start before 11 weeks before your due date;
- You don’t work during maternity leave (unless you arrange to undertake some optional “keeping in touch” days).
- And in some circumstances, you will need to confirm that you intend to return to work with the same or another NHS employer for a minimum period of three months after your maternity leave has ended.
The amount you are entitled to is based on your estimated net monthly Pensionable Earnings (usually shown on your monthly payment schedule) – this monthly amount is multiplied by 12 and then divided by 52 to produce a weekly amount. That value is then reduced by the statutory maternity allowance that you are able to claim (outlined above) to give the amount of parental leave payments that you would be entitled to.
You will notice that I mentioned your entitlement will be based on your estimated monthly pensionable earnings – meaning that you must be ‘opted in’ to the superannuation scheme at the time in order to benefit.
However, whether you have opted out of the superannuation scheme for the purposes of tax planning, or for personal reasons, never fear. So long as you opt back in no later than 2 whole weeks before you get pregnant you will still qualify for this maternity benefit.
I should also say that with the amendments that came into force from 1st April 2017, the NHS have placed a cap on the maximum amount payable in respect of parental leave payments. For a Dentist Performer that does not perform orthodontic services, the maximum amount payable is £1,660 per week.
So, as a new mother, you are entitled to 26 weeks of paid leave – happy days!
Let’s not forget about your partner!
If your partner is also a Dentist working with NHS patients, don’t worry, the NHS haven’t forgotten about them either.
The benefit works in a similar way to the statutory paternity pay that they would be entitled to if they were an employee.
If they are a “Dental Performer” that will assume parental responsibility for the child after birth, they are entitled to two weeks of leave and to be paid a weekly amount based on their pensionable earnings. So they don’t lose out either!
And what about if you are adopting?
The same principle applies. The main carer is entitled to 26 weeks of parental leave payments and their partner is entitled to 2 weeks (assuming both are “Dentist Performers”).
Application for these NHS benefits is made by form and the payments are subsequently be paid to the “Contractor” (the person who is a party to the GDS / PDS contact).
So, you see, sometimes being an NHS dentist isn’t all that bad!
You can find out more about the maternity benefits available to NHS dentists here. If we are your accountants and you have questions about your individual circumstances please do get in touch with us on 01872 300232 or email us at hello@hivebusiness.co.uk.
