Explain the maternity allowance qualification criteria to an employee who does not qualify for statutory maternity pay

Key points

• An employee who does not qualify for statutory maternity pay, for example if they do not have the required qualifying service or earn less than the lower earnings limit, may be eligible for maternity allowance.
• The qualification criteria for maternity allowance include a requirement for the employee to have been employed or self-employed for a minimum period, but the weeks of employment do not have to be consecutive and do not have to be with the same employer.
• The employee must also have been earning at least the maternity allowance threshold, when their earnings are averaged over a defined period.

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