You may have heard that I’ve written a book called Start a Family Friendly Business?
For the last few months I’ve been guest blogging and tweeting about the fact that the book is out today, 15th September. Unfortunately there’s been a bit of a hold-up with the publisher, but it will be available by the end of September, I promise. Continue reading “From Blog to ‘Blook’”
Today’s post is by Erica Douglas of AceInspire. You’ll find some really useful tips here if you find it a struggle to think of what to write on your business blog or if business blogging is eating up too much of your time. Over to you, Erica… Continue reading “How to Manage your Business Blog and Social Media in 2 Hours a Week”
This post was last updated on 30 July 2014 by Claire Meredith of Zest Payroll.
Did you know the level of maternity allowance (MA) you get as a self-employed mum does not depend on how much you earn from your business?
Self-employed mums can only get the maximum rate (£123.88 a week) or the minimum rate (£27 a week) – a big difference. The rate you end up receiving depends on a decision you make regarding national insurance when you first register as self-employed. Today, self-employed mum Frances Weir explains the implications of getting that decision right.
The rules state that you must register with HMRC as self-employed within 3 months of starting trading. When you register, you will be given the choice of either:
or
You can choose to pay Class 2 contributions regardless of how low you expect your income to be. But (if eligible) the obvious temptation for start-ups is to opt for the Small Earnings Exception Certificate – it saves you £2.75 a week at a time when you’re unlikely to be making any profit.
However, this has huge financial implications in terms of Maternity Allowance.
If you have been registered as self-employed for at least 26 weeks in your ‘test period’ (the 66 weeks before your due date), you’ll get some MA. If you have paid Class 2 contributions for at least 13 weeks in your test period, you’ll get the maximum rate (£138.18 a week for 39 weeks). But if you have held a Small Earnings Exception Certificate you’ll only get the minimum rate (£27 a week for 39 weeks); a huge £4,336.02 difference over the maternity period.
As a comparison, 13 weeks of Class 2 contributions costs £35.75 – go do the maths!
And here’s the important small print: for any week you have held a Small Earnings Exception Certificate, you’ll only ever qualify for the minimum MA, even if you have been voluntarily paying Class 2 contributions as well (this is to stop you getting pregnant and then paying Class 2 contributions in order to get maternity allowance!). If you want to work the system in this way, you must get your Small Earnings Exception Certificate cancelled first. The cancellation takes about a month to process so obviously you would want to do this soon after getting pregnant to ensure you have a clear 13 weeks of paying Class 2 contributions without holding a Small Earnings Exception Certificate, within your test period.
Not sure you will get pregnant? Opting to pay Class 2 contributions is a no-risk strategy – you’re entitled to reclaim the contributions made in a financial year if you subsequently find that your earnings fall below the £5,885 threshold of the Small Earnings Exception Certificate (if you plan to do this, look into it early on to ensure you meet the deadlines involved).
Don’t forget, Class 2 contributions also count towards other important benefits for the self-employed mum – the basic state pension, employment and support allowance and bereavement benefit.
I hope this clears up some of the confusion regarding MA. There is a great deal of mis-information on the internet – I’ve seen articles on mumpreneur websites recommending that start-up business mums opt for the Small Earnings Exception Certificate without any discussion of the impact it has on maternity benefits. Self-employed mums need to be aware of the financial implications of holding a Small Earnings Exception Certificate if there is any chance they might become pregnant in the future. And if anyone reading this is pregnant but holds a Small Earnings Exception Certificate, act fast to extinguish it!
This article is not applicable to women who are both self-employed and employed. Please check the latest advice from the Department of Work and Pensions before relying on information presented here.
Source: Department of Work and Pensions
Confused by whether you can work during your maternity pay period or not? See Frances’ post Self-employment during your maternity pay period
If you found this post helpful, you might like to join my mailing list. Sign up now and you can download your copy of my e-book Running a business around a family: 9 steps to success.
Today, Nicki continues her story. Here’s the link to part 1 of Nicki Cawood’s transition from career woman to business mum.
After three years things were getting a bit stale. Getting up to the next step in the ladder at Usborne would take huge personal sales on my part, as well as my team’s and personally I was finding this difficult. Running a home-based business under a company umbrella has it’s pros and cons. You start up for very title outlay, have resources, training etc on hand but similarly, to really excel you need to push the boundaries to rise about the group or you are “Another Usborner…”. Continue reading “Nicki Cawood’s Transition from Career Woman to Business Mum (Part 2)”
Some parents hear about natural living or have a vague idea that they should be ‘more natural’ in their homes, but aren’t sure how to do it. There is no need to switch over to a totally natural lifestyle in one go, in fact it will be much easier to make a few small changes at a time. Here are some tips:
Develop an interest in nature
Most children naturally love to be out in nature. Others may be more familiar with an environment with little exposure to nature and might not have an immediate interest in it. Either way, getting your kids out into nature can help raise a natural child. To do this, try some of the following.
– Encourage a collection of natural objects, such as pine cones, feathers, rocks, or nuts.
– Direct your kids outside when they are bored or getting underfoot in the house. This will help teach them where to turn – nature – when they need something to do.
– Take walks together as a family instead of going to the cinema, watching TV or playing computer games.
– Nature crafts can open your kids’ eyes to the creative possibilities around them. They can gather twigs to weave into picture frames and wreaths or collect acorns to decorate various objects. They can weave flowers into chains or build dens out of sticks. Check your local library and the internet to find more nature craft ideas.
Natural skincare
The skincare products that are widely available are filled with a cocktail of man-made chemicals. Understandably, many parents are worried of the impact of these chemicals on their children and the environment, so switch to natural skincare products for children instead.
Attachment Parenting
Many people consider attachment parenting to be the most natural form of parenting. This makes sense – carrying your baby on your body and feeding as needed is very much what animals do and what our ancestors were likely to have done. Attachment parenting largely shuns the use of artificial equipment like dummies, bottles, bouncy seats and even cots.
Attachment and natural parenting can begin before birth with a natural pregnancy followed by a natural birth.
Cloth nappies
Use cloth nappies for a more natural parenting approach and less of an impact on the environment.
Food
Natural food is certainly a way to connect your child to the natural world. Home-made baby food, toddler snacks, and meals can go a long way in growing an appreciation for food and nature. Consider growing a garden for at least some of your food, and let your child help with the gardening and harvesting. You could even get a few chickens, too! Your kids will know more than most about where food comes from.
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